Foster Child of the Family: An Autoethnography of an International Minority Teacher Educator in a U.S. University

In this chapter, I used critical autoethnography to document my experiences as a minority teacher educator in a predominantly White institution (PWI) of higher education in the United States and examined how my intersectional identities as a foreign-born, non-White, non-native English speaking, teacher educator of Asian descent had influenced my practices as a multicultural educator and researcher. I used tenets of the critical race theory (CRT) and Asian critical theory (AsianCrit), in particular counterstorytelling and intersectionality, as analytic lens to frame my explorations of what it meant to be a minority educator in a foreign cultural and institutional context. Data in the form of reflective narratives drawn from my lived experiences and documents were analyzed and presented as counternarratives to explicate my intersectional identities and navigational strategies used to negotiate my position and practices in the often-limiting, PWI academic space. I ended the chapter with a call for more inclusive CRT and AsianCrit frameworks to understand the unique transnational lives and identities of minority educators in an increasingly global world. By sharing my autoethnographic recollections and counternarratives, I hope this chapter will serve as an empowering invitation for international minority scholars to join the collective endeavor to advance the conversation and transform higher education towards a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable space.