UCI Alum, Harvard Professor Shares Research on Southern California’s Undocumented Youth
By Virginia Panish
February 19, 2020
Dr. Roberto Gonzales, Professor of Education at Harvard University, UCI alum, and author of Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America, delivered the first lecture in the UCI School of Education’s Equity and Inclusion Speaker series on September 25, 2019. The impetus for this event was a shared reading assigned to the incoming 2019-20 Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and CalTeach candidates. Program leadership wanted to forefront our commitment to equity and social justice as the new pre-service teachers entered the program, and Dr. Gonzales’s research exploring the lives of undocumented youth in southern California was a powerful way to communicate this commitment. In his lecture, “Lives Still in Limbo: (Un)DACAmented and Navigating Uncertain Futures”, Dr. Gonzales explored the capacity for schooling to both contribute to a sense of belonging for undocumented youth and foster profound alienation.
Dr. Gonzales’s research on the experiences of undocumented youth in various school and community contexts resonated with our candidates for several reasons. Many candidates who grew up in Southern California recognized the experiences of the participants as similar to those of their family and friends. Others responded to the salience and urgency of the issue at a time when political messages and actions are demonizing and punishing immigrant youth and their families. In follow-up course discussions, all of the candidates considered how they could better support and advocate for the undocumented K-12 students in their own diverse classrooms.
Virginia Panish is Director of the UCI School of Education’s MAT + Credential Program