Academia Cuauhtli : bilingual/bicultural teacher expertise in a cultural and linguistic revitalization project

In this dissertation I considered the work of bilingual/bicultural teachers as they worked collaboratively to design and implement a linguistic and cultural revitalization program called Academia Cuauhtli. I engaged Critical Ethnography along with decolonial theory in order to make sense of the linguistic, curricular and pedagogical priorities and enactments of two focal research partners. I further situated my study around established and emerging theories of translanguaging and raciolinguistic ideologies as I sought insights into the linguistic, pedagogical and curricular priorities and becomings of bilingual/bicultural teachers. Interrelated findings situate the teachers values, beliefs and teaching within Academia Cuauhtli as a unique epistemological space in which teachers and community members make sense of current sociopolitical and geohistorical influences in their lives. Furthermore, findings suggest that Academia Cuauhtli serves as a unique cultural and linguistic space in which bilingual/bicultural teachers are able to support intergenerational learning, sustaining language practices and dialogic relationality. Implications are included regarding language policy, dual language education, Ethnic Studies, teacher education and research design.