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Ethnic studies as critical consciousness and humanization
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Content
Ethnic Studies As Critical Consciousness and Humanization
Leticia Diaz-Garcia
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
May 2024
© Copyright by Leticia Diaz-Garcia 2024
All Rights Reserved
The Committee for Leticia Diaz-Garcia certifies the approval of this Dissertation
Gregory Franklin
Alan Green
Christina Kishimoto, Committee Chair
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2024
iv
Abstract
This study applied Freire’s critical learning theory and related literature to understand the impact
of an ethnic studies curriculum on teachers’ and students’ holistic humanization and critical
consciousness. The purpose of this research study was to determine how students and teachers
perceived that the course influenced their own critical consciousness and holistic humanization
and whether the teachers perceived a change in the critical consciousness and humanization of
their students. This qualitative study relied on one-on-one interviews with 10 ethnic studies
teachers and 1 former student in California. The interviews were conducted through Zoom, and
the responses were later coded thematically based on the conceptual framework. Findings from
this study indicated that both the student and the teachers increased in their critical consciousness
and humanization. The student reported that the course helped her understand herself and others
better, increased her awareness of oppression, and increased her capacity to challenge that
oppression. The teachers indicated they became more reflective, challenged the way they taught
the course, and felt a sense of healing. The respondents also reported that the way the course was
taught was important. This study contributes to the literature on the impact of ethnic studies
beyond academics, including the impact on teachers. It also provides implications for practice for
K–12 institutions that seek to increase critical thinking and healing.
v
Dedication
To my wife, I couldn’t have done this without your love and support. Thank you for believing in
me and for being patient through this process. Your encouragement and support made this
dissertation possible. I love you!
Mateo, I hope that this work contributes to making the world a better place for you and that you
get to have an educational experience where you feel seen and cared for. Te quiero mucho.
A mi familia, gracias por su sacrificio, por siempre creer en mí y apoyarme en mis estudios. Los
quiero.
Lupita, sigues tú. Future Doctora Maria Guadalupe Romo-González.
vi
Acknowledgments
This endeavor would not have been possible without the support of my chair, Dr.
Christina Kishimoto. Thank you for your feedback, encouragement, and structured support
throughout this journey.
I am also thankful to Dr. Alan Green and Dr. Gregory Franklin for their knowledge and
expertise as both my professors and my committee members.
I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Jennifer Elemen for taking the time to read
through this dissertation and provide me with feedback and suggestions.
Thank you to all my professors whose assignments and feedback have contributed to this
work.
I am also grateful to my classmates for their continued support and feedback throughout
this process, particularly Teddy Magaña Patigian and Dr. Franklin’s dissertation cohort.
I would also like to acknowledge those multiple individuals who shared and reposted my
request for interview participants, including Dr. Jennifer Elemen and Lupita Romo-González.
Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning the teachers and the one student willing to
give up their time to sit with me and share their experiences and perceptions. Thank you.
vii
Table of Contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication....................................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x
List of Figures................................................................................................................................ xi
Chapter One: Overview of the Study.............................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 3
Statement of the Problem.................................................................................................... 5
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 6
Significance of the Study .................................................................................................... 7
Limitations and Delimitations............................................................................................. 7
Definition of Terms............................................................................................................. 8
Organization of the Study ................................................................................................. 10
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ........................................................................................ 11
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy .......................................................................................... 11
Ethnic Studies................................................................................................................... 12
Humanization and Critical Consciousness........................................................................ 21
Critical Learning Theory................................................................................................... 27
Preliminary Conceptual Framework ................................................................................. 30
Chapter Three: Methodology........................................................................................................ 34
Purpose of Study............................................................................................................... 34
Research Questions........................................................................................................... 34
Selection of the Population ............................................................................................... 35
Setting ............................................................................................................................... 37
viii
Design Summary............................................................................................................... 37
Methodology..................................................................................................................... 38
Instrumentation and Protocols .......................................................................................... 39
Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 40
Ethical Considerations...................................................................................................... 42
Data Analysis.................................................................................................................... 44
