Citation

Abbate-Vaughn J. Improv. Sch. 2005; 8(2): 133-151.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1365480205057703

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this article, I describe the use of ethnic autobiographies along with extended immersion in an urban diverse community in the education of teaching students to enhance their understanding of pupils from such backgrounds. The strategy is also acquiescent to professional development in schools where the staff' social markers manifestly differ from those of the pupils. For this teacher research case study, the setting is a small urban enclave inhabited by various Latino groups in the north-eastern part of the United States. The ethnic literary works implicated are meant to raise awareness and promote understanding of the populations they symbolize in terms of their cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic markers. The outcomes of this study suggest that ethnic autobiographies can help teaching students identify their pupils' prior knowledge, beliefs and values, and thus design consequential curriculum and instruction that incorporate their pupils' lived experiences.