Deborah Palmer

  • Professor and Chair
  • EQUITY, BILINGUALISM & BILITERACY
  • BUENO CENTER
Address

Miramontes Baca Education Building, Room 300G
University of Colorado Boulder
249 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309

I am a Professor in the program in Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy in the School of Education, a faculty associate with the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, and affiliate faculty in the Department of Ethnic Studies and the Culture, Language and Social Practice (CLASP) Program. Formerly a dual language bilingual teacher in Redwood City, California and bilingual teacher educator at the University of Texas at Austin, I conduct qualitative research using ethnographic and discourse analytic methods in culturally and linguistically diverse schools and classrooms. My interests include bilingual education policy and politics; dual language bilingual education; teacher preparation for linguistically and culturally diverse teaching contexts; and issues of language, power and identity in schools. I led study abroad programs for education students at the University of Texas at Austin to Cuernavaca, Mexico in 2007, and to Antigua, Guatemala in 2013 and 2015. I have two recent books (2023), both co-edited with colleagues: “Critical Consciousness in Dual Language Bilingual Education: Case Studies on Policy and Practice” (Routledge) and “Gentrification and Bilingual Education: A Texas TWBE School Across Seven Years” (Lexington). My 2018 book (Multilingual Matters) related to bilingual teacher education was titled Teacher Leadership for Social Change in Bilingual/Bicultural Education.

Soy Profesora del programa de Equidad, Bilingüismo y Bi-literacidad​ en la Facultad de Educación; facultad asociada con el Centro BUENO de Education Multicultural, y afiliada con el departamento de Estudios Etnias y el programa de cultura, lenguaje y práctica social (CLASP por sus cifras en inglés). Anteriormente maestra de educación bilingüe de lenguaje dual en California y profesora de docencia bilingüe en Texas, llevo a cabo investigaciones cualitativas usando métodos de etnografía y análisis de discurso en contextos de diversidad lingüística. Mis intereses incluyen la educación bilingüe, el lenguaje dual, y la política y pedagogía de la enseñanza de estudiantes emergentes bilingües en escuelas públicas; la preparación de docentes para escuelas diversas; y asuntos del lenguaje, el poder y la identidad.  

Ph.D. (2004) Education in Language, Literacy and Culture, University of California, Berkeley, CA

M.A. (2000) Education in Language, Literacy and Culture, University of California, Berkeley, CA

Bilingual/Cross-cultural Language in Academic Development Supplement (BCLAD) (1996) 

California Multiple Subject K-12 Teaching Credential (1992) Mills College, Oakland CA. (renewed to 2030)

B.A. (1991) Anthropology with Humanities Honors, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Full CV

BOOKS

Palmer, D., Caldas, C., Herrera, L. & Faltis, C. (under contract) Handbook of bilingual teacher education. DeGruyter Mouton.

Dorner, L., Palmer, D., Cervantes-Soon, C., Crawford, E. & *Heiman, D. (2023) Critical Consciousness in Dual Language Bilingual Education: Case Studies on Policy and Practice. Routledge.

Palmer, D. & *García-Mateus, S. (2023) Gentrification and bilingual education: A Texas TWBE school across seven years. Lexington Books.

Henderson, K. & Palmer, D. (2020) Dual language bilingual education: Teacher cases and perspectives on large-scale implementation. Multilingual Matters.

Palmer, D. (2018) Teacher leadership for social change in bilingual/bicultural education. Multilingual Matters.

SELECTED JOURNAL ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS

Hamman-Ortiz, L., Dougherty, C., Tian, Z., Palmer, D., & Poza, L. (2025) Translanguaging in U.S. PK-12 schools: A review of the research. System.

Palmer, D.K., Cervantes-Soon, C.G. & Freire, J.A. (2024) When you let white kids in the door: Unpacking whiteness in DLBE. In: A. Kibler, A. Walqui, G. Bunch & C. Faltis, Eds. Courageous contributions: Guadalupe Valdés’ enduring work toward equity in multilingual schools and communities. Multilingual Matters.

Menard-Warwick, J. & Palmer, D. (2023). “Research Shows:” Authoritative discourse in dual language across two school districts. Anthropology & Education Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1111/aeq.12462

*Heiman, D., Cervantes-Soon, C., Dorner, L. & Palmer, D. (2023) Establishing a transformative foundation for dual language bilingual education: Critical consciousness at the core. In: J.A. Freire, E. de Jong & C. Alfaro, Eds. Handbook of Dual Language Bilingual Education. 

*Hurie, A. & Palmer, D. (2022) Selling English-Medium Schooling in Multilingual Communities: A Typology of Choice Schools’ Marketing Strategies on the Near South Side of Milwaukee. Education Policy Analysis Archives. 30, (28). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6359 

Palmer, D. (2019) “You’re not a Spanish speaker!/We are all bilingual” The purple kids on being and becoming bilingual in a dual language kindergarten classroom. In: Faltis, C. & MacSwan, J. Eds. Code-Switching in the Classroom:  A Multilingual Perspective on Language and Language Practices. Routledge, pp.247-267.

Palmer, D., Cervantes-Soon, C., Dorner, L., & *Heiman, D. (2019) Bilingualism, Biliteracy, Biculturalism… and Critical Consciousness for All: Proposing a Fourth Fundamental Principle for Two-Way Dual Language Education. Theory Into Practice, 58(2), 121-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1569376.

*Henderson, K. & Palmer, D. (2019) “I wonder why they don’t do the two-way”: Disrupting the one-way/two-way dichotomy, re-envisioning the possibilities of dual language bilingual education. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 9(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/26390043.2019.1589292.

