Content and Languages Integration: Pre-Service Teachers’ Culturally Sustaining Social Studies Units for Emergent Bilinguals

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how pre-service teachers incorporate asset-based, multilingual and equity-focused pedagogies, prioritizing students’ funds of knowledge and advocating for culturally relevant and sustaining approaches. Through an analysis of 92 social studies unit plans developed by pre-service teachers in the final semester of their teacher credential program, the study highlights students’ efforts in integrating locally relevant curriculum, translanguaging, and inclusive pedagogies in their teaching. The study emphasizes the transformative potential of integrating linguistic and cultural resources into content area teaching to cultivate inclusive and equitable learning environments for emergent bilinguals.

1. Introduction

In 2020, the proportion of emergent bilinguals, also known as English learners (ELs), among public school students in the United States increased to 10.3%, encompassing approximately 5.0 million students [1]. The California Department of Education (CDE) officially uses the term “English Learners (ELs)” defined as students who do not speak, read, write, or understand English well because it is not their home language. This group may include immigrant, migratory students, and other students who are not proficient in English [2]. In this paper, I will use the term “emergent bilinguals (EBs)” to refer to ELs to honor their bilingualism rather than focusing solely on their English language learning [3,4].

In the state of California, public schools enrolled more than 1 million EBs in the 2022–2023 academic year [2]. Among these diverse language groups, data indicate that 81.9 percent primarily speak Spanish, underscoring its prevalence within the demographic landscape [2]. With such rich diversity, students enter classroom environments with their multilingual and multicultural identities. However, these spaces often reflect and adhere to predominantly White, monolingual norms, expectations, and instructional approaches [5,6]. Many teacher education programs in and outside of California raise the question: how can we cultivate teaching practices that honor and nurture the holistic well-being of our students? [7]. As bell hooks eloquently asserts, “teaching in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students is essential” [8].

Villegas and Lucas [9] argue that discussions surrounding linguistics and language usage within pre-service teacher education are often consolidated under the broader concept of “teaching for all”, inadvertently overlooking the need for tailored strategies specifically designed for multilingual students. This kind of approach reproduces the idea that thinking about emergent bilingual students is only valid and segregated in courses for ESL or bilingual students, focusing mainly on basic skills and remedial instruction [10]. Consequently, mainstream educators often lack training in linguistically responsive pedagogy, crucial for supporting diverse student populations [9]. Recognizing this demographic reality, there is a consensus within teacher education programs that all pre-service teachers should receive comprehensive training to effectively accommodate this growing population within the general education classroom [11].

Similarly, pre-service teachers’ cultural competence cannot be effectively taught in a single teacher education class, such as “multicultural education”. Most programs tend to focus on content knowledge-based pedagogies and instructional methods, which is insufficient for developing true cultural competence [7,12]. Such training should be embedded and integrated in their entire teacher education program. Moreover, students who are immigrants or with immigrant background, bilingual students, and students of color in teacher education are often regarded as people who already possess a high level of cultural competency and/or multicultural awareness [7]. However, this is not an automatic or inherent trait for teachers of color. All pre-service teachers regardless of their background need such training in deeply interrogating their own cultural assumptions and linguistic backgrounds.

In today’s diverse educational environment, the linguistic and cultural contributions of emergent bilingual students are increasingly recognized as invaluable resources for enriching learning experiences [4]. Emergent bilinguals bring valuable linguistic and cultural diversity to the classroom, enriching the learning environment. Their unique perspectives promote empathy, cross-cultural understanding, and global awareness. It is up to the teachers to recognize and recognize these contributions as values, fostering a more inclusive and dynamic educational experience for all students.

This qualitative empirical study delves into how pre-service teachers actively incorporate asset-based and strength-based ideologies, emphasizing culturally sustaining pedagogies [13,14,15], funds of knowledge [16], community cultural wealth [17], and translanguaging frameworks [18]. The research questions guiding this study are:

• How do pre-service teachers in an urban multicultural teacher education program integrate asset-based and strength-based ideologies into their social studies unit plans?
• How do pre-service teachers integrate bilingual/multilingual pedagogies into the social studies curriculum to support diverse learners’ needs and enhance subject-specific literacy?

2. Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework of this study draws extensively on key concepts within culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP), as articulated by Django Paris in 2012. CSP extends the principles of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), articulated by Gloria Ladson-Billings and later Geneva Gay, emphasizing the importance of connecting classroom instruction with the cultural backgrounds and experiences of students. It advocates for the need to sustain cultural practices both within and across cultural communities by making meaningful connections between students’ home and community cultures and the school environment. This approach recognizes the value of cultural diversity and seeks to validate and affirm the cultural identities of all learners. Ladson-Billings highlights the need to disrupt assimilationist and antidemocratic educational practices and policies in the United States that marginalize students from diverse cultural backgrounds.

These values underscore the importance of incorporating culturally relevant materials, literature, and examples into the curriculum to engage and empower students. Firstly, asset-based and strength-based ideologies emphasize recognizing and building upon students’ existing assets [13,14]. CSP advocates for educational practices that affirm and validate students’ cultural identities and backgrounds [15]. For example, the theory of funds of knowledge highlights the rich cultural and experiential resources that students bring from their communities into the classroom [16]. Similarly, community cultural wealth framework posits that students from marginalized communities possess valuable cultural capital that can be leveraged for academic success [17]. In addition, the translanguaging framework emphasizes the fluid and dynamic use of multiple languages in teaching and learning [18]. These theoretical concepts embody broader asset-based and strength-based ideologies and values, which culminate in a CSP environment for teaching and learning. Based on this collective knowledge, the study seeks to explore how pre-service teachers incorporate linguistic and cultural diversity into their pedagogical practices (see Figure 1).

Broadly speaking, these theories stem from Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory [19], emphasizing the role of language, social and cultural interactions in education, and the importance of the environment in the learning process. Vygotsky defines learning as socially mediated, highlighting the importance of immersion in cultural and social environments in educational contexts. These environments, including familial and societal contexts, serve as reservoirs of historical and cultural knowledge, shaping students’ understanding of the world [19]. CSP advocates for responding to linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism, acknowledging and valuing the diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds of students, creating educational environments that support the thriving of diverse cultural traditions and perspectives, rather than merely accommodating or assimilating them into dominant cultural norms [20].

In summary, this study is informed by CSP’s underscoring of the importance of making meaningful connections between students’ cultural backgrounds and educational experiences [15]. This is particularly meaningful and relevant to this study as the context and participants are situated in urban, multicultural settings and the participants were asked to think about social studies unit plans that respond to linguistic, cultural, and ethnic diversity within the classroom and promote the sustained existence and thriving of diverse cultural practices. Based on these theories that disrupt assimilationist educational practices and policies, the study contributes to fostering a more inclusive and empowering educational experience for all students.

3. Normalizing Translanguaging Practices in Social Studies Classrooms

In recent teacher education content and language studies, many scholars identify the impact and role of asset-based practices in the classroom, particularly for emergent bilingual students. On top of that, in the cases of teaching standalone social studies lessons, due to administrative pressures on reading and math, pre-service teachers do not receive adequate social studies teaching training in their teacher education programs [21]. Effective education for emergent bilingual students requires a dual focus on language development and content area knowledge acquisition. Moreover, Kim and Park [22] found that English as a Second Language (ESOL) teachers showed a greater inclination towards language-integrated content teaching and sensitivity to emergent bilinguals compared to content teachers. However, content teachers in elementary education tended to favor English-only monolingual pedagogy over ESOL teachers. This study stresses the importance of teachers’ ideological beliefs and attitudes towards multilingual learners in content classrooms in teacher education programs [23].

This literature highlights the crucial role of teacher education in equipping educators with the necessary skills and knowledge, as well as asset-based language ideologies, to integrate translanguaging practices into content-based instruction [24]. Translanguaging [18] refers to flexible and dynamic languaging practices where bilingual or multilingual individuals use their full linguistic and cultural repertoire to make meaning, without strict separation between their languages.

