Veronica Valdez Assistant Professor MBH 380 801-587-7806 veronica.valdez@utah.edu

Empiezo en el idioma que mi bisabuela y mi madre me motivaron a aprender. De esta manera, les comunico mi posición como una mujer de origen mexicano que ha mantenido con orgullo y trabajo su idioma, español, como una parte integral de quien soy como persona. Aunque a veces mi idioma se esconde de mí y yo de él, nos seguimos encontrando.

I begin in the language that my great-grandmother and my mother motivated me to learn. In this way, I communicate to you my position as a woman of Mexican origin who has with pride and great effort maintained her language, Spanish, as an integral part of who I am as a person. Even though at times my language hides from me or me from it, we continue to find each other.

 

Language has in many ways been the defining aspect of my work. By virtue of the fact that I am bilingual (Spanish/English) I have been aware of the ways language defines me and mediates my experiences. I began my career in the field of psychology working as a child/family crisis interventionist in a large urban county mental health center in Texas. Frustrated with a system focused on individuals' and families' deficits, I shifted my work to community outreach, education and advocacy in communities of color and eventually to early childhood education. During my eight year tenure as an early childhood trainer/educator addressing the needs of English language learners in Head Start programs, I entered the University of Texas at Austin and completed my Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Multilingual Studies: Bilingual Education.

Research and Teaching
I developed my research agenda with the intent of producing research that informs both policy and practice regarding the language education of young Latino students. In my research, I draw on anthropology, sociology, bilingual education, and cultural studies when examining the broader sociocultural factors (i.e., race, language ideologies, gender, immigration, etc.) which impact the development and fostering of bilingualism and biliteracy in Latin@ communities. For example, I conducted an ethnographic exploration of the intersections between race, language, and gender issues within the lives of three Latina mothers as their children entered school. It focused on parent involvement and its influence on mothers' views and choices over time regarding the role of Spanish for the academic success of their kindergarten children. For the last three years, I have been conducting independent research in South Texas as part of an American Educational Research Association- Institute for Educational Sciences (AERA-IES) Post Doctoral research fellowship that examined the structures of power as exhibited in federal language policies related to early childhood education and how Latina Head Start classroom teachers within long-standing bilingual communities mediate the effects of these language policies on Latina/o children. The graduate level classes I offer include courses related to how language intersects with issues of power and identity, community funds of knowledge, language ideologies, and the politics of education. In addition, I teach courses related to language education in the public schools, including courses on bilingual/bicultural education and the fostering of heritage languages.