Racialised identities of multilingual teachers: stories, experiences and agentic action of Indonesian teachers in Australian schools

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a context of increasing deficit discourses about multiculturalism and multilingualism, this study examined the racialised identities of multilingual Indonesian teachers in secondary schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Informed by the Douglas Fir Group Framework (2016), the study unpacked teachers’ socio-cultural, and linguistic trajectories in schools to understand the ways in which they navigate, negotiate, and resist their racialised identities at micro, meso, and macro levels of activity. Through semi-structured interviews with six Indonesian teachers teaching Bahasa Indonesia in NSW schools, the study focused on three broad dimensions, namely: (i) teachers’ perceived racialised identities in connection with their students and colleagues in schools (micro); (ii) the perceived institutional practices that reproduce racialisation and marginalisation (meso); and (iii) the broader societal factors that contribute to ‘self’ and ‘other’ racialisation (macro). Thematic analysis of the interview data reveal that teachers identify systemic ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ that essentialise their racialised identities, Additionally, the racialisation of Indonesian language teachers in broader societal contexts is influenced by systemic factors, including language policies and institutional structures. Findings suggest that despite the pervasive forces which perpetuate monolithic thinking in schools, teachers engage in agentic action that seeks to resist and overcome their racialised identities.