Sharing Stories Across Borders

Earlier this year, four colleagues traveled to Mexico City to present at the 62nd annual meeting of the Comparative & International Education Society focused on Re-Mapping Global Education: South-North Dialogue. Early in the morning at a local museum, we participated on a panel entitled Muddying North-South Borders: A Concentric Conversation of LatinX Voices in Urban and Rural Educational Settings. Dr. Heather Kertyzia opened the session by sharing a participatory action research project where teachers in Nicaragua took part in peace education professional development. Dr. Lilia Sarmiento recalled her work with teachers from Central America and the Dominican Republic in a writing project which captured their cultural stories and how that work transferred to their rural schools. Dr. Jen Stacy vividly described her experiences with Latina mothers as they engaged in family literacy sessions. Dr. Yesenia Fernandez, the final panel discussant, described her research in working with Latina mothers as leaders and their role in helping their children to go to college. Scholars at this international conference, critically examined the move towards a more globalization model for teacher preparation with a focus on honoring multiple perspectives, human rights and social justice.