# Addressing the Language, Education, and Identity Development of Transnational Youth in Preservice/Inservice Teacher Education Programs Using Forum Theater

## TL;DR

This paper explores how Forum Theater can help teachers better understand and support transnational students' language, education, and identity development.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a transdisciplinary arts-based approach using Forum Theater in teacher education programs for transnational youth.

## Key findings

- Forum Theater scenarios helped participants understand transnational youth experiences of discrimination and racism.
- The approach fostered teacher learners' critical consciousness and understanding of psychological and cognitive factors.
- Workshops led to greater empathy and awareness of transnational students' language and identity development.

## Abstract

Substantial research has been dedicated to the study of transnational students’ language, education, and identity development in order to cultivate their funds of knowledge and to improve their schooling experiences. However, as this Special Issue points out, a more holistic and transdisciplinary approach is needed. The present paper does just this, zooming in on teacher education programs designed to prepare teachers to work with transnational students using transdisciplinary arts-based approaches, and in particular, Augusto Boal’s Forum Theater. Employing collective autoethnography and building on a larger research study that explores participant reflections on experiences engaging in Forum Theater, we reconsider three scenarios from arts-based workshops conducted with transnational learners and preservice/inservice teachers (aka teacher learners). In doing so, we deconstruct exactly how the exploration and brainstorming of effective responses to transnational youth experiences of discrimination, stereotyping, and racism in the Forum Theater workshops are harnessed to help participants understand the psychological, cognitive, and behavioral factors at play that impact transnational youth language, education, and identity development. Findings show how each scenario could lead to greater understanding of transnational youth experiences, and the development of teacher learners’ critical consciousness in working with these students.