Allaire and Miller [21] identify a gap in pre-service teachers’ content knowledge, particularly in social studies. This highlights the need for teacher education programs to equip educators with strong subject matter expertise alongside pedagogical approaches for multilingual learners. To address this gap, Allaire and Miller [21] suggest content-literacy integration activities that utilize fiction and storytelling, which have been traditionally effective in fostering children’s learning and imagination. By integrating alternative materials (e.g., multicultural children’s books) and adopting constructivist teaching methods (e.g., inquiry-based curriculum), pre-service teachers developed broader teaching approaches. These approaches not only create engaging learning environments but also serve as cultural bridges, enabling pre-service teachers to develop broader teaching strategies.

Recognizing this need, Ramirez and Salinas [25] discuss the crucial role teachers play in enacting translanguaging practices to support emergent bilingual students’ language development and content comprehension. They showcase a bilingual secondary school social studies teacher in Arizona who uses translanguaging [18] to empower students to engage critically with civic identities, fostering inclusive discussions and enhancing academic success in diverse educational settings. For example, through activities like journaling in multiple languages, students were encouraged to reflect on community engagement and citizenship issues. The teacher was able to empower students by tapping into their linguistic repertoire in the hybrid language spaces that the teacher created for critical discussions on citizenship.

Empirical research has identified gaps in understanding how pre-service teachers integrate asset-based approaches into their social studies curriculum. Acknowledging these gaps, my objective is to address these nuances within the elementary social studies curriculum. By doing so, I aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of social studies education and provide insights to better prepare and support future educators in multicultural settings.

4. Methodology

4.1. Context

Situated within an urban multicultural public university teacher education program in Southern California, this qualitative study investigates how pre-service teachers integrate asset-based and strength-based pedagogies in their social studies unit plans in the Teaching Social Studies and Content Area Literacy (pseudonym) course. A total of 92 students participated in this study. All participating students are post-baccalaureate students who are pursuing multiple or single subject credentials to teach in the state of California. According to this university’s student demographic data in 2020, this university is known for its racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity with more than 86% students of color and more than 46% first-generation students, and the demographic makeup of the classes closely mirrors that of the university.

Students typically take this course in the last semester as part of the teacher credential pathway sequence. In this course, students are required to complete multiple assignments, such as a family history project and weekly reading responses, and a portfolio, as well as a social studies unit plan (See Appendix A). Students are required to take this course while doing student teaching, i.e., practicum experience in the nearby school districts, which reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of the university. Based on the pre-course survey, I gathered some basic information about the students, including their language and cultural background, as the instructor of the courses. Three-quarters of the students self-identify as bilinguals, particularly Spanish bilinguals, while over 50% of the class are first-generation college students from immigrant backgrounds, mirroring the broader demographic composition of the university’s student body.

In the previous semesters, students were taught different asset-based and strength-based ideologies, emphasizing culturally sustaining pedagogies [13,14,15], funds of knowledge [16], community cultural wealth [17], and translanguaging frameworks [18]. Prior to this course, students were also exposed to different language ideologies such as Egalitarian pluralism, Standard language, Monolingualism, Linguistic purism, English hegemony, English only movement, English supremacy, and One language ideology [23].

4.2. Data Sources and Data Collection

In this social studies unit plan assignment, students were asked to create a unit plan for the grade and topic of their choice. The unit plan consists of three parts: Part 1: Desired Outcomes—goals and unit summary, Part 2: Designing a series of assessment, and Part 3: Five learning activities. Unit planning allows students the freedom to determine the duration of the curriculum based on the topic and their needs, compared to lesson planning, for example. This flexibility enables the integration of multiple activities of their choice, fostering a free and adaptable design. In this study, I have specifically looked at the activities that students came up with in Part 3, where students utilize different strategies and methods to teach social studies in a linguistically and culturally diverse classroom.

The prompt for this Part was: “Explain how the activities in your unit incorporate culturally diverse perspectives or embody culturally responsive pedagogy. For example, do your sources reflect diverse perspectives? Do literature selections and visual images portray diversity? Do you include oral history, drawing on stories and experiences from students’ families and communities? Be specific”.

Data sources encompass qualitative data with pre-course surveys and social studies unit plans from the semesters of Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 (see Appendix A). I conduct the pre-survey in the beginning of the semester to understand and get to know the students’ background. This is collected not as part of the study initially, but later I obtained an Institutional Review Board approval to see how the students are making theory–practice connections. A total of 92 unit plans were collected, 51 from Fall 2021 and 41 from Spring 2022, with an IRB approval obtained post-grade submission, excluding those who did not complete the program.

