Message from SIG Chair

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Message from SIG Chair
 
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SIG Chair
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Message from the Chair

Dear Members of the 91ɬ Bilingual Education Research SIG and the Bi-/Multilingual Education Academic Community,

Warm greetings from Texas Tech University!

First and foremost, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to those who have made it possible for me to assume the role of Chair of this organization (2025-2026), sponsored by the 91ɬ (91ɬ). Given that this position is not the result of self-nomination, the responsibility it entails is even greater, requiring a form of leadership deeply rooted in the needs and aspirations of our tireless academic and professional community.

The leadership entrusted to me would not be possible withoutthe collective support of those who sustain this organization each day through their dedication, vision, and hard work. I am especially grateful to the many individuals who have generously shared their time and expertise through exemplary volunteer service across the SIG, including on the Award Committees, Executive Team, and Working Groups.

With deep appreciation, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Magdalena Pando (Southern Methodist University) and Dr. Zhongfeng Tian (Rutgers University–Newark), who have served in multiple leadership capacities—including Program Chair/Chair Elect, Chair, and, in the case of Dr. Pando, Past Chair—for their outstanding leadership and unwavering commitment during their respective terms. At the same time, we warmly welcome the newest members of the SIG Executive Team: Dr. Suzanne García,Program Chair/Chair Elect (California State University Monterey Bay), and Dr. Susana Ibarra Johnson,Communications/Social Media Chair (New Mexico State University). We are also deeply grateful for the continued dedication and service of our returning Executive team members: Dr. Rouhollah Aghasaleh, Parliamentarian (Cal Poly Humboldt); Dr. Cori Salmerón, Historian (Georgia State University); and Dr. Minhye Son, Secretary/Treasurer (California State University – Dominguez Hills).

As we move forward into this new phase, we acknowledge the ongoing and emerging challenges before us. The current political climate—shaped by ethnocentricrhetoric and anti-immigrant sentimentand actions—has already begun to affect the very institutions that have long supported our mission to advance bi-/multilingualism in U.Seducation andsociety.In this context, we are called to reaffirm our commitment to defending the human, educational, and linguistic rights ofstudents and community members who, in the words of the renowned anthro-political linguist, , "do not dream 'the American Dream' in English-Only."

Yet not all challenges arise solely from restrictive political or ideological contexts. As an academic field, it is essential that we create spaces for courageous, critical, and collective self-reflection on significantissues affecting the realization and ongoing development of our mission and vision in light of contemporaryexigencies.To support this process, and in alignment with 2026 91ɬ Presidential Program Theme, "Unforgetting Histories and Imagining Futures:Constructing a New Vision for Education Research,"we couldbeginby considering the following preliminaryguiding questions:

1.How can we builda more inclusive academic and professional community at both national and international levels?

2.What role can research in educational innovation play in promoting strong and high-quality bi-/multilingual education?[1]

3.What innovative research methodologies and newlines of inquiry should be explored for the continued advancement ofthe field?

4.What roles can languages other than English play in(a) the productionof scholarshipin bi-/multilingual education,[2](b)the preparation of bi-/multilingual teachers, and(c) the development of instructional materials for PK–12 classrooms?

5.What new spaces and approaches for accessible and democratic dissemination of knowledge and research findings in our field—beyond the traditional academic journal article—should we prioritize as committed 21st-century scholar-researchers and advocates?[3]

6.What new models of advocacy andactivism could we develop? Is this a timely moment for “consciousness-raising” and “movement-building,” as Kumashiro (2020) invites us to consider?[4]

7.What transformations are needed in PK–12 bi-/multilingual teacher educationand professional developmenttoadvance the field inregionally, nationally, transborder, and internationally-globallyrelevant and sustainingways?

8. What transformations are necessary inbi-/multilingual education doctoral educationtoensure ourprogramsremain relevant and responsive to the complex demands of the 21st century, particularly in preparing graduates to navigate the challenges of becoming multilingual, internationally-globally engaged, and critically conscious scholar-researchers?

