Teachers’ Identity Work with Multilingual African Immigrant and Refugee Background Students

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Transnational, Multilingual, and Cross-Cultural (Table 10)

Abstract

Teachers’ identities, understood as socially constructed, multiple, and context-sensitive, have implications not just for teaching and the teachers themselves but also for students. The ways teachers negotiate and enact teaching identities often involve students and students’ own identities. In this study, we examine how teachers of multilingual African immigrant and refugee background (AIRB) students negotiate their identities alongside their AIRB students, their positionality in schools and communities, and the ways their positionalities shape their interactions with AIRB students. We discuss the impact of teacher positionalities on their teaching practices and the implications of such identity construction for both teachers and learners.

Authors

• Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Guy Trainin, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Jenelle R. Reeves, University of Nebraska - Lincoln