Personal Narratives of Teacher Knowledge

This book illustrates how the experiential histories of teachers shape and inform the knowledge of teachers as professionals. Situating personal experiences into the context of social, political, and economic events gives clarity to the intercultural dynamics of being Chinese and Western. What can we learn from each other to transform our teaching and learning? The book engages in a cross-cultural perspective that is highly relevant for teachers, teacher education, curriculum making and policy planning for a global community. The book is also an invitation to internationalize the classroom for teaching and learning in a diverse and global world, and to educators and policy makers to expand our understanding of cross-cultural complexities for an increasingly diversified and global community. By viewing the classroom through the multiple lens of different cultures, educators have an opportunity to cross over to see, experience, and understand how others live.

“In the interplay of world cultures today, it is imperative to recognize and actualize the potential of mutual understanding without which life on Earth cannot endure. That is why I urge you to read Betty Eng’s book and to use it in classes with teachers and those who aspire to become teachers. Eng illustrates the necessity of realizing benefits of intercultural and reciprocal learning through personal narrative and autobiographical inquiry that portray the complex evolving flow of diverse identities, characters, and cultural events in constructing internal and external dimensions of teacher development. While Eng relates this complexity through her experiences contextualized in China, Hong Kong, Canada, and the United States, the treatment is starkly relevant to increased movement between other cultures or subcultures. The perspective provided is a heuristic for understanding needed in education for a collaborative and flourishing world” (William H. Schubert, Professor Emeritusand former University Scholar,  University of Illinois at Chicago, USA and Fellow of International Academy of Education) 

“Being Westernized Chinese, Eng taught herself to explore her and her students' complex identities---the "fluid in-betweenness," in the "fusion of East and West." She shares with her students the wish to be accepted and to belong on their own terms. Through experiences of China, Hong Kong, and California, she traces the evolution of her commitment to herself and her students to claim and depend on an honest plurality of personal and cultural identities” (Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist Wellesley Centers for Women Wellesley College, USA) 

“The personal stories told in this book reflect many past and current experiences of those who dwell in multiple places and identities. This book is an extremely valuable reference for those teachers who are living and teaching internationally when they want to reflect on their personal practical knowledge” (Dr. Xuefeng (Leo) Huang, The University of Windsor, UK) 

“… the crushing “hollow bamboo” experience parallels other Asians’ equally disturbing cases of being called a “banana” (looking Eastern from the outside while acting Western from the inside). How does one deal with prejudice and discrimination simultaneously stemming from family and society-at-large amid transition? How does one negotiate perplexing phenomena not of one’s making? I highly commend this illuminative book whose lessons will stick long after its reading” (Cheryl J. Craig, Professor and Endowed Chair of Urban Education, Texas A&M University, USA) 

“Personal Narratives of Teacher Knowledge: Crossing Cultures, Crossing Identities challenges readers' assumptions of multicultural issues by offering author’s cultural experience and academic perspective. It provides compelling narratives for teachers, teacher candidates, and policy makers in raising awareness, enhancing understandings, and promoting insights into the opportunities and challenges of culturally responsive education” (Diana K. Kwok, Associate Professor, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) 

“Through a metaphor of Juk Sing (hollow bamboo), Betty Eng narrates and reflects on her professional and personal experiences that reveal how teacher knowledge may be constructed and construed in the in-betweenness of identities and cultures over time and space. This book is invaluable to all educators, policy makers and other stakeholders in the field who are striving for better understanding and practice of learning, teaching and education in a global age” (Jun Li, Professor, Western University, Canada and Vice President, Comparative and International Education Society)

“The storytelling and personal experiences are an empowering and compelling way to recover and reclaim our community's history, culture and identity. The book is highlyrelevant to understanding learners for teachers and policy makers” (Satsuki Ina, Community Activist for Social Justice Co-organizer, Tsuru for Solidarity, USA)

Betty C. Eng is a longtime teacher educator and former faculty member at The Education University of Hong Kong and the University of California, Davis, USA, as well as California State University, Sacramento, USA. She is a Chinese American, born in China and raised in the United States. She received her Ed.D. from University of Toronto.