4.3. Data Analysis

After I anonymized the unit plans by assigning random numbers (e.g., #1–#92), I used NVivo 12 to organize and analyze the data. NVivo was used as a tool for conducting content analysis [26], utilizing both predetermined codes and open coding techniques. Initially, predetermined codes, such as [translanguaging], [funds of knowledge], [culturally relevant pedagogy], as well as some instructional strategies such as [scaffolding], [differentiation], and [accommodation] were applied to segments of data relevant to the research focus (see Appendix B). These codes, derived from existing literature and theoretical frameworks, provided a structured approach to the analysis process [27,28].

Simultaneously, open coding techniques were employed to identify and explore themes and patterns within the data that did not fit neatly into pre-existing categories. This flexible approach allowed for the discovery of new insights and perspectives that enriched the analysis. For example, the code [locally relevant pedagogy] was added to the coding scheme after identifying some unit plan examples that included aspects of the cultural and historical aspect of the local communities and people. For the open coding stages, I have also used a latent coding strategy, taking a more creative and active role on the part of the researcher to identify hidden meanings or ideologies [29,30]. For instance, my understanding of nearby cultures, such as the multilingual environment and materials (i.e., multicultural children’s books that students were using) and ethnographic insights into indigenous communities has given me the power to analyze the data more effectively.

Through iterative cycles of coding and reflection, I systematically organized and synthesized the data, drawing connections between predetermined codes and emergent themes. NVivo 12 was used to create a coding scheme after organizing and visualizing coded data, enhancing transparency and rigor in the analysis process. To ensure and increase reliability, I implemented several strategies. Firstly, I developed a detailed coding scheme based on existing literature and theory, which helped maintain consistency throughout the coding process. Secondly, I conducted an initial round of coding and then revisited the data after a period to check for consistency in my coding decisions. I believe this process helped to validate and enhance the reliability of the findings.

4.4. Positionality

My intellectual and personal identities as a transnational MotherScholar [31] and Asian American identity/Korean immigrant [32,33], affect the way I view this study. This perspective is enriched by my shared linguistic and cultural background with my students, the majority of whom are first-generation college attendees (60%) and bilinguals (75%). In the classroom, my professional endeavors intertwine with personal experiences, as I see a part of the reflections of myself in my students as a bilingual first-generation college student. The fact that I raise two young bilingual children gives me a unique lens to view my students as my children’s future teachers. It is my desire that future educators recognize and appreciate the community cultural wealth, as well as the linguistic and cultural assets, that students bring to school. With that goal in mind, I strive to be a community-based researcher, building a strong reciprocal relationship with the community I serve [34].

5. Findings

The analysis revealed that a significant proportion of the unit plans, specifically 95%, incorporated aspects of culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP). In examining the unit plans developed by pre-service teachers, I have found three prominent [29,30]: (1) locally relevant pedagogy, (2) translanguaging and/or multilingual practices, and (c) inclusive strategies, shedding light on the integration of asset-based pedagogy within the context of bilingual and multicultural education.

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Rooted in the community: Embodying locally relevant pedagogy

One significant aspect observed in the unit plans was the utilization of locally relevant pedagogy, referring to curriculum design that reflects and incorporates the local context, culture, history, and experiences of the students in terms of where they live. Incorporating the stories and contributions of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds resonates with the experiences of bilingual and multicultural students, fostering a sense of cultural pride and connection to the curriculum.

Among CSP identified unit plants, the integration of these themes varied, with 55% of unit plans demonstrating locally relevant pedagogy. For example, one student who was working in a 3rd grade class, created a social studies unit talking about the “Fight for equal education” using the Mendez v. Westminster School District case in 1946, which is the foundational supreme court case bringing an end to school segregation in California and supported later civil rights struggles to end all segregation nationally. Both Sylvia Mendez and Dolores Huerta are iconic figures in American and California’s history, known for their impactful advocacy for civil rights and their leadership in empowering marginalized communities. Sylvia Mendez is an American civil rights activist of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent who played a pivotal role in the desegregation of California schools in the 1940s. Her family’s lawsuit led to the end of school segregation in the state, setting an important precedent for the Brown v. Board of Education supreme court case. Dolores Huerta is a labor leader and civil rights activist of Mexican American heritage, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, alongside Cesar Chavez. Her efforts have left a lasting impact on California’s socio-political landscape and have resonated nationwide in the fight for fair labor practices.

