Transnational funds of knowledge in Asian diasporas: Tracing the experiences of Asian transmigrant teachers

Abstract

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study focuses on two Asian transmigrant siblings who are teachers that lived in seven different countries and grew up navigating a multitude of geographic and cultural borders. Informed by the concept of transnational funds of knowledge, we examine the knowledge and lived experiences they built through the Asian diaspora and how they mobilize and leverage such resources to teach in K-12 and HL schools. Findings highlight the unique transnational funds of knowledge they carved out through mobility and uprootedness, the ways heritage language learning helped them to navigate racial discrimination and affirm their identity, and the commitment as well as the challenges they encountered in leveraging lived experience in their teaching. The study contributes to advancing dialogs around the Asian diaspora and mobility, and it suggests the importance of recognizing transmigrant teachers’ transnational funds of knowledge and their potential to transform today’s racist and assimilationist educational landscape.