Maliheh Mansuripur Vafai - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Maliheh Mansuripur Vafai

Research paper thumbnail of Contextualized Workforce Skills and ESL Learner Identity

The CATESOL Journal, 2016

This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners’ motivational pat... more This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners’ motivational patterns for learning English and its relevance to their career goals. It looks at past patterns of immigrant insertion within the socioeconomic context of the US and explores current trends in adult ESL curriculum development focused on the task of “career readiness.” Drawing on Norton-Peirce’s (1995, 1997) concept of “investment” in second language learning, research for this study poses the question of curriculum relevance to student aspirations, implicating aspects of learner identity and various modes of belonging. The study contributes to the understanding of ESL learners’ positioning vis-à-vis curriculum change while reflecting on the extent of learner autonomy in the face of structural limitations.

Research paper thumbnail of Introduction to the Theme Section: Language, Identity, and the Legacy of Colonialism

This short paper serves as an introduction to the contributions of authors in the 2017 spring the... more This short paper serves as an introduction to the contributions of authors in the 2017 spring theme section of CATESOL journal (Volume 29, Number 1). The full issue is available at http://www.catesoljournal.org/

Research paper thumbnail of Contextualized Workforce Skills and ESL Learner Identity (CATESOL Journal, 2016)

This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners' motivational pat... more This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners' motivational patterns for learning English and its relevance to their career goals. It looks at past patterns of immigrant insertion within the socioeconomic context of the US and explores current trends in adult ESL curriculum development focused on the task of " career readiness. " Drawing on Norton-Peirce's (1995, 1997) concept of " investment " in second language learning , research for this study poses the question of curriculum relevance to student aspirations, implicating aspects of learner identity and various modes of belonging. The study contributes to the understanding of ESL learners' positioning vis-à-vis curriculum change while reflecting on the extent of learner autonomy in the face of structural limitations.

Research paper thumbnail of TRANSITIONS TO MIDDLE-SKILL JOBS: PATHWAYS INTO THE NEW RACIO—ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE 21st CENTURY (Educational Studies, 2016)

Abstract College and Career Pathways is an educational policy initiative widely acclaimed as a c... more Abstract

College and Career Pathways is an educational policy initiative widely acclaimed as a commonsensical and effective measure to ease students’ transitions between secondary and postsecondary education and into the middle-skill jobs. This paper investigates the internal dynamics of the Pathways’ curricular model as well as its underpinning assumptions and implications. First, it situates this development within the broader context of school-to-work reform efforts and explores its connections to the neoliberal ideological thinking. Drawing on Leonardo’s (2012) critical raceclass theory of education as a conceptual lens, and with close attention to the new order of job categories, it then examines the rise of Pathways in light of the realities of class, race, and the asymmetrical power relations that characterize the modern nation state. The article concludes that pathways is best understood when situated within the dynamics of production and reproduction of a new class of workers for the new racio-economic structure of the 21st century.
Keywords: educational policy, neoliberalism, pathways, political economy, raceclass theory

Research paper thumbnail of Citizenship Education and the Colonial Contract: The Elusive Search for Social Justice in U.S. Education (with Zeus Leonardo, Palgrave International Handbook of Education for Citizenship and Social Justice)

This chapter focuses on the historical and current conceptions of citizenship and models of educa... more This chapter focuses on the historical and current conceptions of citizenship and models of education for citizenship in the U.S. The authors begin with reflections on the country’s colonial conditions and colonial understanding of the “human” that continues defining what it means to achieve the American identity and therefore the status of a citizen. Building on this definition, the chapter expands on the politics of immigrant incorporation into American citizenship and civics education as a process of subject-making with the end goal of social control. The authors argue that the same ideology of assimilation to the socio-economic ‘norm’ that undergirded much of the Americanization campaign of the 20th century, is now guiding a form of neoliberal Americanization in the 21st century in attempts to invent a new “human” under the regime of market fundamentalism.

Research paper thumbnail of The Politics of "21st Century Skills" Pedagogy: Understanding the Dynamics of a New Trend in Adult ESL and its Implications for Practice (Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 2014)

Abstract: This paper examines the extent of implementation of policies designed to help adult Eng... more Abstract: This paper examines the extent of implementation of policies designed to help adult English learners master work-readiness skills. Reflecting on the philosophies behind such policies, it addresses the ‘21st Century Skills’ discourse through the lens of current intersections of three concerns: The occupational use of public schooling; its ideological underpinnings in perpetuating inequalities; and the feasibility of its implementation in the practice phase. Findings point to the ambivalence of practitioners towards a one-size-fits-all solution to complex problems.