Positionality ...................................................................................................................... 46
Summary........................................................................................................................... 47
Chapter Four: Results ................................................................................................................... 48
Participant Demographics................................................................................................. 49
Thematic Data Coding ...................................................................................................... 49
Presentation of Findings ................................................................................................... 51
Results for Research Question 1....................................................................................... 51
Discussion for Research Question 1 ................................................................................. 70
Results for Research Question 2....................................................................................... 70
Discussion for Research Question 2 ................................................................................. 81
Perspectives on Pedagogy................................................................................................. 82
Discussion for Pedagogy................................................................................................... 96
Summary........................................................................................................................... 96
Chapter Five: Discussion .............................................................................................................. 98
Findings............................................................................................................................. 98
Conceptual Framework................................................................................................... 109
Limitations...................................................................................................................... 110
Implications for Practice ................................................................................................. 110
Future Research .............................................................................................................. 113
ix
Conclusions..................................................................................................................... 114
References................................................................................................................................... 116
Appendix A: Interview With Former Students........................................................................... 129
Appendix B: Interviews With Teachers...................................................................................... 133
Appendix C: Focus Group Guide ............................................................................................... 136
Appendix D: Informed Consent/Information Sheet.................................................................... 137
Appendix E: Script to Request Participation .............................................................................. 139
x
List of Tables
Table 1: Interview and Focus Group Selection Criteria for Students and Teachers..................... 35
Table 2: Student Participant Characteristics................................................................................. 49
Table 3: Teacher Participant Characteristics ................................................................................ 50
xi
List of Figures
Figure 1: Preliminary Conceptual Framework ............................................................................. 32
Figure 2: Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................... 111
1
Chapter One: Overview of the Study
Schooling in the United States has largely been an oppressive and dehumanizing
endeavor that limits critical consciousness, particularly for those not in the dominant social
groups (Anderson, 1988; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Laura, 2018; Massey et al., 2014; Patel, 2016;
Scott, 1998, as cited in Collins, 2000; Spring, 2016; Tuck & Gaztambide-Fernandez, 2013).
Ethnic studies, in contrast, seeks to bring back humanity to the students and build critical
consciousness (California Department of Education, 2022; Cuauhtin et al., 2019; Sleeter &
Zavala, 2020). The challenge, though, is that where ethnic studies is available, it has been
infused into a White, middle-class-centric system, without fundamentally changing the core
design, values, and assumptions of the system. The question, then, is whether the availability of a
different way of thinking and knowing about Black, Indigenous, and people of color can change
and influence students, teachers, and even the system.
Throughout the history of the United States, school has been an oppressive space,
particularly for minoritized students. What and who is in the curriculum; how Black, Indigenous,
and students of color are perceived; the persistent opportunity gaps—these have been
impediments to an equity-based design. According to Tuck and Gatzimbide-Fernandez (2013),
the curriculum is a White supremacy project. The school curriculum shows other racialized
groups as being in the early stages of human development (Tuck & Gatzimbide-Fernandez,
2013, p. 76). Showing groups of people as inferior removes their humanity and aligns with the
idea of White supremacy. According to Nganga et al. (2021), the curriculum “largely silence[s]
the experiences of marginalized cultures in the U.S.” (p. 4). Schooling is also based on an
Industrial-Era design to train children of immigrants to become “useful citizens” (Massey et al.,
2
2014, p. 174). The irony is that they are being trained to become “useful citizens” in a racialized
capitalist culture (Robinson, 1983).
Spring (2016) and Anderson (1988) both provided a historical view of a racialized
education system as evidenced by the experiences of Native Indigenous students and Black and
African American students in the United States. For instance, they share the history of Black
children being excluded from education due to anti-literacy laws and the cultural genocide of
Native American children. Laura (2018) described school as a place of violence and wounding
because it kills the desire to learn. Patel (2016) explained that schooling blurs and justifies settler
colonial structure with the ideas of meritocracy and opportunity, among others (p. 400). These
examples contribute to what Ladson-Billings (2006) called the education debt. Education debt is
what the United States owes students of color after centuries of an accumulated, unjust,
subtracting, demeaning, and intergenerationally traumatizing education. This type of schooling
continues today.
