Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Advisor/Mentor

Blair, Alissa

Committee Member

Goering, Christian

Second Committee Member

Bowles, Freddie

Keywords

Critical Multiracial Theory; EFL Teacher Identity; English as a Foreign Language; ME-R Identity; Multiracial Identity; TESOL

Abstract

This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study utilized Critical Multiracial Theory (MultiCrit) to construct a counternarrative that amplifies the voices of Multiracial teachers, focusing on the development of personal and teacher identity. Specifically, the study critically examines the trajectory of Multiethnic-Racial (ME-R) identity transformation following experiences teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in participants’ heritage Asian countries. Data were collected through one-time semi-structured virtual interviews with fifteen purposefully selected Asian-White Multiracial EFL teachers who had completed a one-year Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) within the past decade. Each participant also provided a written artifact to support the analysis. Participants reflected on their ME-R identity before, during, and after their teaching experience, with particular attention to early racialized experiences in the United States, motivations for teaching in their heritage country, and the outcomes of that experience. The study also explored how participants navigated, renegotiated, and asserted their identities while teaching in their ancestral homelands. Findings extend MultiCrit tenets by highlighting the roles of racism, monoracism, colorism, and the timing of differential racialization. Participants frequently experienced being positioned simultaneously as insiders and outsiders, with community reception shaped by language proficiency and racialized perceptions. Overall, this study identifies key factors influencing ME-R teacher identity and examines how Multiracial educators navigate their identities in foreign EFL contexts. The findings offer practical implications for supporting, recruiting, and retaining Multiracial EFL teachers, as well as insights relevant to the growing population of Multiracial students and educators.

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