Perspectives of Normalistas on Preparing Mexican Teachers for U.S.-Born Returnee Students

• In Event: Preparing the Teachers We Need for the “Students We Share” Between the United States and Mexico

Abstract

Since 2005, more Mexican immigrants have returned to Mexico from the U.S. than have migrated to the U.S. (Gonzalez-Barrera, 2015). Family reunification and the U.S. economic recession (Passel, Cohn, & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2012) are cited as the most common reasons for increased returnees to Mexico, followed by deportation (U.S. of Homeland Security, 2014) and stricter border enforcement (Rosenblum & Meissner, 2014). Though researchers have developed a preliminary understanding of the transnational schooling experiences of Mexican migrant children (Jensen & Sawyer, 2013; Zúñiga & Hamann, 2012), less is known about the ways teachers in Mexico are prepared to meet the needs of returnee students in primary and secondary schools. 

Many Mexican teachers who work with returnees report a lack of preparation to meet students’ needs (Zúñiga & Hamann, 2012; Zúñiga, Hamann, & Sánchez García, 2008). This includes language and cultural needs, curricular needs, and others associated with family mobility. Most teachers do not speak English, and schools do not tend to assess what returnees knew and did at school in the U.S. (Zúñiga & Hamann, 2012 p. 184). We need more research in Mexico on how teachers can be better prepared to meet the learning and developmental needs of diverse children (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2007; Martínez-Rizo, 2012), including US-born returnees. This is particularly important in the context of the Escuela Normal, where most teachers in Mexico are prepared.

This study examines the perspectives of normalistas (i.e., teacher educators and normal school student leaders) on preparing teachers for U.S.-born returnee students. We analyze interviews with 22 normalistas within two normal schools (one urban, one rural) that serve migrant communities in Central Mexico. These data are embedded within a larger project on equity in teaching returnees.

Our semi-structured interviews addressed:
1) Normalista awareness of K-12 returnee students, their educational needs, and the family dynamics and concerns associated with return migration.
2) Aspects of teaching quality that are critical returnee student success.
3) What in-service teachers should know and be able to do to engage in these teaching practices.
4) How these competencies are fostered for normalista students through their coursework and associated practica experiences.

Normalistas referenced three pre-service courses that are designed to address issues of student diversity: Atenciòn a la diversidad (Attention to Diversity), Inclusión Educativa (Inclusive Education), and Adecuación curricular (Curricular Accommodation). We found, however, that migration issues and associated family and cultural dynamics (including return migration) were addressed only peripherally in the written curriculum, and even less so in the “enacted curriculum.” Other than language—i.e., the challenge of teaching English-dominant returnees—most normalistas found it difficult to identify the educational needs of returnees. Matters of diversity were framed narrowly, in terms of disability and special education. Participants involved in field placements reported greater awareness of return migrants, and those in the rural normal schools indicated a greater level of nuance and awareness than their urban counterparts. We conclude by considering how normalista perspectives relate to the broader experience of returnees in school, and identify implications for teaching quality and educational policy.

Authors

• Eric Ruiz Bybee, Brigham Young University

• Bryant Jensen, Brigham Young University