“We Weren’t Really Welcomed”: Navigating Deficit Ideologies Toward Multilingual Learners Within Community-Based Field Experiences

This study explores how teacher education programs can better prepare teachers to support K12 multilingual learners by incorporating community-based experiences that center the expertise of ethnic community-based organizations (ECBOs). Research demonstrates the affordances of community-based experiences for countering deficit ideologies, but missing is an emphasis on experiences specific to multilingual, immigrant/refugee students. To address this gap, we engaged in a collaborative project between a university-based teacher education program, a local ECBO, and a local high school. Using a qualitative approach informed by critical language teacher education and culturally sustaining pedagogy, this study highlights the need for teachers to actively counter deficit approaches and sustain multilingualism. Findings reveal challenges in navigating contexts, with participants perceiving the school environment as hostile towards themselves and multilingual learners. This study contributes to critical language teacher education that centers and sustains the linguistic and cultural identities of multilingual students in the face of pervasive deficit ideologies.