Refracting historical contradictions in U.S. bilingual education: Reflections on the Asian American and Pacific Islander teacher shortage in the post-pandemic world

Abstract

ABSTRACT The post-pandemic world has witnessed a surge in linguistic racism; anti-Asian stigma has not only altered bilingual education but also created tensions for immigrant families and teachers from Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. In this conceptual article, Vygotsky’s concept of perezhivanie is employed to examine the historical contradictions of anti-Asian stigma refracted in educational contexts. Narratives and vignettes from publicly available Internet archival data are used to illustrate the contradictions. The author then offers reflections on the AAPI teacher shortage as related to these refractions and recommends the establishment of a more equitable pipeline for bilingual AAPI teachers.