Cervantes-Soon, C., Dorner, L., Palmer, D., Heiman, D., Schwerdtfeger, R., & Choi, J. (2017) Combating inequalities in two-way language immersion programs: Toward critical consciousness in bilingual education spaces. Review of Research in Education.

Palmer, D., Zuñiga, C. & Henderson, K. (2015) A dual language revolution in the United States? From compensatory to enrichment bilingual education in Texas. In: Wright, W., Boun, S., & Garcia, O. (Eds.) Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education, Wiley-Blackwell.

Palmer, D.K. & Martínez, R.A. (2013) Teacher agency in bilingual spaces:  A fresh look at preparing teachers to educate Latino/a bilingual children. Review of Research in Education, 37(1), 269-297.

Palmer, D. (2010). Race, power, and equity in a multiethnic urban elementary school with a dual immersion “strand” program. Anthropology in Education Quarterly, 41(1), 94-114.

Palmer, D. (2009). Middle-class English speakers in a two-way immersion bilingual classroom: “Everybody should be listening to Jonathan right now…” TESOL Quarterly, 43(2), 177-202.

MEDIA/TALKS, MAGAZINE ARTICLES, AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS 

Caldas, B., Rubio, B., Heiman, D., Palmer, D. & Martínez, M. (2021) Cultivating bilingual education leaders: Tensions, successes and lessons learned at graduate school level. Webinar, B-MEIS, TESOL International, February 10, 2021. https://youtu.be/shFEzKJ59d8

Palmer, D. & McGrath, A. (2021) Language, Leadership and BIPOC Students. Podcast, Center for Leadership’s Leadership Frontiers Podcast Series, University of Colorado Boulder, https://www.colorado.edu/lead/news-events/leadership-frontiers-podcast.

Henderson, K.I., Ortega, E. & Palmer, D. (2021). “I’m kind of a rebel here”: Documenting the greatest challenges of bilingual teachers during a pandemic. Multilingual Educator, Spring 2021, (pp.86-88). https://www.gocabe.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ME_2021-FINAL.pdf 

Palmer, D. (2021) Teaching for equity in two-way dual language education: The hidden curriculum behind what we teach and how we teach. Multilingual Educator, Spring 2021, (pp.107-110)  https://www.gocabe.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ME_2021-FINAL.pdf 

Heiman, D., Cervantes-Soon, C., Dorner, L. & Palmer, D. (November 8, 2020) Critical consciousness at the core: Ensuring equity for transnational emerging bilinguals in US language education programs. Webinar, Center for Transnational & Multilingual Education, Georgia State University, November 8, 2020.  https://tinyurl.com/y4x2wsyl 

Wagstaffe, J.P. & Palmer, D. (2019). Do middle-class native English-speaking children dominate bilingual programs in America?. OASIS Summary of Palmer, D. (2009) in TESOL Quarterly. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/qb98mf49p?locale=en 

*Fine, C., Palmer, D., & *Strong, K.A. (2019) The impact of language ideologies in schools. Educational Leadership, Dec/Jan, 77(4), 58-65. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-impact-of-language-ideologies-in-schools 

Caminos hacia el bilingüismo: Engaging high school students in collaborative research to support multilingual youth. (Co-PI: Michelle Valladares, NEPC/Research Hub for Youth Organizing). We are building community research collaboratives with two Colorado high schools to support bringing multilingual youth voices into policy conversations through youth participatory action research. Participating in our projects, youth develop their own biliteracy and their skills to carry out research and communicate with a range of audiences. They have the opportunity to earn credit for their work in high school and at CU Boulder. Students have advocated for enhanced high school biliteracy programming and presented comprehensive plans for better supporting bi/multilingual youth in their schools and districts; they have presented to their own school/district leadership, to regional conferences, and at AERA.

Transformative Inquiry: Fostering teacher advocacy, agency and leadership in bilingual/CLD education through teacher action research. Practicing teachers in the BUENO-EBB CLD Master’s Degree program carry out classroom-based inquiry projects for their capstones. Over the course of two semesters, they explore the literature on a topic of their choice. They learn about research methods, and then design and carry out a project to answer a problem/challenge of practice in their own context. Teacher inquiry has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for professional development as well as a potential instigator of transformative change in schools and districts. This project explores our students’ experiences with this year-long project, asking how their professional identities, agency and leadership capacity might be influenced by the opportunity to ask and answer a question relevant to their own professional practice. 

Critical Consciousness and Equity in Two-Way dual language bilingual education (DLBE). Because it brings together often widely diverse communities to share the same classrooms, curriculum, and experiences, two-way DLBE represents the promise of public education in our democratic society. In light of recent research (including my 2023 book) drawing attention to the potential risks of ‘gentrification’  and inequality in two-way DLBE, I set out to understand what it can look like to build equitable, critically conscious, integrated DLBE schools and programs. Drawing on extensive observation and interview data from a multi-year ethnography and partnership in a 50/50 two-way DLBE program, I am seeking to answer the question What can culturally sustaining, equitable and critically conscious practice look like in two-way DLBE?

Undergraduate and Master’s Courses:
2625/5625 Methods of Teaching English Language Development
4425/5425 Introduction to Bilingual/Multicultural Education
4035 Family and Community Engagement
5615 Second Language Acquisition
5605 Research Issues in Bilingual Education
5595 Practicum in Bilingual/CLD Education

Doctoral Courses: 
8732 Advanced Qualitative Methods: Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis
8610 Language and Power
8630 Bilingual and Biliterate Development