Exploring an Immigrant Teacher's Reconstruction of Identities: An Autoethnography Study

• In Event: 18.071 - Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: 18.071-6 - Chinese Teachers and North American Schools: Navigating Language, Culture, and Identity

Abstract

This an autoethnographic study exploring the complexity of my professional identity re-construction in the context of teaching Chinese as foreign language in an American school district. This study is a narrative inquiry into my teaching experience as a teacher in China and America through the theoretical frameworks of teacher identity and teacher knowledge. The aim was to explore how a Chinese immigrant teacher navigated the cultural and educational differences between the two different societies. Autoethnography is the main method used to reflect on my teaching experiences, and the interplay of internal and external factors in my teaching trajectory, which impacted my professional identity construction and reconstruction.

Author

• Yanli Li Timm, University of Wisconsin - Madison