Long Term Immigrants as Teachers of New Immigrant Students

Abstract

This article deals with veteran immigrant teachers who integrated successfully into Israel’s educational system and have been teaching immigrant students over the past few years. Their encounter with present (2018) new immigrants raises the following research question: How are patterns of integration into society reflected in the conceptions of veteran immigrant teachers in their work with immigrant students? The theoretical literature on which this study is based includes Berry’s transnationalism model and the concept of hybrid identity. The results displayed affinity between the teachers’ own migration stories and their educational conceptions regarding immigrant students. Patterns included both assimilation and integration. The conclusions declare that it is indeed appropriate to process the experiences and stories of veteran immigrant teachers because they transmit their conceptions to immigrant students and can serve as bridge builders within the educational system as former immigrants themselves

Keywords

• transnationalism
• hybrid identity
• immigrant teachers
• narrative paradigm
• melting pot