In this autoethnographic study, I negotiate my identity as a mixed-caste South Asian woman, drawing on a Buddhist-humanist spiritual approach to examine the development of global citizen identity. ...The non-Western perspective of global citizenship discussed in the paper, challenges the mono-epistemological version of research produced in the English-speaking world. I discuss three experiences in my life that correspond to the cultivation of the tenets of global citizenship namely wisdom, courage, compassion as articulated by Ikeda. This paper offers a practical and experiential example of applying a non-dominant global citizenship approach and seeks to institutionalize the field as a discourse in the pursuit of global peace, social justice, and universal human rights.
Different writers, linguists, and researchers present nuances in language acquisition theories. However, few studies explore in-service teachers’ voices in such discourses. It is, therefore, ...imperative to explore the voices of in-service teachers in such narratives as they teach emergent bilinguals (EBs) and culturally and linguistically diverse students. This paper examined how in-service teachers perceive First Language Acquisition (FLA) theories and how those perceptions influence teaching EBs and informing classroom practice. Centering on Freeman and Freeman’s discussion of five FLA theories (imitation, reinforcement, behaviorist, social interaction, active construction, connectionist), we argue that in-service teachers’ perceptions of first language acquisition theories impact how they teach and engage EBs in their classrooms. Findings show that in-service teachers consider the social interaction theory most beneficial to students’ language development. However, the precariousness of FLA theories makes it challenging for them to determine the best approach to teaching EBs. Additionally, teacher education programs and critical professional development (PD) courses are instrumental in fostering understanding and robust pedagogical mindsets and preparing teachers to meet the needs of emergent bilinguals.
Studies over the years emphasize the need to foster critical cultural awareness among teachers in U.S. classrooms. Using a critical theoretical approach, we examined the critical cultural awareness ...of practicing teachers and educators' experiences with English Learners (ELs) and their preparedness to meet the needs of ELs through actionable plans from a professional development (PD) module. We argue that PD courses on critical theoretical perspectives on ELs are essential not just for EL professionals but for all educators who work with ELs in one way or the other. Sixty-eight educators (teachers and school directors) in a midwestern community participated in the PD modular course, where they were exposed to various critical theories. The data include discussion responses and educators' critical theoretical reflections on ELs. In this article, we iterate the need to include critical theoretical EL education in teacher training preparation and professional development programs to support pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and principals. The findings show that the impact of such critical awareness transforms teachers' and educators' perceptions about their respective roles in effectively educating ELs.
Global citizenship is conceptualized within a neoliberal agenda and oppressive geopolitics of knowledge that furthers social inequities and unsustainability. Despite critiques and attempts to reframe ...global citizenship to achieve social justice and human rights aims, it is still masked in neoliberal and mono-epistemological terms as global competence. It is vital to explore possibilities of global citizenship becoming that can challenge neoliberal hegemony and the growing ethnocentric and ultra-nationalist thinking. This inquiry was conceptualized, within the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, to explore the being and becoming of six South Asian female international students engaged in activism and the bearing it has on global citizenship. My co-researchers negotiated their dynamic identities and were influenced by multiple discourses as they shuttled between various places and spaces. In this inquiry, I examine autobiographical roots that illuminate my research puzzles and phenomena of interest and engage with South Asian female international students as they negotiate their personal, educational, and activist experiences. I analyze their lived experiences based on Ikeda’s perspective on global citizenship, informed by ideas of sōka or “value-creating” education and Buddhist-humanism. The research texts based on the livings and tellings of my participants are represented dialogically in culturally relevant ways, such as chai pe charcha or “conversations over tea.” From a narrative global citizenship perspective, these stories are examples of ‘creative coexistence’ and ‘value creation’ and offer a means to reimagine global citizenship from the standpoint of interconnectedness and interdependence.
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