Which way home: Documentary Counter-Narratives of U.S. Immigration
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
Proposal submitted for research paper session.
This descriptive case study examined the perceptions of 38 preservice teachers in response to viewing the Academy Award nominated documentary Which Way Home. This film illustrated candid immigration counter-narratives, specifically the experiences of children and adolescents who hitch hike the train system of Central America and Mexico en route to the United States. Two data collection methods were used: pre and post surveys (n=38) and focus group interviews (n=9). Findings indicated that PSTs intellectually grappled with immigration counter-narratives and demonstrated two shifts in their thinking about immigration and their future teaching. Drawing on the documentary film and immigration bodies of literature, and nested in the theoretical frameworks of Yosso’s Critical Race Theory Methodology and Freire’s Critical Consciousness Model, this project serves as an example of how social studies methods instructors could use documentaries as pedagogical tools, and more specifically, using film to explore counter-stories of a contemporary social issue, immigration.
