Teaching Immigration Issues in Elementary School Classrooms on the US/Mexico Border

Transborder Pedagogy and Its Significance

Authors

  • Timothy G Cashman University of Texas at El Paso

Keywords:

transborder pedagogy, interdisciplinary curriculum, elementary social studies, immigration issues

Abstract

This case study uncovers how controversial issues such as the recent influx of refugees and immigrants were being addressed in upper elementary classrooms on the United States (US) side of the US/Mexico border. Public school administrators and sixth-grade teachers from two school sites participated. Transborder pedagogy contextualized the findings of the research. With the COVID-19 pandemic, classroom discussions of border issues have been superseded with other concerns. This research underscores the immediacy of transborder pedagogy during times of uncertainty.

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Author Biography

  • Timothy G Cashman, University of Texas at El Paso

    TIMOTHY G. CASHMAN is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Texas at El Paso. He received his doctoral degree from Washington State University and his master’s degree from the University of New Mexico. Dr. Cashman has conducted empirical studies in Mexico, Malaysia, Canada, and the United States. His academic expertise includes the development of the original theoretical constructs of critical border dialogism and critical border praxis, which follows on the principles of border pedagogy and critical, place-based pedagogies. Cashman has taught curriculum and instruction, social studies education, education for a diverse society, middle school methods, and classroom organization. Previous educational experiences include 15 years of teaching K-12 in New Mexico, California, and Korea. In 2021 he sole-authored Promoting Transborder Dialogue During Times of Uncertainty: A Time for Third Spaces. Cashman was also the sole author of a book entitled Developing a Critical Border Dialogism: Learning from Fellow Educators in Malaysia, Mexico, Canada, and the United States by Information Age Publishing (2015). His research has also been featured in numerous peer reviewed academic journals: Multicultural Education, Action in Teacher Education, Journal of Social Studies Research, International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, Critical Education, Journal of Authentic Learning, Research in Comparative and International Education, Issues in Teacher Education, and the Journal of International Social Studies. E-mail: tcashman@utep.edu

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Additional Files

Published

2022-10-25

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2022): Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2022 Timothy G Cashman

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How to Cite

Teaching Immigration Issues in Elementary School Classrooms on the US/Mexico Border: Transborder Pedagogy and Its Significance. (2022). Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 11(2), 133-153. https://ojed.org/jise/article/view/4814