From Incarceration to Loc Khru: Constructing a Teacher Identity for Cambodian American Returnees in Cambodia

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Transnational Asian American Student and Teacher Experiences

Abstract

In this study we draw on our experiences working with Cambodian Americans returnees who have become and/or becoming teachers in Cambodia. Returnees in this case refer to individuals of Cambodian descent who have been deported from the US as a result of a past criminal conviction and are working to build new lives in Cambodia. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, this study focus on how individuals create coherence (Linde, 1993) and construct teacher identity (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in their current roles as Loc Kru “teacher” in Cambodia. This work provides a unique opportunity to consider the consequences and processes related to the school to prison to deportation pipeline that impacts many Cambodians in the US context.

Authors

• Vichet Chhuon, University of Minnesota

• Marina B. Aleixo, University of Minnesota