Borderland Teaching of Chinese American Teachers with Mexican American Students: Toward the Development of a Theory

Abstract

Mexican American students represent one of the largest growing ethnic groups in K-12 public schools in the U.S., and remain largely under-performing. Chinese American teachers have a long history of presence in U.S. public schools, yet are underrepresented in educational research and scholarship. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) and Borderlands Theory (BT), a qualitative case study methodology was used to examine three Chinese American teachers working with eleven Mexican American students in three ethnically diverse urban secondary schools in the Pacific Northwest. Findings suggested that the teachers embodied borderland teaching (a hybrid of CRT & BT) to promote school performance for and create “kinships” with the students. The study concluded with claims about the significance of borderland teaching in regard to research, pedagogy, and representation. It also provided some recommendations for research and teacher education programs.