Learning to Challenge: Middle School Bilingual Teachers’ Developing Critical Consciousness, Translanguaging and Advocacy Practices

This study explores how a series of online professional development modules developed with funding from a federal National Professional Development grant supported bilingual teachers’ use of translanguaging and the development of their critical consciousness. Eight middle school bilingual teachers who had completed 36 hours of online professional development were interviewed for this qualitative study. Interview data were analyzed iteratively; inductive and deductive coding were employed. Findings showed that the teachers’ use of translanguaging supported the development of their critical consciousness, resulting in a reconceptualization of biliteracy and advocacy in support of their multilingual students both inside and outside their classroom walls. Implications include the need for ongoing professional learning opportunities for teachers who work with linguistically marginalized students. Given the current political climate, state grants and philanthropic funding will be needed to support scholar-led professional learning focused on language-minoritized students and guiding the development of critical consciousness.