Re‐credentialling experiences of immigrant teachers: negotiating institutional structures, professional identities and pedagogy

Abstract

Teachers immigrating to Canada with credentials from non‐Canadian jurisdictions are regarded as desirable immigrant professionals because of their high levels of education and yet, nevertheless, are required to redo some or all of their professional training. This research examines sociocultural notions of voice, agency, authorship and identity in considering how a group of 28 teachers with diverse professional and personal backgrounds, and with initial teaching credentials from outside Canada, perceive and respond to the institutional/structural constraints imposed by mainstream ‘gate‐keeping’ institutions. Analysis of data from interviews and questionnaires indicates that teachers initially credentialled outside of Canada potentially have much to add to the education of students in Canadian schools. However, to achieve this potential it is necessary that these educators' encounters with Canadian educational institutions engage rather than silence their voices.