Ethnic identity as a cultural mediator in teaching: An autoethnography of a Latinx teacher
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2023
Department/School
Teacher Education
Publication Title
To Be a Minority Teacher in a Foreign Culture
Abstract
In this chapter, the author examines her experience of education as a Latinx in the United States, first as a student, and then as a teacher, through the intersectionality of language bias, racism, and elitism. Producing autoethnographic research acknowledges and validates her Latinx presence and draws attention to her marginal position inside the dominant structures of education. This autoethnography puts the critical focus on her experiences within the broader context of education (Denzin NK, Interpretive ethnography: ethnographic practices for the 21st century. Sage, 1997). This personal narrative (Bochner AP, Narrat Inq 22:155–164, 2012) employs the theoretical frameworks of critical race theory and Latinx critical race theory (CRT; Delgado R, Stefancic J, Critical race theory: an introduction. University Press, 2001) to explore the tensions of being Latinx in the United States education system. This cultural analysis considers personal, social, and culturally constructed identities. The author discusses the everyday negotiations between Latinx culture and teaching in an elementary school. Centering the critical framework, the author interrogates how society shapes our narratives, identities, and lives (Kehly MJ, Gend Educ 7:23–31, 1995) through culture, power, and language.
Recommended Citation
Barreto, J. M. (2023). Ethnic identity as a cultural mediator in teaching: An autoethnography of a Latinx teacher. In M. Gutman, W. Jayusi, M. Beck, & Z. Bekerman (Eds.), To be a minority teacher in a foreign culture (pp. 439–452). Springer International. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25584-7_28
Comments
J. M. Barreto is a faculty member in EMU's Department of Teacher Education.