9.Should we look beyond our borders for inspiration from successful practices in the implementation and treatment of bi-/multilingual education?

10.How could the 91ɬ Bilingual Education Research SIG become a radically humanizing, authentic, non-competitive, and ethical space for dialogue, action, and 'inter-being' transformation in our field?[5]

In light of this, Iwarmly invite usto join two important activities designed to initiate a collective dialogue and help shape the programming the SIG will undertake during the 2025–2026 academic year: Please take a moment to complete the BER SIG Annual Survey and to register for theBilingual Education Research SIG Town Hall, scheduled for Friday, August 22. Additional details can be found in the summer announcement.

I also invite state and national organizations that support bi-/multilingualism in education and U.S. society to join us in shaping the path forward. [6] With open doors and open hearts, we welcome your collaboration. Together, our goal is to continue strengthening our field in ways that are collaborative, meaningful, relevant, and intentionally responsive to "the signs of the times."

With appreciation and a continuedcommitment to fostering inclusive and shared leadership-governance,

c.a.s.

CristianAquino-Sterling, Ph.D.
Chair, Bilingual Education Research SIG (2025–2026)


[1]See Klein, E. (Host). (2025, May 13). We have to rethink the purpose of education []. In The Ezra Klein Show. .(Suggested by Staci Tharp, Doctoral Candidatein Language Diversity and Literacy Studies atTexas Tech University).

[2](a) Arbuckle, A., Adema, J., & Ortega, É. (2024). Editors’ gloss: The problem with monolingualism in academic knowledge production. . (b) Adema, J., Arbuckle, A., & Ortega, É. (2024). Glosa de las editoras: El problema del monolingüismo en la producción de conocimiento académico. (1).(c) Adema, J., Arbuckle, A., & Ortega, É. (2024). Glossaire de l'éditeur: Le problème du monolinguisme dans la production du savoir universitaire. (1). (d) Neylon, C., & Kramer, B. (2022, June 28). Language diversity in scholarly publishing. . (e) See other works in:Adema, J., Arbuckle, A., & Ortega, É. (Eds.). (2024). Special issue: Multilingual publishing and scholarship..

[3]See Paul Gorski - “” -LinkedIn.

[4]Kumashiro, K.(2020).. Teachers College Press.

[5].

[6]American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese () - American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages () - Arizona Association for Bilingual Education () - Association of Two-Way & Dual Language Education () -Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education () - Bilingual - ESL Education Association of the Metroplex () - Bilingual Schools Association () - California Association for Bilingual Education () - California Association for Bilingual Teacher Education () - Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition () -Carolina Association for Bilingual Education () - Center for Applied Linguistics () -Center for Equity for English Learners () - Center for Equity and Biliteracy Education Research () -Colorado Association for Bilingual Education () - Colorín Colorado () - CUNY-NYS Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals () - CUNYInitiative on Immigration and Education () -Dual Language Education of New Mexico () -Florida Association for Bilingual Education () - Graduate Association of Bilingual Educators (GABE) -Idaho Association for Bilingual Education () - Illinois Association of Multilingual Multicultural Education ()-International and Comparative Bi-/Multilingual Education Research Group () -Iowa World Language Association ()- Kansas World Language Association() - Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages () - Minnesota TESOL (MinneTESOL) -Monterey Institute for English Learners () -Multilingual Education International () -Multilingual Learning Research Center () -Multistate Association for Bilingual Education, Northeast ()-National Association for Bilingual Education () - National Association for Multicultural Education () - National Council of Teachers of English () -New Jersey TESOL/NJ Bilingual Educators () - New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education () - New York State Association for Bilingual Education () - The Bueno Center for Multicultural Education () -Teaching ofEnglish toStudents of OtherLanguages International Association () -The WIDA Consortium () -Texas Association for Bilingual Education () - Utah Foreign Language Association () - Washington Association for Bilingual Education ().