Relational Authority and Professional Credibility: Narratives of J-1 Filipino Mathematics Teachers in U.S. Classrooms

Abstract

The increasing globalization of education has intensified teacher mobility across national borders, placing educators in diverse cultural contexts where assumptions regarding authority, credibility, and professional identity may be challenged. Despite the growing presence of internationally mobile teachers, limited research has examined how J-1 Filipino mathematics teachers construct and negotiate relational authority and professional credibility within U.S. classrooms. Guided by a constructivist narrative inquiry design and Clandinin and Connelly’s three-dimensional framework of temporality, sociality, and place, this study examined how three J-1 Filipino mathematics teachers narrated the construction of relational authority and professional credibility, how turning points, tensions, and critical classroom incidents shaped their evolving professional identities, and how culture, language, and prior teaching experiences influenced these narratives in U.S. school contexts. Data were collected through written narrative responses and analyzed using narrative coding and thematic narrative analysis. Cross-narrative analysis revealed five major themes: disruption of prior conceptions of authority and credibility; critical incidents as catalysts for transformation; relational and instructional adaptation; reconstruction of relational authority and professional credibility; and identity negotiation across time, sociality, and place. Across the narratives, participants moved from relying primarily on positional authority and prior professional experience toward more relational, reflective, and context-responsive approaches to teaching. The findings show that professional legitimacy is not automatically transferred across educational contexts but is reconstructed through critical experiences, relational engagement, instructional adaptation, and reflection. Practically, the findings support structured mentorship and culturally responsive induction that help internationally mobile teachers navigate classroom expectations, communication differences, and professional identity transitions.