From Americanization to equity: a paradox of conditional inclusion in U.S. science education

This raciolinguistic genealogy examines how U.S. science teachers have been trained to see and hear difference as demanding distinct levels of instruction. Drawing on analysis of archival materials, journals, and policy reports, we compare techniques shaping perceptions of Spanish-speaking students in U.S. science education during early 1900s Americanization reforms in segregated ‘Mexican schools’ and classrooms and in post-1990 equity reforms for students classified as ‘English learners’ or ‘Hispanic/Latinx’. Our contribution is outlining how Americanization-era reforms not only helped create segregated curricular tiers that endure today but also set the contours for equity reforms aimed at linguistically and racially marked groups. Namely, our analysis spotlights a paradox of conditional inclusion, wherein pedagogies to make groups equal separate them in attempts to make them more the same.