From Classrooms to Conferences: Cultivating Teacher Purpose, Practice, & Identity Through Global Educational Communities

Abstract

The global teacher shortage has reached a critical level, with Belize among the most affected, impacting our generation’s ability to deliver the promise of literacy to the children our shared world. This qualitative study examines the experiences of two Belizean high school students and their assistant principal during a visit to Colorado classrooms and a university Future Teacher Conference. Despite enormous cultural and systemic differences, participants found connection and identity through shared communities of practice. These cross-cultural interactions inspired the Belizean students to envision themselves as future educators bestowing literacy to the future keepers of our shared civilization within a global teaching community. Aware of the central role of technology in participants’ lives, researchers employed messaging apps as an innovative data collection method, capturing rich, nuanced insights. This study bridges university settings, public schools in Belize and the U.S., and high school students, contributing to urgent conversations on the global teacher shortage. It highlights the value of international collaboration and global perspectives in cultivating and sustaining the next generation of educators.