Valuing Early Childhood Teacher Identity at the Confluence of Race and Immigration

Presenter: Ayesha Rabadi-Raol

Presenter Status: Faculty

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Department: Early Childhood Studies

President's Strategic Plan Goal: Diversity and Social Justice

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1I3va5DcTjOUYgpNKise5dS_2bTXE1gAq

Abstract:
The demographics of early childhood teachers in the U.S. have historically been White, monolingual, middle-class, and female and continue to be so even today (Kena et al., 2014; McFarland et al., 2017). However, the demographics of children in early childhood classrooms are increasingly diverse due to immigration and globalization (Kintner-Duffy, Scott-Little, & Smith, 2022; Darling-Hammond & Young 2002; Goodwin, 2017). This is problematic because there is a major disconnect in the understanding of race, culture, and identity between the teachers and the children in classrooms. My research stands on the foundational belief that immigrant and transnational teachers of color bring with them identity resources (Beck & Nganga, 2016) that would enhance the field of early childhood education, teacher education and beyond. Thus, in this study, which emanates from my dissertation study, I listened to and learned from the experiences of six immigrant/transnational teachers of color, offering implications for transforming early childhood teacher education.