Theorizing the spatial dimensions and pedagogical implications of transnationalism

ABSTRACT

The construct of transnationalism has been used to describe and examine how people maintain connections with their homeland while learning about and participating in the practices of the receiving context. This notion has influenced a great deal of research that seeks to capture how transnational connections are created and sustained – and also how participation in an adopted society's practices might coexist with continued engagement with the people and practices in another space. In recent years, social scientists across disciplines are bringing increasingly nuanced perspectives to the study of transnationalism and globalization – for instance by distinguishing the society from the nation-state (Glick Schiller, 2005) and culture from territory (Appadurai, 1996/2003), and by taking into account the dangers of what has been named “methodological nationalism” (Wimmer & Glick Schiller, 2002). Yet, widely circulating discourses of how movement and mobility influence teaching and learning often lack such nuance, complexity and texture, with consequences for educational policy and practice. Here, I describe the key tenets of transnationalism, interrogate what we mean by the “social contexts” of teaching and learning, and argue for rethinking the spatial dimensions of teaching and learning in a time of transnationalism and globalization.

KEYWORDS:

• Educational practices
• language
• culture and literacy
• socio-political conditions
• transnationalism
• English language teaching

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Bryan Brayboy, Lesley Bartlett and the editors of this special issue. Their input and feedback have greatly strengthened the clarity of my focus.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Doris Warriner

Doris S. Warriner is an associate professor of English at Arizona State University. In her research and teaching, she draws on educational anthropology, linguistic anthropology, applied linguistics and literacy studies to examine and understand the educational, social, political, economic and ideological dimensions of immigration and transnationalism. Recent publications appear in Linguistics and Education, Anthropology and Education Quarterly and the Journal of Multilingual and Mutlicultural Development.