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A phenomenological research study was conducted to discover some of the challenges that internationally educated teachers face in the U.S. public school system. Interviews, in conjunction withbridling journal entries, were conducted with three internationally educated teachers who had experience teaching in the U.S. public school system, and whole-part-whole analysis was used to examine the interview scripts in the context of culture and language. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Bakhtin's authoritative discourses and his theory of language. The findings of this study revealed three broad challenges: hardships in classroom discipline due to cultural differences, conflicts with parents due to the lack of understanding of the U.S. mainstream culture, and language barriers. In addition, the implications for internationally educated teachers in the U.S. schools were discussed. Among the discussions, the implications for schools highlighted the need for a mutually respectful mentoring for the internationally educated teachers.

Reflecting upon the researcher's prior teaching experience as an immigrant teacher, this study poses questions about the leadership of culturally marginalized people in the U.S. public schools and how their leadership is perceived by the mainstream culture. Leadership can be one of the strengths that immigrant teachers may possess. There are enough number of findings describing the skills and abilities of immigrant teachers. Interestingly, however, these research findings have not recognized one of the essential characteristics of immigrant teachers: leadership. Have we been consistent in our effort to keep critical perspective in assessing the qualities and strengths of the culturally marginalized? What about their leadership? The existing knowledge about immigrant teachers focuses on immigrant teachers' assets but still pin them down at the level of followers under the mainstream culture. Can we take a step further and attempt to view them as 'leaders' rather than simple followers of the discourses of the mainstream culture? Drawing on this concern and building on Yosso's six forms of community cultural wealth (aspirational capital, familial capital, linguistic capital, navigational capital, resistant capital, and social capital), this phenomenological study of three immigrant teachers focuses on their strengths with an emphasis on their leadership. I propose here a leadership capital that immigrant teachers bring with them to the U.S. public schools. This leadership capital hopefully serves as the seventh form of community cultural wealth and compliments Yosso's theory. I begin by examining two concepts: first, Yosso's six forms of community cultural wealth that have been articulated in the literature on critical race theory aimed at recognizing prejudice against the culturally marginalized and promoting social justice; second, leadership that is defined by Biddle (2012) in her book, The Three Rs of Leadership (e.g., relationship, reciprocal learning, and reflection). I then discuss the findings from this phenomenological study of three immigrant teachers. I apply Yosso's six forms of community cultural wealth when I describe the strengths of immigrant teachers. In addition to the six forms of community cultural wealth of these three immigrant teachers, I add one more common quality observed from the three participants, that is, leadership. Leadership is one of the most distinctive strengths displayed by these participants. Then the limitations of Yosso's six forms of community cultural wealth are discussed. In this examination, I specifically point out that there is no room for the discussion of the aspects of leadership in Yosso's community cultural wealth. Next I discuss the examples of leadership demonstrated by the immigrant teachers. In this discussion, the examples of leadership are discussed in terms of Biddle's three Rs of leadership: relationship, reciprocal learning, and reflection. In conclusion, I bring these visions together to put forward the possibilities of suggesting and adding Leadership Capital as a new additional form of the community cultural wealth in the hope of complimenting Yosso's model of community cultural wealth. I also discuss the limitations of this work for its focus on only female immigrant teachers' leadership without representing the leadership attribute of male immigrant teachers. I conclude this paper with implications of this study on the U.S. public schools and the teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the perceptions and insights of internationally educated teachers certified to teach in U.S. public schools. The purpose of this study is to disclose the untold stories of internationally educated teachers, how they cope with challenges while adjusting to the host society. Using a phenomenological research methodology, interviews were carried out with three internationally educated teachers who had been teaching in the United States. Whole-part-whole analysis was used to highlight the interview scripts. The findings illustrate the nature of the internationally educated teachers' stories and present theoretical perspectives from which key challenges were identified. These challenges were sorted into two overarching categories: cultural differences (classroom discipline and conflicts with parents) and language barriers. The study summarizes the experiences and perceptions of the participants and discusses the implications of their experiences and perceptions on teacher education and schools in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to highlight the qualities and strengths immigrant teachers bring with them to the U.S. schools through the examination of the lived experiences of three multilingual and multicultural immigrant teachers working as certified teachers in the U.S. public schools. The research question is "What qualities and strengths do immigrant teachers bring with them to the U.S. public schools?" In a phenomenological research methodology, interviews were carried out with three multicultural and multilingual immigrant teachers who had been teaching in the United States and overseas. The whole-part-whole analysis was used to highlight the interview scripts as data analysis. The findings discuss the immigrant teachers' qualities and strengths which are (1) providing culturally responsive teaching and (2) being a role model for colleagues as they demonstrate extraordinary work ethic, leadership, tenacity and passion for teaching. In the conclusion, this study summarizes the experiences and perceptions of the participants, and suggests implications for the U.S. school administrators, parents and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]