Teaching Across Borders: Responsible Well-being Among Transnational Educators in the U.S. and China

• In Event: Reframing Global Education: Internationalization and Transnational Perspectives

Abstract

This comparative qualitative study examines the responsible well-being of Chinese-born educators in the U.S. and U.S.-born educators in China, two groups navigating the complexities of transnational teaching amid heightened geopolitical tensions. Drawing on interviews with twenty educators and a combined framework of responsible well-being and precarity, the study demonstrates how institutional policies, racialized labor expectations, and immigration regimes shape educators’ professional and emotional lives. While often positioned as cultural assets, these educators face exclusion, surveillance, and structural vulnerability. Findings highlight the need for systemic, justice-oriented support for transnational teachers and call for education systems to move beyond symbolic inclusion toward ethical responsibility and care.

Authors

• Shuang Fu, New York University

• Yixuan Wang, Gwinnett County Public Schools