Crossing Back, Looking Forward: Teacher Education as a Site of Being, Belonging and Transpedagogical Becoming

This article examines the identity trajectories of four transnational language teachers who have returned to Mexico and enrolled in teacher education programs at a public university in central Mexico after living in the United States for a number of years. Drawing on poststructuralist views of identity (Barkhuizen, 2017; Norton, 2013), Anzaldúan theories, and anti-malinchismo (Kasun & Mora-Pablo, 2021; 2022), this study explores how these teachers manage conflicts between their personal histories abroad and the professional and sociocultural demands of teaching languages in Mexico. Through narrative inquiry, using autobiographies and semi-structured interviews, results show how their time in the United States significantly influenced their pedagogical views and self-perception as language teachers. However, returning to Mexico triggers complex negotiations of legitimacy, belonging, and recognition. Their participation in language teacher education programs turns out to be crucial for identity reconfiguration. These provide opportunities to balance their transnational experiences with local teaching realities, as well as academic grounding and reflective practice. The programs' function in fostering a feeling of both professional and personal belonging is highlighted by the findings, which also reveal institutional shortcomings in aiding returning teachers. This work aims to increase understanding of how mobility and organized academic and pedagogical engagement shape teacher identity in the context of return migration.