Date of Award
2026-05-01
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Teaching, Learning and Culture
Advisor(s)
Erika L. Mein
Abstract
This qualitative study is developed with the understanding that the linguistic experiences of Mexican-origin new teachers are situated in the socially constructed Institutional Discourses of U.S. schools in la frontera. Discourses that have historically marked Spanish-speaking identities as deficient while privileging English-only norms. Furthermore, the four maestras in this study are considered active agents in their development as bilingual educators and creators of counter-Discourses that affirm the linguistic and cultural identities of their emergent bilingual students. This study looks at Mexican-origin bilingual educators' vivencias as assets that shaped their journeys into the education profession and continue to shape their pedagogical practices in their classrooms. Specifically, the study expands on existing research on bilingual teacher identity development to explore the understudied significance of linguistic wounds, Nepantla, y cariño as foundational elements of bilingual pedagogy in a rural U.S.-México frontera context. Data collection and analysis were conducted using testimonio as both methodology and method. Data were analyzed and interpreted through three theoretical frameworks: Gee's (1999) Discourse Analysis, Anzaldúa's (2022) Borderlands Theory, and Yosso's (2006) Community Cultural Wealth Model. Five themes emerged from the data: Linguistic Terrorism as Internalized Silence, La Herida que Llama, Nepantla: Living and teaching in the In-Between, Soñando en Dos Idiomas, and Teaching Con Cariño. The findings reveal that for these four Mexican-origin bilingual educators, the linguistic experiences that wounded them as children, labeling, silencing, shame, and institutional exclusion, did not become obstacles to their professional pathway; they became its foundation.
Language
en
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
Copyright Date
2026-05
File Size
156 p.
File Format
application/pdf
Rights Holder
Patricia L. Ocana
Recommended Citation
Ocana, Patricia L., "Linguistic Experiences And Identity Of Mexican-Origin New Teachers In A Rural District In The U.S.-Mexico Frontera" (2026). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 4752.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/4752