Laura Brass’ Dissertation Defence

Supervisory Committee:
Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Jenson
Committee Members: Dr. Maureen Kendrick and Dr. Teresa Dobson

University Examiners:
University Examiner: Dr. Margaret Early, LLED and Dr. Anne Phelan, EDCP
External Examiner: Dr. Roumi Ilieva, SFU

Chair: Dr. Christina Laffin, Department of Asian Studies

Dissertation Title:

Re-Skilling, Up-Skilling, and the Devaluing of Skill: Skilled Immigrant Women Language Teachers’ Lived Experiences of Identity

Abstract:

This study explores the lived experiences of skilled immigrant women language teachers in Canada through feminist intersectional and new materialist frameworks, seeking to understand the intricate dynamics of identity, power relations, and inequities. Women-identified skilled immigrants are more likely to be overeducated than their male counterparts and have higher levels of education than Canadian-born women. However, they experience higher unemployment rates, compounded by racial, gender, and linguistic biases. While considerable research considers ESL learners, the experiences of immigrant women language teachers—Canada’s largest group of language teachers—remain understudied.

Using a feminist intersectional approach, the study examines how identity categories (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, immigration status, second language, and accent) and material-discursive factors (e.g., physical appearance, dress, and age) affect these women’s identities and lived experiences. New materialist frameworks emphasize how non-human entities (e.g., objects and pets) are vital in shaping these women’s identities. Data were collected through individual interviews, artifacts, and photo-elicitation from 17 participants of diverse backgrounds and demonstrated how immigrant women language teachers face significant challenges, such as systemic discrimination, underemployment, re-credentialing and professional reintegration, financial constraints, and insufficient government support. The findings point to objects (e.g., coins, jewellery, and religious icons) serving as material agents that connect these women to their past, empowering them while negotiating their identities in Canada. Furthermore, as non-human vital participants, pets become integral to inter-species heterogeneous family assemblages, offering mental and emotional support, and helping the women navigate challenges as immigrants.

This research contributes to understanding systemic inequities in the Canadian workforce, emphasizing the need for ongoing research to address the unique barriers faced by racialized, skilled immigrant women language teachers. Employing feminist intersectional and new materialist approaches, this study sheds light on underexplored material and emotional dimensions in these women’s lived experiences while challenging more traditional human-centred analyses of immigration and identity.