Traditional schooling also limits critical consciousness. According to Anderson (1988),
learning to read and write was seen as a contradiction to oppression (p. 17). Learning would help
increase the critical consciousness needed to fight oppression and work toward liberation. This is
because “suppressing the knowledge produced by any oppressed group makes it easier for
dominant groups to rule because the seeming absence of dissent suggests that subordinate groups
willingly collaborate in their own victimization” (Scott, 1998, as quoted in Collins, 2000, p. 3).
Critical consciousness is those skills and knowledge that lead to resistance against victimization
and oppression. By suppressing knowledge and skills, schooling is also limiting critical
consciousness.
3
Learning, then, is fundamentally fugitive (Hinga, 2021), unless there is an opportunity for
the oppressed to lead systemic change. Ethnic studies provides this opportunity. Through
humanization and critical consciousness building, students and teachers can learn about
themselves and acknowledge their humanity and that of others. They can also learn to identify
different forms of oppression and develop the skills and confidence to address them. This
learning for liberation does not have to happen in secrecy and subversion or be fugitive (Givens,
2021). The extent to which ethnic studies can create a more humanizing space and thus lead to
this rise in critical consciousness needs to be studied and better understood.
Background of the Problem
Although the current system of schooling is flawed, education can be liberating.
Classrooms can be a place to critique and reclaim power (Cariaga, 2019). When this happens,
education is a practice of freedom (hooks, 1994). Douglas and Nganga (2015) explained that
“pedagogy sits at the intersection of understanding the systems of oppression, one’s location
within these, and one’s agency in negotiating such experiences” (p. 61). A critical pedagogy that
aims to sit at this intersection is ethnic studies (ES). Ethnic studies fits the criteria of critically
relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995a; Ladson-Billings, 1995b) because it emphasizes
academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness. More specifically, “the
foundational values of ethnic studies are housed in the conceptual model of the ‘double helix’
which signifies the interdependence between holistic humanization and critical consciousness”
(Cuauhtin, 2019, p. 73). Ethnic studies, thus, is the antithesis of traditional schooling.
Ethnic studies is a course that started out of the need for rehumanization, cultural
competency, and critical consciousness (Cuauhtin, 2019a). College students of color staged the
longest college sit-in in U.S. history to demand these courses (Cuauhtin et al., 2019). The
4
Comprehensive Center Network reported that in 2021, 19 states required ethnic studies to be
incorporated into the K–12 standards or curricula (Kwon, 2021). However, there has also been
opposition to ethnic studies. For instance, in 2010, Arizona passed a bill banning ethnic studies
courses (HB 2281). In 2021, the Brookings Institution shared a list of states that introduced or
passed legislation against critical race theory, which can be seen as another way to discuss ethnic
studies or other courses that acknowledge the United States’ racist history and its current impacts
(Ray & Gibbons, 2021). According to the authors, nine states had passed legislation and about 20
other states had introduced or planned to introduce similar legislation. Overall, this legislation
banned discussions on bias, privilege, discrimination, and oppression, which are integral to an
ethnic studies course. In 2023, Tom Horne, the coauthor of HB 2281 (Gershon, 2017), was reelected as Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction in 2022 (Kunichoff, 2022). According
to Kunichoff (2022), one of his campaign promises was to remove critical race theory from
Arizona schools. As Kunichoff explained, “Some conservatives use the phrase as a de facto term
for any analysis that uses race, particularly in a historical context” (para. 21), which would
include a course like ethnic studies.
In California, beginning with the 2025–2026 school year with the passing of Assembly
Bill (AB) 101, high school students must take a one-semester ethnic studies course. The intent of
adding this required course was to provide a curriculum that more accurately shows the history,
culture, and struggles of the different populations of California, which grew out of criticisms of
the curriculum as prejudiced and discriminatory, particularly toward Jews. However, it still
focuses on the four main groups that are traditionally overlooked in the curriculum and are the
basis of ethnic studies in college: Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asians.
5
There is limited research on the effects and impacts of ethnic studies. In the limited
research available, researchers have found that the ethnic studies curriculum improves academic
outcomes and increases attendance. Dee and Penner (2017) showed that GPA, attendance, and
course credits increase for initially lower-achieving students. Bonilla et al. (2021) showed that
those results continue over time and that high school graduation and college enrollment rates also
increase. Furthermore, Snapp and Russell (2016) found non-academic impacts such as an
increase in sense of belonging and connection; decreases in harassment, violence, and prejudice;
students feeling legitimized and seen; and a sense of an overall safer and more supportive
learning environment.
