My positionality as a teacher: my testimony as educator with a global perspective

Abstract

When examining one’s positionality, it is impossible to ignore the outside influence of social institutions on personal viewpoints and opinions. My lived experiences from childhood to the present have helped me to realize the importance of giving marginalized groups a voice within education. From being an outsider to a new culture while studying in Spain to learning about the struggles of the indigenous peoples of Australia through personal narratives, my eyes were opened to the fact that marginalized groups are underrepresented in curriculums around the world. Experiencing various cultures and education systems around the world has given me a global perspective on how to implement an epistemically diverse curriculum in my classroom. An interdisciplinary educational approach would allow for various perspectives and ideas from different disciplines to come together in one classroom for a common goal of a well-rounded education for students.