Adriana Alvarez is Assistant Professor in the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education program. Her research interests center on biliteracy and family engagement with a focus on equity-oriented and strength-based approaches in Spanish-speaking communities. She was a bilingual teacher for eleven years in the border community of El Paso, Texas prior to receiving her PhD in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Areas of Expertise
- Bilingual Education
- Biliteracy
- Family-school partnerships
- Funds of Knowledge/Identity
- Culturally and linguistically diverse education
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- 2017 Ph.D. Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity University of Colorado – Boulder
- 2017 Culture, Language, and Social Practice Graduate Certificate Program. Linguistics Department, University of Colorado – Boulder
- 2006 M.Ed. Instructional Specialist in Bilingual Education University of Texas at El Paso
- 2001 B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies in Bilingual Education, University of Texas at El Paso
Awards
- 2019 Colorado Association for Bilingual Education Board Award Awarded to the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education Faculty at the University of Colorado Denver, Colorado Association for Bilingual Education
- 2017 Outstanding Ph.D. Graduate School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder
- 2012-2017 Miramontes Scholars Doctoral Fellowship University of Colorado Boulder
Affiliations
- Faculty Fellow, Renée Crown Wellness Institute, University of Colorado Boulder -
- Affiliated Faculty, Culture, Language, and Social Practice (CLASP), University of Colorado Boulder
Publications and Presentations
Peer-reviewed Articles:
- McKimmy, C., Peña Teeters, L., Alvarez, A., Boeldt, D., Carol, E., Pacheco, J., Yamamoto, F., Shedro, M., Zigarelli, J., & Dimidjian, S. (2021). “Nuestra escuela, nuestras voces” (our school, our voices): Using photovoice to promote compassion in schools. Journal of Latinos and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2021.1979556
- Alvarez, A. (2021). Agentive roles and metalinguistic negotiations: The linguistic capital in interactions between parents and children from Mexican immigrant backgrounds. Journal of Language, Identity and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2021.1954004
- Alvarez, A. & Butvilofsky, S. (2021). The biliterate writing development of bilingual first graders. Bilingual Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2021.1950075
- Alvarez, A. (2021). The perspectives and experiences of families from Mexican immigrant backgrounds with collaborative project-based learning in their children’s bilingual classroom. Journal of Latinos and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2021.1935257
- Alvarez, A. (2021). Connecting funds of knowledge to funds of identity through a bilingual multimodal project-based approach. International Journal of Education for Social Justice, 10(1), 105-124. https://doi.org/10.15366/riejs2021.10.1.007
- Peña Teeters, L., McKimmy, C., Shedro, M., Ashar, Y., Alvarez, A., Price, E., Dimidjian, S. (2021). Teaching as mediation: Exploring the impacts of a teacher training program on generating social and emotional learning environments. Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, 10(1) , 25-46. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/jtee/issue/62163/742982
- Peña Teeters, L., Shedro, M., Alvarez, A., McKimmy, C., Dimidjian, S. (2021). Teaching as mediation: The influence of professional development on teacher identity in Mexico City public schools. The Teacher Educator. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2021.1916141
- Alvarez, A., Peña Teeters, L., Hamm-Rodriguez, M. & Dimidjian, S. (2021). Understanding children’s funds of Identity for learning through multimodal self-expressions in Mexico City. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 29(100513). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2021.100513
- Bernstein, K., Alvarez, A., Chaparro, S. & Henderson, K. (2021). “We live in the age of choice”: school administrators, school choice policies, and the shaping of dual language bilingual education. Language Policy, 20(3), 383–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-021-09578-0
- Alvarez, A. (2020). Experiential knowledge as capital and resistance among families from Mexican immigrant backgrounds. Equity & Excellence in Education, 53(4), 483-504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2020.1791766
- Alvarez, A. (2018). Experiential knowledge and project-based learning in bilingual classrooms. Bank Street Occasional Paper Series: Supporting Young Children of Immigrants in PreK-3, 39, 1-18. https://educate.bankstreet.edu/occasional-paper-series/vol2018/iss39/8/
- Alvarez, A. (2018). Drawn and written funds of knowledge: A window into emerging bilingual children’s experiences and social interpretations through their written narratives and drawings. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 18(1), 97-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798417740618
Book Chapters
- Alvarez, A. (2022). Multimodality as a Pathway to Bilingual Learners’ Funds of Knowledge. In L. Hao & S. Brown (Eds.), Multimodal literacies in young emergent bilinguals: Beyond print-centric practices. Multilingual Matters.
