ABSTRACT
Garcia (1992) predicted that “in the decades to come it will be virtually impossible for a professional educator to serve in a public school setting, and probably any private context, in which his or her students are not…diverse-racially, culturally, and/or linguistically” (p. 66). As predicted by Garcia, American classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse. In 2000, 39% of the U.S. public school population was composed of students of color (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000-2001), an increase from 21% in 1971. The composition of the teaching force, however, has changed very little in comparison to the student demographic trends. In 2000, 90% of the U.S. public school teaching force was White, an increase from 88% in 1971 (National Education Association, 2001). As increasingly diverse student populations are coming together in classrooms taught by a predominantly White teaching force, culturally and linguistically complex contexts are created where cross-cultural communication and identity development are key factors in students’ academic achievement. This is particularly evident in writing and composition classes, where the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores indicate that students from diverse backgrounds are not faring well. Results of the 2002 NAEP test scores indicate that there exists a significant gap in the academic writing skills of 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-grade African American and Latino students and their White peers. The 2002 NAEP results for 12th graders revealed that, whereas 79% of White students scored at or above the Basic level, only 59% of African American students and 64% of Latino students scored at or above the Basic level (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). This gap in writing achievement scores for students from different racial and ethnic groups has led us to question possible relationships between writing achievement and how students of color see themselves-or identify-as writers. It has also motivated us to ask these questions: Can we do a better job of supporting and affirming students’ identities of themselves as writers and whether affirmations lead to improved writing for students from diverse backgrounds? A review of the research on identity and on the writing of culturally diverse students will help us consider ways to assist students in developing a strong sense of themselves as writers and assist the current teaching force in supporting the academic achievement of students in culturally and linguistically complex classrooms.
