Si no estás defendiendo tus alumnos, que estás haciendo en el salón? A Mexican Immigrant Teacher’s Journey to Critical Consciousness

ABSTRACT

Currently, there is limited research examining the barriers that immigrant professionals experience when becoming a bilingual teacher in the United States. This study examines the trajectory of a Mexican national, trained as a teacher in his home country, who became a bilingual dual-language educator in a Central Texas school district. Drawing on a critical pedagogy framework and a series of narrative life history interviews, we explore how this teacher’s personal and professional experiences in Mexico and then in the United States—particularly in the professional communities of a master’s degree program and a language revitalization Saturday school—helped him (co)construct a strong cultural and linguistic identity. We track how these experiences further impacted his desire to expand his sphere of influence and work toward transformative change for fellow teachers. We conclude with implications for teaching, leadership, identity construction, and teacher preparation.

KEYWORDS:

• Bilingual teacher leadership
• cultural and linguistic knowledge
• Latinx
• testimonio
• transformative education

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers who provided valuable feedback to strengthen this manuscript; Nuestro Grupo in Austin, TX, for creating and supporting Academia Cuautli; and all of the fourth grade students and their families who participated with Manuel in Cuauhtli.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. English translations of Manuel’s Spanish are italicized; Manuel’s own words (in whichever language) remain in roman type.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brenda Rubio

Brenda Rubio is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Administration at New Mexico State University. Her teaching and research agenda focus on preparing critically conscious and reflexive educational leaders who can address emerging educational issues and counter social inequality in our communities.

Deborah K. Palmer

Deborah K. Palmer is Professor of Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. A qualitative researcher, her interests include critical additive bilingual education, and bilingual teacher leadership/activism. Her 2018 book, Bilingual Teacher Leadership for Social Change, was published by Multilingual Matters.

Manuel Martínez

Manuel Martínez is Technology Design Coach in the Academics Department at Austin Independent School District, where he coaches teachers designing and facilitating blended learning instruction. He is interested in partnering with teachers designing equitable and personalized learning experiences where students’ language and culture are assets, which need to be leveraged.