WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN IMMIGRANT TEACHER IN THE U.S. SCHOOLS? THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE AND THEIR STRENGTHS By JEEHAE LEE (Under the Direction of KyungHwa Lee) ABSTRACT In spite of the increasing need for more teachers from similar cultural and linguistic backgrounds with English Language Learners in the U.S. schools, there has been little research on the experiences of immigrant teachers. Moreover, the majority of existing research studies of immigrant teachers were conducted outside the United States such as Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and Israel. Compared to these other countries, however, the United States has not been active in producing research on immigrant teachers and exploring the implications of this line of research for the field of teacher education. The purpose of this study is to examine the lived experiences of three multilingual and multicultural immigrant teachers as they work as certified teachers in the U.S. public schools. A phenomenological research methodology was used as a philosophical approach for this dissertation study. Phenomenology studies these experiences as experienced from the first person point of view. Phenomenological interviews, initial bridling statement and bridling journal entries were used for data collection of the study. For data analysis, the whole-part-whole analysis was used. This study found that the immigrant teachers experienced sociocultural challenges due to the cultural differences, prejudices, and their lack of cultural capital of the host society. The immigrant teachers coped with their challenges using educational resources (e.g., professional learning), religion, social networks, and personal dispositions (e.g., dealing with angry parents, conflicts with colleagues, and the lack of instructional support). The immigrant teachers demonstrated strengths such as multilingual ability, international teaching experiences, professionalism, continuing self-improvement, keeping good relationships with school administrators, leadership, passion for teaching, and tenacity. The immigrant teachers had positive experiences when they were appreciated and recognized as a competent teacher by their colleagues, school administrators, students‟ parents, and their students. This study highlighted the immigrant teachers‟ qualities using the Yosso‟s six forms of capital and also suggested “leadership capital” to be added onto Yosso‟s six forms of capital. The study concludes with implications for school administrators, professional development, teacher education programs at university, parents/students/teachers, and immigrant teachers. INDEX WORDS: Immigrant teachers, International teachers, Bilingual teachers, Minority teachers, Teachers of color, Foreign teachers, Minority group teachers, Teacher education, Role models, Teacher shortage, Teacher diversity, Diversifying the teaching force, Teacher re cruitment, Multicultural education WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN IMMIGRANT TEACHER IN THE U.S. SCHOOLS? THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE AND THEIR STRENGTHS by JEEHAE LEE B.S., SookMyung Women‟s University, Republic of Korea, 2002 M.Ed., The University of Georgia, 2004 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 JeeHae Lee All Rights Reserved WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN IMMIGRANT TEACHER IN THE U.S. SCHOOLS? THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE AND THEIR STRENGTHS by JEEHAE LEE Major Professor: KyungHwa Lee Committee: Diane B. Napier Mark D. Vagle Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2010 iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my mother, Hi-Ja Kim, who has inspired me to be an educator, my father, Chang-Hoon Lee, and my brother, Seung-Yoon Ri. Thank you for the emotional support and prayers you have given to me. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. KyungHwa Lee, for her insights, patience, and guidance throughout my doctoral study and dissertation writing. I also give thanks to Dr. Diane Napier and Dr. Mark Vagle for their significant influence that has changed the way I view the world. There are several people whom I would like to acknowledge: John Ferguson, Sally and Richard Pipitone whom I consider to be my family in the United States. Thank you for your love and friendship. I also thank the three immigrant teachers for their participation in this study. Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. Last but not least, I thank Linda Cameron for proofreading my dissertation. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...........................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................x CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Background for the Study ........................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................3 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................4 Research Questions ..................................................................................................5 Significance of the Study .........................................................................................5 Scope of the Study ...................................................................................................7 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................8 TWO LITERATURE REVIEW ON IMMIGRANT TEACHERS AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS ........................................................................................................10 Literature Review on Immigrant Teachers ...........................................................10 Theoretical Frameworks .......................................................................................33 vii THREE RESEARCH METHODS ...........................................................................................44 Why Phenomenology? ..........................................................................................44 Statement of Phenomenon through an Intentionality Statement ...........................45 Research Contexts and Participants ......................................................................46 Confidentiality ......................................................................................................47 School Contexts ....................................................................................................48 Data Collection .....................................................................................................55 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................64 FOUR PORTRAITURE OF PARTICIPANTS .......................................................................67 Annabel ..................................................................................................................70 Niang ......................................................................................................................78 Mares......................................................................................................................87 FIVE FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................103 Sociocultural Challenges .....................................................................................104 Coping Strategies .................................................................................................132 Strengths ..............................................................................................................151 Positive Experiences ............................................................................................168 SIX DISCUSSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .....................................................................176 Discussions ...........................................................................................................177 Implications...........................................................................................................182 viii REFERENCES .........................................................................................................................197 APPENDICES .........................................................................................................................208 Appendix A ................................................................................................................208 Appendix B .................................................................................................................211 Appendix C .................................................................................................................215 ix LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Pseudonyms for Participants‟ Schools and School Districts ...........................................47 Table 2: Race and Ethnicity of Students (2009-2010) ...................................................................48