Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy for Burmese Refugee Students

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: Asian American Youth Activism and Cultural Empowerment

Abstract

This case study explored the under-researched area and examined three English as a New Language (ENL) teachers’ experiences of working with Burmese refugee students in elementary and high schools. From the perspectives of culturally sustaining pedagogy and funds of knowledge, this study investigated how the teachers attempt to use the students’ home culture to bridge the cultural and linguistic gaps. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted for each teacher. The results show that an elementary school teacher was passive in incorporating students’ home culture into instruction, while the two high schools teachers actively adopted the students’ culture in classrooms.

Authors

• Taejung Ma, Purdue University

• Trish Morita-Mullaney, Purdue University