Abstract of

From the Dominican Republic to Drew High: What Counts as Literacy for Yanira Lara?

Eliane Rubinstein-Ávila, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA

This investigation focuses on the literacy practices of a young Dominican immigrant woman attending a high school in the United States. Drawing from multiple bodies of research and the qualitative research genre of portraiture, the author relies on ethnographic classroom observations and interviews during one and a half years to provide a nuanced glimpse into the complexities of what counts as literacy and whose literacies count in an era of globalization. Findings reveal that immigrant youths' expanding literacy practices shape and are shaped by their participation both in their communities of origin and in their adopted communities as they forge overlapping identities. This investigation shows that helping immigrant youths understand what counts as literacy within new contexts is a complex process that needs to take into account youths' nonlinear development of bilingual competencies, their coming of age, and their shifting ethnic and gendered identities. Findings also underscore the need to broaden theoretical and methodological constructs to build on immigrant youths' full repertoire of literacy practices. Finally, the portrait encourages educators to rethink how to effectively serve secondary Latino/a students in ways that acknowledge their funds of knowledge, academic strengths, needs, and transnational literacy practices.

Abstract from Rubinstein-Ávila, E. (2007, October/November/December). From the Dominican Republic to Drew High: What Counts as Literacy for Yanira Lara?. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(4), 568–589. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.42.4.6