This phenomenological study contributes to the existing research by providing insight
into the effect the ethnic studies curriculum can have on students’ and educators’ holistic
humanization and critical consciousness to counteract the effects of the current inequitable status
quo educational system. This study also elicited educator and student perspectives on whether
they believe the impact goes beyond the individual to produce changes in the school system
itself.
Statement of the Problem
Students, particularly students of color, have an inequitable educational experience
(Anderson, 1988; Coates, 2015; del Carmen Salazar, 2013; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Massey et al.,
2014; Nganga et al., 2021; Spring, 2016). Ethnic studies can rehumanize and strengthen critical
consciousness and create a more positive and empowering learning environment. While ethnic
studies as a critical pedagogical approach seems to have a positive effect on students, little is
known about the students’ and teachers’ perception of the effect of ethnic studies, particularly on
humanization and critical consciousness. This study examined how students and educators
6
perceive the personal and organizational impact of the ethnic studies curriculum on their critical
consciousness and holistic humanization.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to elevate the voices of those who teach and take ethnic
studies classes. This research study examined whether ethnic studies has the effect of
rehumanizing and strengthening critical consciousness. One-on-one interviews with students and
teachers explored and considered the perspectives of those in ethnic studies courses. Freire
(1970) described learning as dialectical; therefore, it was important to interview and get the
perspectives of both students and teachers.
Two research questions guided this study:
1. What do teachers perceive is the effect of the ethnic studies curriculum on their
students’ critical consciousness and holistic humanization?
2. What are the teachers’ perceptions on how teaching ethnic studies affects their own
critical consciousness and humanization?
This study explored how students and teachers perceive the effect an ethnic studies
curriculum has on critical consciousness and holistic humanization. It examined how they think
the curriculum affected their identity, their sense of power and agency, and how they understand
and make sense of themselves, others, and the world around them. Grounded in critical learning
theory, this study examined the concepts of humanization and critical consciousness to address
oppression and the role participants believe ethnic studies plays in their own humanization and
critical consciousness. The perceptions of students and educators were determined by using a
narrative analysis approach.
7
Significance of the Study
This phenomenological research study provided insights into the perspectives of students
and teachers as to their experiences with ethnic studies courses and the effect they believe it has
on humanization and critical consciousness. These perspectives may help inform equity-minded
educational institutions and policymakers when deciding whether to include ethnic studies and
other counternarrative curricula.
Limitations and Delimitations
This study had multiple limitations. One of the limitations was limited time to complete
the dissertation along with the time it took to complete deep interviews with students and staff
who are busy. Additionally, access to participants was a limitation. Because the study was
designed to have in-person interviews and focus groups, this limited the access to local
participants who met the delimitations. Additionally, some of the ethnic studies courses started
as online instruction during the pandemic, and this changed the dynamics of the curriculum and
pedagogy. Another limitation was that most students in the district came from the same racial
and ethnic background. Moreover, there was no funding for incentives. Finally, this was a
relatively new course at the high school level, and this presented its limitations in terms of
participants, knowledge, and access to and experience with the curriculum.
The delimitations of the study included teachers who had taught at least two sessions of
high school ethnic studies in California within the past 8 years (2015–2023) and students who
had taken one high school ethnic studies course in California within the same time frame.
8
Definition of Terms
● Critical consciousness: The skills and ability to challenge the status quo of the current
social order including the cultural norms, values, mores, and situations that produce
and maintain social inequities (Ladson-Billings, 1995a).
● Critical pedagogy: Emancipatory; learn skills, knowledge, and modes of inquiry to
examine critically the role society played in self-formation (Douglas & Nganga,
2015, p. 62).
● Cultural competency: “The teacher’s capacity to interpret his or her practice as part of
a larger social and political systems and the related social justice issues that impact
the school experiences of urban students” (Murrell, 2006, p. 83).
