Transnational Perspectives: International Teachers Advancing Bilingualism & Inclusive Education Amid Teacher Shortages

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium addresses the global shortage of bilingual teachers by highlighting the often-overlooked transnational experiences of international educators. Bringing together scholars, it explores how international teachers—whether on temporary visas, as immigrants, or through cross-border collaborations—contribute unique intercultural knowledge that enrich K–12 classrooms. Presentations focus on leveraging these teachers’ expertise to dismantle systemic barriers, sustain bilingualism, and promote culturally sustaining pedagogies. By adopting a transnational perspective, the session challenges deficit narratives and repositions teacher transnational mobility as an asset that advances educational equity. The symposium contributes to bilingual teacher education research and offers insights for developing collaborative international partnerships, advocating for transnationalism as a framework to build more inclusive, culturally sustaining learning environments in increasingly diverse classrooms.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Bilingual Education Research

Chair

• Soria E. Colomer, Oregon State University

Papers

• Centering Transnational Knowledge: International Visiting Teachers in Oregon Dual Language Bilingual Education Classrooms - Soria E. Colomer, Oregon State University; Nelly N. Patiño-Cabrera, Oregon State University; Amanda Kibler, Oregon State University; Vanessa Mejia-Hutchison, Oregon State University; Colin Cole, Independent Scholar

• The Lived Experiences of International Dual Language/Immersion Teachers in North Carolina - Nicolette Grant, East Carolina University

• Reconstructing Agency for Inclusion: Two Chinese International Teachers’ Experiences with Disability in Dual Language Classrooms - Lingyu Li, Lehman College - CUNY

• Transnational Teacher Education for Inclusive Education: German Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives - Wiebke J. Langer, University of Hamburg; Doris A. Kroiss, University of North Carolina - Greensboro; Ye He, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

Session Organizer

• Soria E. Colomer, Oregon State University

Discussant

• Socorro Herrera, Kansas State University