Abstract

Leadership takes on a tone of urgency when we are struggling for justice. At the same time, the right to lead – the agency to embrace a leadership identity – can also feel more distant when we are marginalized by the dominant society. For bilingual education teachers working with immigrant communities, the development of critical consciousness, pride in the cultural and linguistic resources of the bilingual community, the vocabulary to name and face marginalization, and a strong professional network are fundamental to their development of professional identities as leaders and advocates. Based on the experiences of 53 Spanish-English bilingual teachers in Central Texas, this book aims to explore, define, and understand bilingual teacher leadership. It merges the themes of leadership, teacher preparation and bilingual education and is essential reading for bilingual or ESL teachers, teacher educators and researchers serving an increasingly transnational/translingual student body.

Deborah K. Palmer is a Professor in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA. She conducts qualitative research using ethnography and discourse analysis in linguistically diverse settings, with a particular interest in bilingual education policy and politics, critical additive bilingual education, and translanguaging.

I highly recommend Palmer's Teacher Leadership for Social Change in Bilingual and Bicultural Education for use in preparing bilingual teacher leaders. This book is an excellent resource and a source of inspiration for aspirant bilingual teacher leaders as they engage in their own transformational journey and in transforming the world.

Kudos to Deborah Palmer for this timely and engaging account on the development of strong and professional identities among the bilingual teachers whose lives she touched. It captures the development of an enduring Central Texas language ecology in which she was not only deeply involved, but also pivotal in its development. This inspiring text is a must-read for all who seek to cultivate critically conscious teachers.