Semiotic paradigm and Carspecken's (1996) critical ethnography were used in a qualitative research study of elementary teachers' beliefs about minority and Latino/a immigrant students and the role of life experiences, culture and Umwelt in the formation and influence of beliefs. The participants were a kindergarten, first grade, and second grade teacher from a small school district in Indiana. Data was collected from observations and interviews. The data was analyzed through reconstructive data analysis (Carspecken, 1996) and semiotic analysis (Shank, 1994, & 1998). Major findings include: (1) teachers' life experiences have contributed to the way teachers think about themselves, their teaching and their students, (2) Teachers' life experiences during their adult life challenged teachers' teaching, (3) Not all the participants expressed an awareness of the connection between life experiences and their teaching, (4) Teachers in this study established a separation between their personal and professional lives, (5) Teachers seem to have limited awareness of the interconnectedness of who they are and who the other (students, parents etc.) is culturally, (6) Teachers attribute students' achievement to students' family background and perceived parent's values on education. In the case of Latino/a immigrant students, teachers claim that it is not being Latino/a or immigrant that impacts their learning but having a known learning disability, lack of knowledge of English language and home background. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]