Multiple Selves in Educational Contact Zones: East Asian Academic Experiences Through Dialogical Self Theory

Session Type: Working Group Roundtable

Abstract

This roundtable examines East Asian American educational experiences through the lens of Dialogical Self Theory. Four interconnected presentations explore how East Asian American identities navigate educational spaces—from historical curriculum representation to classroom participation patterns, AI relationships, and academic vulnerability. Using narrative inquiry and autoethnography, presenters reveal how multiple I-positions shape educational experiences across generational and institutional contexts. By centering East Asian voices often marginalized in educational discourses, this roundtable contributes to unforgetting histories of exclusion while imagining more inclusive educational futures. Collectively, these studies demonstrate how understanding complex identity negotiations can inform transformative educational practices that honor diverse ways of knowing and being in academic spaces.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Education and Research

Papers

• Wobbling Forward: Vulnerability and Multiple Selves of Transnational Researchers - Eun Bee Ellin Kim, Think & Write / Pacific College of Health and Sciences; Jing Du, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Me, Myself, and (A)I: The Confessions of Teenagers - Justin Lee, Think & Write; Khloe Hong, THINK & WRITE; Lilian Zhou, Think & Write

• Whose Story Gets Told?: Adult Perspectives on Minority Underrepresentation in High School US History - Ethan Yeung, Youth Teams in Education Research; Caryn Seulah Cho, Youth Teams in Education Research; Khloe Hong, THINK & WRITE

• Silent I-Positions: Dialogical Exploration of Cultural and Societal Influences on Student Classroom Participation - Khloe Hong, THINK & WRITE; Yifan Zhang, Think & Write; Lilian Zhou, Think & Write; Molly Hong, Think & Write

Session Organizer

• Jing Du, Teachers College, Columbia University