Immigrant Teachers, American Students

Teachers, as often as students, articulate frustrations over each other's choices and expectations. A teacher's demand for respect may appear an imposition and abuse of authority to students accustomed to speaking out against perceived injustices. All teachers experience some tentativeness, especially in an unfamiliar environment. Since classroom decisions tend to be immediate, choices reflect learned attitudes and behaviors as much as logical decision-making procedures. Florence explores the cross-cultural complexities of teacher/student interactions, particularly African immigrant teachers. Despite the emotional aggravations, cultural misunderstandings offer forums for a reassessment of views, acknowledgement of differences, and initiative for positive change.

"In the dynamic age of globalism, Namulundah's book sheds critical national and comparative perspectives on the education debate in contemporary society. In scope and depth, this book is a timely and impressive work that should encourage teachers, scholars, and policymakers to reflect more carefully on the meaning of teaching and learning in our globalized and transnational world." - Olufemi Vaughan, Geoffrey Canada Professor of Africana Studies and History and Director of the Africana Studies Program, Bowdoin College

"Since the major shift in U.S. immigration policy in 1965, the country has become increasingly diverse culturally and populated by people of non-European descent. Our educational institutions at all levels have become a crucible of cultural diversity debates and identity politics. Whether the reader of this book is an immigrant faculty, school administrator, or a citizen committed to greater hermeneutical cross-cultural understanding, Namulundah s book is an invaluable resource for understanding the contemporary changes and challenges in American cultural identity, and what one can constructively do about it." - Samuel Zalanga, Associate Professor of Sociology, Bethel University

"This book is an erudite, scholarly, and much needed intervention in the discourse on the relationship between culture and education within the context of a United States constructed as the ultimate pluralist terrain - a nation of immigrants where all voices are welcome and valued. Foregrounding the experiences of African immigrant teachers, it skillfully interrogates the intersecting social constructions of race, privilege, knowledge, expertise, and the ways in which they undergird teaching and learning. Communication, particularly cross-cultural communication, is a fundamental aspect of teaching and learning. Namulundah s work is a valuable contribution to interdisciplinary research and scholarship concerned with these matters in the humanities and social sciences." - Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome, Professor of Political Science, Brooklyn College, CUNY

NAMULUNDAH FLORENCE is Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations in the School of Education at Brooklyn College, CUNY, USA.