Windows, Doors, and Sliding Glass Doors: Asian American Elementary Teachers’ Approaches to AANHPI Heritage Month

• In Event: Roundtable Session 3
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Perspectives from teacher education: technology-mediated learning, cultural responsiveness, and cultural heritage

Proposal

Renewed attention on anti-Asian violence has sparked a growing campaign to integrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) studies in K-12 schools. While legislative efforts are underway, AANHPI Heritage Month is already taught or observed in many school settings, often led by Asian American teachers. However, little is known about these informal practices, especially at the elementary level. Using interviews and document analysis, this study explored the ways that the racial identity of Asian American elementary teachers motivated their engagement with the month in their classroom or school and frames AANHPI Heritage Month as a multiracial literacy project to bridge cultural and digital divides. Implications for school leadership and conceptions of teaching are discussed.

Author

• Lydia Manchery