Exploring Hybrid Identities: South Asian American Women Pursue a Career in Teaching

• In Event: Exploring South Asian Experiences in North America: Negotiating Multiple Identities Across Educational Spaces

Abstract

Many educators and researchers have noted the imperative need for schools to recruit minority teachers so that the needs of all children are met (Dilworth, 1992; Futrell, Gomez, & Bedden, 2003; Goodwin, 2002; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Uhlenberg & Brown, 2002). Among Asian immigrants, South Asian Americans have become the fastest growing minority group in the United States (Saran, 2007). According to the United States Census (2000), this group has had a 106% growth rate over the last ten years. South Asians in the United States vary greatly in terms of economic, social, ethnic, linguistic, and religious make-up (Joshi, 2006; Kibria, 2002; Maira, 2002). The significant increase in the South Asian American population along with the diversity that exists among this unique group presents a critical need to understand the experiences and needs of this population.

The postcolonial feminist framework calls attention to fixed notions of culture and identity. Using this framework, I draw on Anzaldua (1987) and Asher (2002) to define the concept of hybrid consciousness. In this study, I explore the hybrid identities of second-generation South Asian American women by developing an understanding of their consciousness or the awareness that emerges as they situate themselves in relation to their race, ethnicity, gender, and/or class. I specifically elucidate the identity categories that they have in common with one another. Second-generation South Asian Americans share immigration histories and they have primarily been raised in the United States. My participants, who are second-generation, provide me with a unique opportunity to understand how a hybrid consciousness may emerge out of their experiences.

This qualitative case study explores how three South Asian American pre-service teachers have negotiated their hybrid identities to pursue a career in teaching. Data sources included three semi-structured interviews with each participant, one focus group interview with all participants, and document analysis. All participants have provided documents (e.g., personal/professional statements) from their teacher education programs related to their decision to pursue a career teaching. Data files will be coded and categorized into categories (Merriam, 1997), focusing on how my participants negotiated their race, ethnicity, gender, and/or class to pursue a career in teaching.

The findings reveal that South Asian American women have had diverse life experiences that have led them to a career in teaching. All participants asserted that from a young age they had never considered teaching to be a career option for them. All participants asserted that they did not have any South Asian American teachers and did not know of any from within their network of family and friends. It was not until they got to high school or beyond that they came to the awareness that teaching was a career option for them. Furthermore, all participants struggled to make sense of how they were resisting cultural expectations and the model minority stereotype to pursue a career in teaching. Through this process, they each tried to negotiate a space that allowed for them to honor both cultures that were a part of their lives.

Author

• Amita Roy Shah, Teachers College, Columbia University