When the Lines Become Blurred: Examining Immigrant Students’ Curricular Experiences Through the Lens of Minority Teacher Researcher

• In Event: Learning as Being/Learning as Identity Making

Abstract

Using a narrative inquiry approach, I examine ‘harmonies and tensions’ of one student’s experiences of the intersection of culture and curriculum on her diverse, middle school landscape. I focus in particular on the nuances and complexities of balancing home and school life for a student growing up in an immigrant family. Examination of the student’s “stories of experience” (Connelly & Clandinin,1988) highlight challenges teachers may encounter when attempting to implement curriculum that acknowledges students’ home culture while supporting ethnic identity development through the sharing of student work as part of the curriculum. I also explore nuances of researcher interpretation of student experiences when the researcher claims to be knowledgeable about the ethnic group through membership in the same ethnic group.

Author

• Elaine Chan, University of Nebraska - Lincoln