Huong Tran Nguyen

What role do race, ethnicity, language and gender play in the teaching profession?

Critical race theory and standard language ideology are employed as theoretical and analytical frames for conceptualizing and understanding the entry perspectives and experiences of some Vietnamese American pre-service teachers in US schools. Study findings from a qualitative case study approach suggest that race, ethnicity, language, and gender influence these teachers’ construction of self vis-à-vis others and their social milieu. Specifically, manifestations of these social constructs inform the ways in which others perceive them and measure their potential for success as future teachers. The heritage backgrounds and practicum accounts of these Vietnamese American women help to illuminate their individual and collective struggles and the mechanisms they each adopted in coping with their particular cases in the local school context.