Bridging Worlds: The Knowledge Pathways of Black American Women Teaching English as a Medium of Instruction in the UAE’s Emirati-serving PreK–5 Context

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Four
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT050 (Saturday)

Abstract

This study examines how five Black American women PreK-5 teachers bring to bear their sources of knowledge as teachers of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in the UAE. Framed by Personal Practical Knowledge (Clandinin & Connelly) and Black feminist thought (Collins), the study uses in-depth interviews to center these educators’ experiential, affective, and moral knowing. Preliminary analysis reveals PPK functioning as: (1) Critique of Milieu—Systemic awareness utilized to resist institutional constraints; (2) Moral Embodiment—Mobilization of maternal and racial identities to enact principles of accountability, cultural consciousness, and student advocacy; (3) Strategic Sovereignty—Professional action rooted in a self-determined refusal to compromise standards or adopt externally imposed pedagogy. This research expands critical understandings of transnational teacher knowledge and identity mobilization.

Author

• Andwatta Barnes, University of Michigan