"I'm Always Having to Express My Allegiance": Asian American Educators Navigating a Racial In-Between Space

• In Event: 77.057 - MTCC Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: 77.057-6 - Research on Asian Americans in Teacher Education and the Classroom

Abstract

Scholarship around teachers of Color has largely omitted Asian Americans. Aligned with the cultural match argument, research has focused on Asian American teachers for Asian American students and less is known about Asian American teachers of Black and Brown students. Through Asian Critical Race perspectives on data collected with a group of eight teachers, this study revealed Asian American teachers in urban schools navigating a racial in-between space. Specifically, teachers reported a perception from Black and Brown students as “not White,” while also not people of Color. This shaped their practice in communicating notions of solidarity in formal and informal ways. Findings have implications for ways to support Asian American teachers in leveraging their identities in their practice.

Author

• Juliet Lee, University of California - Los Angeles