Breaking the Rules: Creating Opportunities for Undocumented Teacher Candidates
Faculty Department
Education
Presentation Type
Powerpoint
Location
H239
Zoom Link
Start Date
February 2025
End Date
February 2025
Description (Abstract)
This oral history study explores the lived experiences of mid-career educators with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, focusing on their professional trajectories, aspirations for leadership, and the impact of ontological precarity on their work. Drawing on Castro’s (2022) framework of precarity as an ontological experience, the study highlights how DACAmented educators navigate their tenuous legal and professional statuses as workers in U.S. public schools.
Despite DACA’s creation of a temporary pathway to employment, the increasing precarity of the teaching profession complicates the lived experiences of educators with varied documentation statuses. This study reveals that professional advancement often required breaking institutional “rules” with the guidance of allies and mentors, particularly in navigating credentialing, certification, and systemic barriers. Using grounded theory and snowball sampling, the research examines the oral histories of three mid-career DACAmented educators. These narratives provide insight into their educational histories, migration journeys, motivations for entering the teaching profession, and future career goals.
Key findings suggest that systemic barriers persist even when pathways to employment exist, often due to uninformed gatekeepers and institutional policies that fail to address the needs of undocumented or DACAmented educators. Professional mentorship and support systems were critical to overcoming these obstacles, particularly for those pursuing leadership roles. Furthermore, the interplay of political, economic, and social pressures shapes their leadership aspirations, emphasizing the need for “undocufriendly” institutional practices.
This study highlights the importance of creating accessible pathways for DACAmented and undocumented professionals, not only in education but across service-oriented fields. By addressing institutional barriers and advocating for inclusive leadership development, schools and higher education institutions can ensure that the voices and experiences of immigrant educators are represented at all levels of the profession.
Keywords
Immigration, Undocumented Teachers, Undocumented Professionals, Undocufriendly
Related Pillar(s)
Community, Service, Study
Breaking the Rules: Creating Opportunities for Undocumented Teacher Candidates
H239
This oral history study explores the lived experiences of mid-career educators with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, focusing on their professional trajectories, aspirations for leadership, and the impact of ontological precarity on their work. Drawing on Castro’s (2022) framework of precarity as an ontological experience, the study highlights how DACAmented educators navigate their tenuous legal and professional statuses as workers in U.S. public schools.
Despite DACA’s creation of a temporary pathway to employment, the increasing precarity of the teaching profession complicates the lived experiences of educators with varied documentation statuses. This study reveals that professional advancement often required breaking institutional “rules” with the guidance of allies and mentors, particularly in navigating credentialing, certification, and systemic barriers. Using grounded theory and snowball sampling, the research examines the oral histories of three mid-career DACAmented educators. These narratives provide insight into their educational histories, migration journeys, motivations for entering the teaching profession, and future career goals.
Key findings suggest that systemic barriers persist even when pathways to employment exist, often due to uninformed gatekeepers and institutional policies that fail to address the needs of undocumented or DACAmented educators. Professional mentorship and support systems were critical to overcoming these obstacles, particularly for those pursuing leadership roles. Furthermore, the interplay of political, economic, and social pressures shapes their leadership aspirations, emphasizing the need for “undocufriendly” institutional practices.
This study highlights the importance of creating accessible pathways for DACAmented and undocumented professionals, not only in education but across service-oriented fields. By addressing institutional barriers and advocating for inclusive leadership development, schools and higher education institutions can ensure that the voices and experiences of immigrant educators are represented at all levels of the profession.
Short Biography
Chandler Patton Miranda, Ph.D., is an educator, scholar, and organizer who studies immigration and education. She’s the author of Sanctuary School (Harvard Education Press), a book based on her research at an International High School in NYC that highlights the innovations necessary to move beyond protection to empower immigrant students and families. Her scholarship has appeared in Harvard Educational Review, Anthropology & Education Quarterly, Leadership and Policy in Schools, and Equity & Excellence in Education.