Narrative beyond teaching
Subtitle: inquiry into the shifting identity, culture and professional practice of five visible minority immigrant teachers in a diverse lifespace
By: by Odilia Moon Yung Ng.
Published: 2006
Language: eng
Number of pages: 295
ISBN-13: 9780494218273
Subjects: Minority teachers -- Ontario -- Case studies.; Identity (Psychology); Teaching.
Genres: Case studies.
Description: This is a narrative inquiry into the identity development, cultural and professional transformation of five visible minority teachers before and after immigrating to Canada. The teacher participants, Dave, Beneth, Lily, Ann and I migrated to Canada during the 1990s from Africa, the Philippines, Egypt and Hong Kong. We worked in other careers before completing pre-service teacher education and became teachers in Ontario. As the student population in many Canadian schools is increasingly multiracial and multilingual, there is a growing demand for teachers from diverse cultures. Within the past ten years, five of us were recruited by a southern Ontario school board to teach in its elementary and secondary schools. We encountered major changes in life and experienced differences in Canadian society. Through storytelling, Dave, Beneth, Lily, Ann and I relived our childhood history in our homelands, re-told our lives as new immigrants in Canadian society, recalled the processes of changing professions to become educators and uncovered our teacher narratives in the multicultural school landscape. This study explores the implication of identity shifts in re-shaping our personal and professional lives. Upon reflections, we re-discover "who we are" as visible minority immigrant teachers and re-examined how our ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences impact on teaching and teacher-student-parent relationship. Throughout the inquiry, narrative is studied as both phenomenon and method. Identity is understood as 'stories to live by' which take shape as life unfolds (Connelly & Clandinin, 1999). The teachers' experiences are made meaningful by bringing forward the past account, present encountering and future intention in different social and cultural contexts. As visible minority teachers, we deem to maintain a harmony of both Canadian culture and individual ethnicity. This narrative inquiry supports and builds on the perspective that teachers use their knowledge and individual stories in their teaching practice. It underlines the contributions of visible minority teachers to the academic success and personal growth of students from minority population. The teachers' stories broaden our understanding of the school cultures within which they live and work. The implications for teacher education, professional development and educational planning are explored in the light of the narratives.
Notes: Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2006.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 275-284).

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.