In Search of Permeable Boundaries: A Case Study of Teacher Background, Student Resistance, and Learning

Authors

  • Shirley Mthethwa-Sommers Nazareth College of Rochester Author

Abstract

This article draws from an action research case study undertaken by an African-born faculty member who speaks English with a foreign accent. The study employed co-teaching as an intervention method to (a) test the hypothesis that co-teaching with an instructor born in the United States from the dominant racial and linguistic group might reduce levels of resistance to the content of the social justice in education course and (b) to examine student-instructor interactions on the basis of instructor background. Data were collected from the reflective journals and teaching evaluations of instructors as well as from students' journals and assignments. Critical race theory was utilized as the framework to analyze these documents. Results reveal that the students' judgment of the African-born instructor's teaching efficacy appeared to be closely linked to her background as an African-born faculty member who speaks English with a foreign accent.

Published

2024-03-23