Critiquing the critical: Bilingual education for all

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article argues for the extension of the three goals of two-way dual language education to move beyond bilingualism and biliteracy, academic achievement, and cross-cultural understanding for all students and include critical consciousness. After a short history of the colonial aspects of the history of bilingual education in the United States, connections among bilingual education, critical pedagogy, and critical literacy are presented. The combining of critical pedagogy and critical literacy leaves space for bilingual education to promote critical consciousness in the classroom, give space for producing counter-narratives, and strengthen and liberate the lives of people. Practical classroom implications such as adopting a cultural democracy, including classroom dialectics, and advocating for the liberation of all people are given, especially in an arts-based context that embraces a culturally sustaining pedagogy.