● Dehumanization: “Dehumanization, which marks not only those whose humanity has
been stolen, but also (though in a different way) those who have stolen it, is a
distortion of the vocation of becoming more fully human” (Freire, 1970, p. 44).
● Ethnic studies “seeks to rehumanize experiences, challenge problematic Eurocentric
narratives, and build community solidarity across difference” (Sleeter & Zavala,
2020, p. 4).
● Humanization includes the values of love, respect, hope, and solidarity and is based
on the celebration of community cultural wealth (Liberated Ethnic Studies Model
Curriculum Consortium, n.d.).
● Liberation: “Born in the labor which brings into the world this new being: no longer
oppressor nor longer oppressed, but human in the process of achieving freedom”
(Freire, 1970, p. 23).
9
● Oppression occurs when one subgroup has more access to power and privilege than
another subgroup, and when that power and privilege are used to dominate the other
to maintain the status quo. Thus, oppression is both a state and a process, with the
state of oppression being unequal group access to power and privilege, and the
process of oppression being how that inequality is maintained (American
Psychological Association [APA], 2021).
● Phenomenological study: A philosophical perspective for the study of the human
experience to understand how a phenomenon is universally experienced (Lochmiller
& Lester, 2017, p. 110).
● Praxis: Reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it (Freire, 1970, p.
51).
● Radical healing refers to healing as a process for restoring the health and well-being
of students who have been exposed to chronic poverty, racism, and violence. It
includes developing a critical consciousness of social oppression, which gives one the
ability to counter hopelessness and nihilism and to aid in the preparation required for
confronting racism and similar forms of oppression (McGee & Stovall, 2015, p. 510).
● Social justice “means a disposition toward recognizing and eradicating all forms of
oppression and differential treatment extant in the practices and policies of
institutions, as well as a fealty to participatory democracy as the means of this action”
(Murrell, 2006, p. 81).
● White supremacy: The ideological belief that biological and cultural Whiteness is
superior, as well as normal and healthy, is a pervasive ideology that continues to
polarize the United States and undergird racism (APA, 2021).
10
Organization of the Study
This study is organized into five chapters. Chapter One provided the overview of the
study and described the dehumanizing nature of schooling in the United States as well as the
possibility of certain curricula being rehumanizing and working toward critical consciousness.
Chapter Two presents a review of the current literature in ethnic studies and my theoretical
framing. Chapter Three describes the methodology of the study, including sample selection,
interview questions, data collection, and data analysis. Chapter Four reports the research
findings. Finally, Chapter Five includes a summary of the findings, implications for practice,
conclusions, and recommendations.
11
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
The public education curriculum and pedagogy in the United States have a long history in
a Eurocentric, White-centered design. This curriculum and pedagogy, therefore, are
dehumanizing to students of different backgrounds. Ethnic studies, on the other hand, was
created to counter this form of education and should (re)humanize the students who take it. In
this chapter, I review the literature based on four overarching themes. First, I review the
literature on culturally relevant pedagogy. Then, I describe the literature on ethnic studies, which
includes six subthemes: California definition and responsiveness, case studies on how ethnic
studies started as a counter-response to dehumanizing schooling, literature on intersectional
ethnic studies, connections to social justice, the effects and impacts on students and teachers,
and, finally, oppositions to ethnic studies. I then examine the literature on humanization and
critical consciousness in education. Finally, I turn to critical learning theory grounded in the
work of Paulo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a theoretical framework. I end the chapter
by presenting my conceptual framework.
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) is a way of educating that centers students and their
identities rather than continuing the cultural mismatch between students and social structures
such as schooling. Ladson-Billings (1995a, 1995b) said that culturally relevant pedagogy will
increase students’ cultural competence. This includes competence about their own culture and
that of others. Through learning about their own culture and that of others, they engage in
culturally responsive caring. According to Gay (2018), the power of culturally responsive caring
is explored through ethnic and cultural diversity in curriculum content and the students’ own
cultural experiences. This means that the curriculum should include content that relates to the
12
students’ background and identity and allow them to explore and learn from their own
experiences.
