"I Was Rejected for Being a Woman": A Latina Bilingual Teacher's Experience

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Storying the Intersectionality of Gender and Race in a White World

Abstract

This narrative inquiry captured the story of a fifth-grade, Latina, bilingual teacher who experienced oppression and discrimination in the United States in relation to her ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. For sustained critical thought, the study turned to feminist critical pedagogy. Three themes emerged from this inquiry: fairness, freedom, and social sensitivity. Guided by discourses in feminist critical pedagogy and its intersection with feminist theory and border/transformative pedagogy, the study emphasizes the role of female teachers in maintaining open-mindedness, respect for individual differences, and empathy within the K-12 classroom.

Authors

• Erika Zavala, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

• Charity Embley, Odessa College