Drafts by Maliheh Mansuripur Vafai

Research paper thumbnail of Intro to the Spring Issue of CATESOL JOURNAL Theme Section: Doing Identity Work in ESL Learning and Teaching

Research paper thumbnail of Contextualized Workforce Skills and ESL Learner Identity

The CATESOL Journal, 2016

This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners’ motivational pat... more This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners’ motivational patterns for learning English and its relevance to their career goals. It looks at past patterns of immigrant insertion within the socioeconomic context of the US and explores current trends in adult ESL curriculum development focused on the task of “career readiness.” Drawing on Norton-Peirce’s (1995, 1997) concept of “investment” in second language learning, research for this study poses the question of curriculum relevance to student aspirations, implicating aspects of learner identity and various modes of belonging. The study contributes to the understanding of ESL learners’ positioning vis-à-vis curriculum change while reflecting on the extent of learner autonomy in the face of structural limitations.

Research paper thumbnail of Introduction to the Theme Section: Language, Identity, and the Legacy of Colonialism

This short paper serves as an introduction to the contributions of authors in the 2017 spring the... more This short paper serves as an introduction to the contributions of authors in the 2017 spring theme section of CATESOL journal (Volume 29, Number 1). The full issue is available at http://www.catesoljournal.org/

Research paper thumbnail of Contextualized Workforce Skills and ESL Learner Identity (CATESOL Journal, 2016)

This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners' motivational pat... more This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners' motivational patterns for learning English and its relevance to their career goals. It looks at past patterns of immigrant insertion within the socioeconomic context of the US and explores current trends in adult ESL curriculum development focused on the task of " career readiness. " Drawing on Norton-Peirce's (1995, 1997) concept of " investment " in second language learning , research for this study poses the question of curriculum relevance to student aspirations, implicating aspects of learner identity and various modes of belonging. The study contributes to the understanding of ESL learners' positioning vis-à-vis curriculum change while reflecting on the extent of learner autonomy in the face of structural limitations.

Research paper thumbnail of TRANSITIONS TO MIDDLE-SKILL JOBS: PATHWAYS INTO THE NEW RACIO—ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE 21st CENTURY (Educational Studies, 2016)

Abstract College and Career Pathways is an educational policy initiative widely acclaimed as a c... more Abstract

College and Career Pathways is an educational policy initiative widely acclaimed as a commonsensical and effective measure to ease students’ transitions between secondary and postsecondary education and into the middle-skill jobs. This paper investigates the internal dynamics of the Pathways’ curricular model as well as its underpinning assumptions and implications. First, it situates this development within the broader context of school-to-work reform efforts and explores its connections to the neoliberal ideological thinking. Drawing on Leonardo’s (2012) critical raceclass theory of education as a conceptual lens, and with close attention to the new order of job categories, it then examines the rise of Pathways in light of the realities of class, race, and the asymmetrical power relations that characterize the modern nation state. The article concludes that pathways is best understood when situated within the dynamics of production and reproduction of a new class of workers for the new racio-economic structure of the 21st century.
Keywords: educational policy, neoliberalism, pathways, political economy, raceclass theory

Research paper thumbnail of Citizenship Education and the Colonial Contract: The Elusive Search for Social Justice in U.S. Education (with Zeus Leonardo, Palgrave International Handbook of Education for Citizenship and Social Justice)

This chapter focuses on the historical and current conceptions of citizenship and models of educa... more This chapter focuses on the historical and current conceptions of citizenship and models of education for citizenship in the U.S. The authors begin with reflections on the country’s colonial conditions and colonial understanding of the “human” that continues defining what it means to achieve the American identity and therefore the status of a citizen. Building on this definition, the chapter expands on the politics of immigrant incorporation into American citizenship and civics education as a process of subject-making with the end goal of social control. The authors argue that the same ideology of assimilation to the socio-economic ‘norm’ that undergirded much of the Americanization campaign of the 20th century, is now guiding a form of neoliberal Americanization in the 21st century in attempts to invent a new “human” under the regime of market fundamentalism.

Research paper thumbnail of The Politics of "21st Century Skills" Pedagogy: Understanding the Dynamics of a New Trend in Adult ESL and its Implications for Practice (Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 2014)

Abstract: This paper examines the extent of implementation of policies designed to help adult Eng... more Abstract: This paper examines the extent of implementation of policies designed to help adult English learners master work-readiness skills. Reflecting on the philosophies behind such policies, it addresses the ‘21st Century Skills’ discourse through the lens of current intersections of three concerns: The occupational use of public schooling; its ideological underpinnings in perpetuating inequalities; and the feasibility of its implementation in the practice phase. Findings point to the ambivalence of practitioners towards a one-size-fits-all solution to complex problems.