Part of caring is engaging in healing and wellness. Tintiangco-Cubales and DuncanAndrade (2021) expressed that CRP and ethnic studies center and support youth wellness. When
students are learning about themselves, exploring and understanding their lived experiences, and
seeing themselves in the curriculum, they are improving their wellness as well as experiencing
positive interactions relating to their identity. Additionally, student achievement increases when
students learn from their own cultural experiences, their identity is validated, and they can form
relationships (Gay, 2018). Therefore, CRP improves both academic achievement and student
wellness. Additionally, CRP is not just about students learning about their culture and that of
others or doing so to get better grades and feel better, but, as emphasized by Ladson-Billings
(1995a, 1995b), CRP needs to explicitly address issues of equity and justice. With the emphasis
on centering the individual and explicitly addressing issues of equity and justice, ethnic studies is
culturally responsive.
Ethnic Studies
California Definition and Requirement
Ethnic studies is a curricular and pedagogical response to dehumanizing schooling and
White supremacist instruction. It seeks to explicitly address oppression at the intersectional level
and rehumanize individuals. It recently became a graduation requirement for high school
students in California despite the opposition that sees it as divisive. Overall, the research has
shown that it positively affects students and teachers in terms of identity and academic
achievement.
13
Ethnic studies recently became a graduation requirement for both high schools in
California and the California State University (CSU) system. According to AB 1460 (2020),
CSU students must take a course that covers the historical, social, economic, and political
perspectives of African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans.
AB 101 (2022), on the other hand, requires a semester of ethnic studies, and the course must
include ethnic studies content as the primary content of the subject course. Similarly to the CSU
requirement, this semester-long course focuses on the four foundational disciplines that guide
ethnic studies at the high school level: African American, Latinx, Native American, Asian
American, and Pacific Islander studies (California Department of Education, 2022). The
requirement should be set in place for the graduation class of 2029–2030, and the semester
course must be implemented by the 2025–2026 school year. California is the first state with such
a requirement for high school graduation (Pawel, 2021). While the requirement date has not
started, several high schools in California have started to implement ethnic studies courses for
their students.
Response to Dehumanizing Schooling
Ethnic studies is a response to dehumanizing schooling. Sleeter and Zavala’s (2020)
review of textbooks and other forms of curricula showed that current schooling is Eurocentric.
This means that the current curriculum is focusing on one group of people while leaving out the
rest, particularly students of color. De los Rios et al. (2015) explicitly mentioned that the ethnic
studies movement is a direct response to the White supremacist instruction that is seen in high
school and college curricula. Not only are the curricula leaving out significant groups of people,
but they perpetuate White supremacy. Ethnic studies responds to such curricula because ethnic
studies is a change in philosophy and practice for how American schools can address and
14
challenge systemic racism, White supremacy, and low expectations of the schools most in need
(de los Rios et al., 2015). The objective of ethnic studies is to challenge and eliminate the
systems of oppression within schooling and society as a whole. Similarly, Ochoa and Ochoa
(2022) described how schools are a site for gendered settler colonial capitalism, but ethnic
studies disrupts conventional schooling and the gendered settler colonial capitalist aspect of it.
Again, ethnic studies is intended to address the systems of oppression and, therefore, address
dehumanizing and White supremacist schooling.
One way that ethnic studies responds to dehumanizing schooling is by engaging in
counternarrative storytelling in which people provide perspectives and experiences that counter
the dominant narrative or ideology of the society, which shows certain people as inferior (Kolluri
& Edwards, 2023). However, while a counternarrative is a core component of education for
racial justice, Kolluri and Edwards also identified the challenges and tensions of creating a
curriculum with counternarrative in mind. These challenges include that the space for
counternarratives may leave space for conflict and controversy in the classroom instead, that
there are too many counternarratives to include in the curriculum, and that it may be difficult to
engage in some counternarratives when there are issues with literacy skills and development.
Furthermore, students may assume that one counternarrative is the “truth” and then do not
explore more nuanced counternarratives (Kolluri & Edwards, 2023). However, while there may
be challenges, ethnic studies and counternarratives continue to address the dehumanizing aspects
of schooling.