One of the requirements for the unit plan assignment was for students to explain how the activities in the unit incorporate culturally diverse perspectives or embody culturally responsive pedagogy. Here is one of the examples:

• From the beginning of my lesson, I begin to introduce the story of Sylvia Mendez and her fight for equality in schools. I tell students that this case was especially important for them because they attend California schools. Most of my students also come from Hispanic backgrounds, which this story/case focuses on, allowing students to learn how someone like them was able to make a big change. I ask questions of my students to activate and access their funds of knowledge and experiences on this topic. We then move on to the lesson, where we have a read aloud of Separate Is Never Equal [35] that shows what happened to Sylvia and her family, and how they overcame it to bring a change to the school system in California. The book provides images that portray students in my class and in the language that they hear and speak with. In the end, the whole class helps create a timeline of the events that took place in Sylvia’s fight for equality, ending it with primary video sources that show Sylvia talking about her experience and Sylvia receiving the presidential medal of freedom from President Barack Obama. This allows students to see and learn from the real person we are learning about.

As highlighted in the bold lines, the student demonstrated a clear understanding of her students by aiming to establish racial and ethnic connections between them and a historical heroic figure whose impact remains relevant today. Additionally, the student used terms like ‘funds of knowledge’ to refer to the collective capital within the classroom.

Similarly, another student chose to center their unit around Dolores Huerta, a prominent American labor leader and civil rights activist. Their inquiry question, “What were the most important ways that Dolores Huerta made a difference in her community?” set the stage for exploring Huerta’s impactful contributions. Huerta, alongside Cesar Chavez, co-founded the United Farm Workers Association, later merging with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to form the United Farm Workers. This unit was meaningful for the pre-service teachers as well as their future students, because of the strong ethnic, racial, cultural backgrounds that they share. There is an elementary school named after her in the school district in which the pre-service teacher is student teaching. They prepared inquiry questions such as “Is our school named after a famous person? Why?”, “There are a number of schools and streets named after her” by sharing various pictures of Dolores Huerta. They read multicultural children’s books, such as Dolores Huerta: A hero to migrant workers by Sarah Warren [36] for literacy enhancement and strengthened the content–literacy connections.

Lastly, some students honor the indigenous people of Southern California. Many students wanted to move away from just reading the land acknowledgement statement (often starting with “We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the occupied/seized/stolen ancestral/traditional land/territory of the indigenous communities”). One student was asking future students what it meant to acknowledge people the students were learning about.

The sources actually reflect diverse perspectives because they look at more than just one perspective of the T Indigenous (pseudonym) People. Students get to look at the map and get to come up with their own predictions while answering the main questions. There is also visual history, i.e., drawings shown for the students to gain a better understanding.

Another student also shared their plans for including the local indigenous communities in their third-grade social studies unit with the theme of “How did location and environment influence the daily lives of people long ago?” (See Figure 2).

(2) 

Leveraging Linguistic Diversity: Centering Translanguaging and Multilingualism

Another prevalent theme observed in the unit plans was the deliberate incorporation of translanguaging and bilingual strategies to support language development and comprehension among bilingual students. Pre-service teachers demonstrated an understanding of the benefits of leveraging students’ multilingualism as a valuable resource in the learning process.

Among CSP identified unit plants, a little over 70% of the pre-service teachers incorporated translanguaging and/or multilingual practices. The way they implemented these ideas varied, including integrating bilingual materials directly, providing opportunities for students to use their home language alongside English, and scaffolding content instruction to accommodate varying language proficiencies, teachers thus creating inclusive and accessible learning environments.

