Examining the Structures That Impact English Language Learners’ Agency in Urban High Schools: Resources and Roadblocks in the Classroom

• Published in: Education and urban society 2010-07, Vol.42 (5), p.599-619
• Main Authors: Wassell, Beth A., Fernández Hawrylak, Maria, LaVan, Sarah-Kate
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access to Education; Caregiving; Caring; Classrooms; Curricula; Curriculum development; Educational needs; Empathy; English (Second Language); English as a second language; English as a second language learning; English language; English language learners; High Schools; Human agency; Interviews; Language acquisition; Learning; Narratives; Qualitative Research; Schemata (Cognition); Schools; Second Language Learning; Secondary school students; Secondary schools; Student Attitudes; Student behaviour; Student Needs; Students; Teachers; Teaching Methods; U.S.A; Urban areas; Urban communities; Urban Schools
• ISSN: 0013-1245; 1552-3535
• DOI: 10.1177/0013124510375598

This qualitative study focused on the classroom experiences of 14 English Language Learners (ELL) students in urban high schools. The authors argue that specific structures within classrooms and schools affect ELL students’ agency, or their ability to access and appropriate resources to meet their learning and social needs. Using a narrative inquiry methodological framework, the authors found that these structures included resources, such as space, and time, and a schema of caring, which were created by teachers’ practices. They also included roadblocks, such as poor instructional practices, a lack of empathy of students’ experiences, and diminished access to the curriculum.