Ethnic Studies As Intersectional
It is a common misconception that ethnic studies focuses only on race. Rather, ethnic
studies focuses on social identity, intersectional power, and multiple forms of oppression (Zavala
15
et al., 2019). The purpose of ethnic studies is to explicitly address intersectional forms of
oppression through critical consciousness to rehumanize ourselves. Sleeter and Zavala (2020)
listed intersectionality and multiplicity as a hallmark of ethnic studies along with
counternarrative, criticality, reclaiming cultural identities, community engagement, pedagogy
that is culturally responsive and mediated, and students as intellectuals. To address the hallmark
of intersectionality, Cuauhtin (2019b) in Rethinking Ethnic Studies provided a matrix of social
identity and intersectional power as a resource that allows for the analysis of related power
dynamics. This helps prevent those in ethnic studies from stopping at a superficial level of social
identities (Cuauhtin, 2019b). In other words, ethnic studies does not just include naming race but
rather involves going deeper into the power dynamics of race and other intersectional identities.
According to de los Rios (2020), naming racialized along with other intersectional harms and
taking an intersectional analysis of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community
histories is necessary to address the harm created by historical and present-day oppression.
Focusing only on race will not address the dehumanization that is occurring based on different
forms of identity and the ways these intersect in terms of power dynamics; therefore,
intersectionality in ethnic studies is essential.
Ethnic Studies As Teaching for Social Justice and Explicitly Addressing Oppression
Ethnic studies not only responds to dehumanizing schooling, but it teaches for social
justice within and beyond the classroom walls. This is done by keeping students at the center and
building their humanity, co-creating with students, and explicitly addressing oppression.
Although culturally responsive pedagogy’s goal is to build independent learning for
agency and social justice education’s goal is developing critical consciousness (Colorado
Department of Education, n.d.), both should keep students at the center (Cano, 2020). This
16
includes creating an environment of trust, safety, and love through getting to know the students;
co-creating agreements and expectations for the class; valuing students’ experiences; and helping
build a positive view of students and their community (Cano, 2020; Looney, 2020; MedinaGlover, 2020; Serrano, 2020; Starr Bean, 2020; Touloukian, 2020; Vyas, 2020; Yu, 2020). To
create this environment, educators must create lessons and activities with the students’
experiences, passions, and needs in mind. The learning must be relevant and impactful to their
everyday lives. Educators also need to create relationships with the students and their families.
Only through relationships can educators know and understand the students, their needs, and
their passions to create these safe and trusting environments for them. Finally, educators also
need to build the students’ compassion, cooperation, self-esteem, empathy, and agency.
Social justice education also requires that teachers and students learn alongside each
other (Weiss, 2020). Weiss, a primary-grades elementary school teacher, said that content should
be based on students’ interests and should allow the students to show what they have learned in a
variety of authentic ways. Therefore, the curriculum should be co-created with students.
However, to accomplish this, educators must believe in the students’ capacity and give them
critical thinking tools so that they have the power of both knowing and doing. Like Weiss, Yu
(2020) co-constructed the social justice curriculum with students. While creating the curriculum,
the students are learning and also teaching others by reflecting on and analyzing their knowledge
and lived experiences. By co-creating, teachers are also learning along with and from students.
This validates the students’ backgrounds, identities, and knowledge as they work to transform
the world around them and make it better.
To teach for social justice, ethnic studies must explicitly address oppression. This
includes taking an intersectional approach, as mentioned earlier, and building the critical
17
thinking tools of students like when co-creating curriculum. As with CRP, students and
educators must recognize, understand, and critique current social inequities (Ladson-Billings,
1995a, 1995b). Ethnic studies needs to go beyond micro-level changes that are added to existing
school structures and do little to alter systems of power and inequality (Ochoa & Ochoa, 2022).
For instance, having a multicultural day or celebrating Black History Month in February is a
superficial endeavor that lacks institutional investment. By explicitly and critically analyzing
power, lived experiences, and multiple forms of oppression and resistance, ethnic studies moves
toward culturally relevant pedagogy and social justice.
According to Sleeter and Zavala (2020), one hallmark of ethnic studies is criticality.