For example, one student created a unit plan, discussing descriptions of the work that people do and the names of related jobs at the school, in the local community, and from historical accounts aimed at kindergarten by having a translanguaging read-aloud session. Here is the excerpt:

• The read-aloud will use book, Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos by Susan Middleton Elya as a whole class. This book embraces the Spanish language, in which many of the students in the classroom are emergent bilinguals and speak Spanish at home. Students can include their primary language as they develop the English language. It promotes culturally responsive pedagogy by using students’ language as an asset in connecting to their experiences and knowledge. It also includes images that are more inclusive, such as of skin color and gender. Also, to bring in culturally diverse perspectives and culturally responsive pedagogy, the teacher will also ensure having at least two firefighters from different cultures within their local community (students’ family members who are firefighters) as guest speakers. They can share their experience in both English and Spanish. […] Moreover, students get to reflect on their own experiences with firefighters as they listen to the firefighters speak to better comprehend how they have helped and continue to help people in their neighborhoods.

First of all, the fact that this student utilizes a bilingual book incorporating translanguaging shows that she understands what translanguaging is and is determined and serious about integrating it into her class. The book seamlessly weaves Spanish vocabulary into the stories. For example, ‘Bomberos’ in the title means firefighters in English. The four characters bear names commonly found in Spanish-speaking communities: Juan, José, Carlota, and Héctor. The book demonstrates how translanguaging operates, as seen in phrases like ‘(i.e., ‘Aim el agua, hear the sizzle—soon they make las flamas fizzle!’) as well as including a Spanish–English glossary.

As highlighted in the bold lines from the excerpt, this student demonstrates an understanding of her students, noting that many are emergent bilinguals who speak Spanish at home. She encourages students to use their primary language and share their experiences in both English and Spanish. Even though it is not a dual language bilingual education classroom, she understands the importance of promoting linguistic equity and justice, reflecting the linguistic capital of the classroom.

Additionally, although not highlighted in the excerpt, the student employs terms such as ‘culturally responsive pedagogy’ to articulate her intention to use students’ languages as assets in connecting to their experiences and knowledge. For instance, she stated, ‘To bring in culturally diverse perspectives and culturally responsive pedagogy, the teacher will ensure to have at least two firefighters from different cultures within their local community (students’ family members who are firefighters) as guest speakers.’ This serves as evidence of her commitment to culturally sustaining educational principles.

Other students have also used multicultural children’s books utilizing translanguaging in their social studies units including Abuela [39] and I love Saturdays y domingos [40].

(3) 

Supporting and empowering learners through inclusive pedagogies

The pre-service teachers recognized and effectively demonstrated the importance of the crucial role of subject-specific literacy in fostering engagement and participation among emergent bilingual students. Notably, all but a few of the CSPs identified unit plans incorporating some form of inclusive pedagogies. Specifically, over 87 out of 92 unit plans (95%) included content domain-specific knowledge and language objectives. These ranged from broad sentence structures to detailed word-level comprehension skills, emphasizing the essential connection between language and content mastery.

Students used various student-centric methods, such as (a) scaffolding, (b) differentiation, and (c) accommodation to effectively tailor instruction. For example, one student created an 8th grade social studies unit on labor unions. Starting with introducing key vocabulary (i.e., union, labor, migrant, solidarity, etc.), warm-up materials (i.e., YouTube and TikTok contents about street food workers and farmworkers) and shared essential questions, he created multiple interactive activities that utilized different strategies to meet the diverse needs of students. I have indicated such evidence in brackets in Figure 3, which I observed from this particular example:

This student clearly understands that employing these approaches will enhance not only students’ language acquisition but also cultivate deeper conceptual understanding for all students. Note also that the student is using small groups, whole groups, homogeneous pairs, and differentiated groups in various activities, demonstrating his ability to structure the same activity for different target audiences. This inclusive educational framework supports emergent bilinguals in overcoming language barriers while recognizing that everyone can learn if teachers can provide enriching educational experience for a more equitable and empowering learning environment.

