Unequal Languagehoods: Pre-Service Teacher Language Beliefs about Different Child Migrants

This paper reports the findings of qualitative research study investigating the language beliefs 92 pre-service teachers (PSTs) at a southeastern flagship institution in the United States, expressed about different types of child migrants. Language beliefs pre-service teachers have about two subgroups of child migrants – Third Culture Kids and child immigrants were analyzed employing language ideology and folk linguistics as conceptual lenses. The purpose of this study was to add to the extant research on child mobility studies and PST beliefs. Findings revealed PSTs voiced different beliefs about socio-politically constructed White and Black child migrants and child immigrants, although their language abilities were the same. This paper concludes by discussing the significance of these findings to teacher preparation programs.