Leveraging Identities and Bridging Cultures: Counternarratives of Asian American Teachers

• In Event: Leveraging Teacher Identities: Telling Truths and Reconstructing Our Stories

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the racial identities and teaching experiences of Asian American educators in schools predominantly serving Black and Latinx students. Adopting tenets of the Asian Critical Theory, findings show that participants encounter challenges negotiating their Asian American identities in U.S. society where Whiteness is the norm. The sense of alienation prompts them to leverage their racial identities and racialized experiences as Asian American people to connect with Black and Latinx students, fostering culturally responsive learning environments where diverse students’ community knowledge and lived experiences are embraced. Implications for teacher education programs to support Asian American teachers and other teachers of Color and recommendations for future research into the varied experiences of Asian American teachers are discussed.

Author

• Yiting Chu, University of South Florida - Tampa