6. Discussion

Overall, the analysis of pre-service teachers’ unit plans demonstrates a strong commitment to integrating asset-based pedagogy within the framework of bilingual and multicultural education. Through the deliberate incorporation of culturally sustaining pedagogy, ranging from locally relevant pedagogy, translanguaging and bilingual strategies, as well as the adoption of inclusive learner-centered pedagogies, the pre-service teachers exhibited a proactive effort in creating learning materials that embrace and honor students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

To directly answer the first research question, the participating pre-service teachers have integrated asset-based and strength-based ideologies into their social studies unit plans by recognizing and leveraging the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the local students that they serve. This approach acknowledges the importance of culturally sustaining pedagogy honoring what students bring to the classroom and aims to connect curriculum content to their lived experiences, thereby promoting a more responsive educational environment. By integrating culturally sustaining pedagogy, educators actively work to sustain and foster students’ cultural and linguistic identities. This means not only recognizing and valuing students’ diverse backgrounds but also creating opportunities for these identities to thrive within the educational setting. This approach ensures that students see their cultures and languages reflected in the curriculum, which helps to validate their experiences and promotes greater engagement and investment in their learning. Ultimately, culturally sustaining pedagogy fosters an inclusive and equitable educational environment, where all students feel respected, valued, and empowered to succeed.

For the second research question, the participating pre-service teachers integrated bilingual/multilingual pedagogies by utilizing bilingual resources and translanguaging strategies in their social studies curriculum. They incorporate books and materials that seamlessly weave together multiple languages, allowing students to draw on their linguistic repertoires. This practice not only supports language acquisition but also validates students’ linguistic identities and promotes engagement and comprehension in the subject matter. Moreover, these strategies encourage pre-service teachers to see their own linguistic skills as valuable assets rather than deficits, fostering a sense of pride and ownership in their teaching. The use of translanguaging enables students to access complex content in ways that resonate with their lived experiences, bridging gaps between home and school languages. The implications of these findings suggest that educators should be deliberate in selecting and implementing bilingual resources that reflect their students’ linguistic backgrounds. By doing so, they can cultivate a learning environment that not only enhances academic achievement but also promotes inclusivity and respect for linguistic diversity.

While the emphasis on asset-based pedagogy was observed, the direct inclusion of social justice topics—such as examining power dynamics, systemic inequalities, and empowering marginalized voices, including students of color and immigrant and/or bilingual students—was somewhat absent. Asset-based content and language education coupled with social justice approaches will make a broader and stronger impact on students by promoting empathy and advocating for positive change. Moving forward, continued support and professional development in asset-based pedagogy and social justice education can be provided for these students.

7. Conclusions

This study examines 92 pre-service teachers’ social studies unit plans that utilize culturally sustaining pedagogy including funds of knowledge and locally relevant pedagogy, crafting inclusive and culturally responsive learning environments for multilingual students. The pre-service teachers employed strategies, including the use of locally relevant materials, bilingual/multicultural texts, translanguaging practices, and learner-centric approaches, such as differentiation, scaffolding, and accommodation. By scrutinizing these unit plans, the findings uncovered relevant strategies and practices that leverage students’ diverse backgrounds and experiences to enrich their educational journey.

Based on these findings, teacher preparation programs can better equip future educators with the tools and knowledge necessary to meet the diverse needs of students in today’s classrooms. Moreover, social studies curriculum developers can use these findings to design curricula that embrace diversity and promote inclusivity, fostering an educational environment where all students feel valued and supported. Additionally, teacher preparation programs should emphasize the importance of translanguaging and provide future educators with the tools and confidence to integrate these strategies effectively.

Furthermore, this study contributes to the broader conversation on equity, diversity, and inclusion in education by highlighting the pivotal role of culturally sustaining pedagogy for emergent bilinguals in subject matter classes, including social studies. By highlighting the achievements of the heroes that students identify with, in indigenous communities nearby, within the social studies curriculum, pre-service teachers demonstrate a commitment to recognizing and valuing the cultural diversity present in their classrooms. This approach not only facilitates language acquisition but also validates students’ linguistic identities, contributing to their overall academic success. By acknowledging and embracing the diverse linguistic backgrounds of students, educators create an environment where learners feel valued and respected for their language skills.

When students see their languages and cultures represented and celebrated in the classroom, they are more likely to engage actively in learning and develop a positive attitude towards education. This, in turn, fosters a sense of belonging and confidence, which are crucial factors in academic achievement. Furthermore, validating students’ linguistic identities promotes a deeper understanding of content, as students are able to draw on their linguistic repertoires to make connections and construct meaning. Ultimately, by honoring and leveraging the linguistic diversity within the classroom, educators empower students to succeed academically while fostering a more inclusive and equitable learning environment.