Different as deficient: Challenging the language of difference in constructions of Marshallese and other minoritized students

Abstract

This paper presents a discourse analysis of the role the label “different” plays in mitigating or constructing deficit discourses of Asian-Pacific Islander students in a school in the U.S. Some scholars argue that discourses of linguistic difference play a positive role in countering deficit ideologies (e.g., Paris & Ball 2009). Others disagree, claiming that discourses of difference index deficiency (e.g., Gorski, 2016). To address this debate, I analyze a discussion with a U.S. educator and the language we used to talk about her first- and second-generation Marshallese immigrant students. Both of us were trying to speak positively about both the students and Marshallese culture. Nonetheless, “different” inadvertently functioned as an index of deficiency and had the effect of racializing Marshallese students. This analysis illuminates some of the negative impacts a focus on “difference” can have and challenges academics to reconsider the role “different” plays in their research and advocacy.