Being an immigrant teacher is a tough road: a self-study of teaching praxis

Abstract

Immigrating and becoming a teacher in a new country is challenging and brings with it a necessity to shape personal and professional feelings, assumptions and practices. Challenges, and the necessity to shape these elements, also happen when changing suddenly from presential to remote teaching. Major shifts can challenge educators to question their educational paradigms and adapt their praxis to a new educational system. This thesis is about my journey of immigration to Aotearoa New Zealand from Brazil and my journey teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic, including the effect these shifts had on the way I enact my teaching, my praxis, as a physical education (PE) teacher. Using a self-study methodology with elements of bricolage to support the research design, I sought to examine the ways in which my teaching in a primary school were influenced by and adapted to a new cultural setting and education system. Data sources included teaching artefacts, journaling, personal history through narratives and meeting with critical friends and supervisors. Using thematic analysis of the data suggests that divergent points, such as (1) language, (2) feeling of belonging, (3) understanding of praxis, (4) pedagogical strategies and (5) personal assumptions influenced and shaped my praxis and, therefore, the way I enacted my teaching. By engaging with praxis as a theoretical framework and a way to understand my actions, I came to understand that I adapted my praxis due to the new contexts. I also had to shape the way I teach both in a macro and micro pedagogical context because of the divergent topics found in this research. Ultimately, this thesis illuminates the way I built my praxis as an immigrant teacher, teaching both face to face and online, and offers suggestions on how to support other teachers migrating to new countries and starting their journey as educators in a new cultural and teaching context.