A Study of Three Teachers’ Cultural Identities in Relation to the Artifacts in Their Teaching Practice

• In Event: Looking Inward as a Critical Pathway to Teaching Excellence

Abstract

Given the culturally and socially diverse settings of schools, teachers should practice critical pedagogical approaches. The pedagogy is inextricably linked to teachers’ cultural perspectives and judgments; in other words, it is a matter of cultural identity. This study critically examines and analyzes three Korean teachers’ cultural identities and the way they adopt cultural artifacts in teaching practice in South Korea. The three teachers adjusted their cultural understanding with cultural artifacts actively utilized in their teaching practice. The board of reward and punishment, movie clips, and a screen or blackboard were some of the cultural resources adopted to reorganize these teachers’understanding about norms, culture, socioeconomic status in relation to students and society. Implications are discussed.

Author

• Seon-Young Kim, The University of Texas - Austin