Including indigenous language instruction in higher education: the case of Nahuatl

This dissertation involves a qualitative case study investigating the perceptions and experiences of eight university professionals who worked to include instruction in a modern variant of the Nahuatl indigenous language at seven U.S. universities. This study draws from data collected through semi-structured interviews with professors and program directors directly involved in advocating for and sustaining their respective institution’s Nahuatl language courses. This case investigated two key areas: (1) considerations underlying the decision to advocate for a specific indigenous language curriculum; and (2) factors that might contribute to the longevity or long-term success of indigenous language courses within U.S. higher education institutions. The findings show that for indigenous language curriculum to be added to, and subsequently to thrive within, U.S. higher education, certain elements are important. There needs to be strong interest in the subject area from both students and faculty, and a great deal of collaboration within and between institutions is essential. Through those collaborations, universities share the burdens and responsibilities associated with onboarding a language for which there may be no trained faculty within their respective schools. Through collaboration, concerns related to factors such as enrollment numbers, cost-sharing and Title VI funding, curriculum and materials, and expert native-speaking and culturally competent faculty may be successfully addressed. Collaborations between institutions also facilitates partnerships with indigenous organizations that may not otherwise function within the structures and expectations of U.S. higher education institutions, allowing for the incorporation of community-based curriculum, with both teachers and materials. And in this case, an indigenous organization that is rooted within the conceptual framework of Indigenous Language Revitalization (ILR). The findings of this dissertation evidenced that the pedagogical model developed by Instituto de Docencia e Investigacion Etnologica de Zacatecas ii (IDIEZ) is such a program for the Nahuatl language and one that successfully answers many practical problems related to incorporating indigenous languages into institutions of higher education.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Vigil, Jami

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kang, Hyun-Sook
• Davila, Liv T
• Herrera, Linda
• Witt, Allison

• Nahuatl
• Indigenous Language Instruction In U.S. Higher Education
• Educational Language Policy And Practice
• Language Loss
• Language Shift
• Indigenous Language Revitalization
• Language Reclamation
• Less Commonly Taught Languages
• Sleeping Languages
• Language Rights
• Applied Linguistics
• Eco-linguistic Language Theory
• Idiez

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Jami Vigil

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124559

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F124559