Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Curriculum & Instruction

First Advisor

James Jupp

Second Advisor

Pauli Badenhorst

Third Advisor

Ana Carolina Diaz Beltran

Abstract

Filipina immigrant teachers are a growing presence in Texas schools, especially as districts respond to teacher shortages by recruiting internationally trained educators. This narrative study explores the salaysay of Filipina immigrant teachers in Texas and examines how their funds of knowledge inform their teaching practice. Guided by the research question, What are the salaysay of Filipina immigrant teachers in Texas, and how do their funds of knowledge inform their teaching? The study uses Funds of Knowledge (Moll et al., 1992) as the central framework and resizes it to focus on teachers as holders of culturally developed knowledge. The resized framework organizes the study through four funds of knowledge: Filipino household knowledge, transnational experience, Filipino schooling, and Filipino teacher preparation. Data were gathered through individual interviews, a focus group discussion, and the researcher's journaling. Narrative analysis produced six themes: emphases on authority, faith and family, transnational ties as motivation and perseverance, pedagogical hybridity, navigating foreignness with initiative and resilience, and education as mobility and growth. Findings show that participants’ teaching in Texas is shaped by culturally accumulated values and pedagogical beliefs carried from the Philippines and reworked to meet local expectations. Overall, participants’ salaysay reveal teaching as both professional practice and culturally grounded meaning-making, where identity, responsibility, and instruction remain connected across borders.

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Copyright 2026 Shanna Cui Miranda. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3371247873

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