Criticality includes a deep analysis of systemic racism connected with an analysis of multiple
systems of power. Looney (2020) expressed that classrooms should have explicit discussions
about social justice, and Serrano (2020) said that through the units, students critically analyze the
causes and effects of oppressive systems to promote action in solidarity with others to transform
their lives and their communities. Students, along with their teachers, are thinking critically
about issues of oppression while also working toward addressing those issues. According to Starr
Bean (2020), academics and the curriculum should have an equity lens and high standards and
explicitly address and combat racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. To achieve this,
educators must have explicit lessons, challenge stereotypes and roles, ask challenging questions,
and address issues directly through conversations and interventions (Starr Bean, 2020).
Therefore, educators need to proactively create lessons that address oppression as well as have
structures and systems in place to address and learn from oppression as it shows up in the
classrooms or the students’ lives. Another strategy for criticality includes understanding equity
and fairness through scenarios (Touloukian, 2020). These examples come from K–2 classrooms
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and can be replicated with older students who could, theoretically, engage in an even deeper
critical analysis of oppression and contribute to possible solutions to combat it.
Effects of Ethnic Studies on Students and Teachers
Quantitative studies have found that ethnic studies was related to increases in long-term
academic engagement and achievement, self-actualization, increased interest and motivation in
academics, a stronger sense of cultural awareness and empowerment, and an increase in
accepting attitudes toward ethnic minority persons. Teachers become more prepared to
interrogate racism, White supremacy, and the colonial roots of schools.
Overall, students who took ethnic studies classes tended to experience positive effects on
their academic achievement. Dee and Penner (2017) conducted a quantitative study using a
regression discontinuity design to look at the causal effects of taking a year-long ethnic studies
course on ninth-grade students whose eighth-grade GPA was under 2.0. They found that, overall,
taking an ethnic studies course increased attendance by 21 percentage points, raised GPA by 1.4
grade points, and increased credits earned by 23, or roughly four courses (Dee & Penner, 2017,
p. 145). Overall, students demonstrated large and statistically significant improvements in ninthgrade GPA, attendance, and credits earned (p. 158) as well as reductions in the probability of
dropping out and improvements in performance of enrolled students.
In 2021, Bonilla et al., in a follow-up study, found that those students who took ethnic
studies were more likely to remain enrolled in the district over time. Furthermore, they found
that there was a large and statistically significant increase in student attendance in all 3
posttreatment years (Bonilla et al., 2021, p. 5). So, not only did attendance improve for ninth
grade due to taking ethnic studies, but the effect remained for the rest of the high school journey.
Similarly, those who took ethnic studies in ninth grade got more credits for graduation, and there
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was sustained, and possibly growing, improvement in students’ behavioral engagement
throughout high school. Overall, ethnic studies courses created consistently positive effects
across student racial and ethnic groups and for both males and females, and they were not
harmful to any demographic group (Bonilla et al., 2021, p. 7). The researchers found that these
results were “consistent with conceptual frameworks . . . on the educational benefits of targeted
social-psychological interventions that support students’ sense of identity and belongingness in
school environments” (Bonilla et al., 2021, p. 8). Similarly, Gay (2017) found that ethnic studies
allows students to strengthen their interest in academics as well as increase motivation. Again,
based on the quantitative studies, ethnic studies has a positive effect on student academic
achievement.
In addition to improvement in academics, students increased their sense of cultural
awareness, empowerment, and self-actualization. According to Francesca López et al. (2022),
ethnic studies’ focus as a counter-pedagogical approach to deficit-based education helped affirm
students’ identities. Additionally, Tintiangco-Cubales et al. (2015) found that through the ethnic
studies curriculum, students have a stronger sense of cultural awareness and empowerment,
leading them to impactful change for their futures. Overall, ethnic studies helps students feel
good about their identities and backgrounds.
Finally, the literature also has shown that ethnic studies contributes to an increase in
accepting attitudes toward people of different backgrounds. De Novais and Spencer (2019) found
that some ethnic studies courses helped increase students’ cross-racial empathy. Milhouse (1986)
found that there was an increase in rational attitudes and a reduction in irrational attitudes toward
ethnic minority persons based on being exposed to a multicultural training “experimental
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condition” and that, overall, it was a significantly positive factor in improving rational and
accepting attitudes toward ethnic minority groups.
Opposition to Ethnic Studies
Those opposed to ethnic studies say it is divisive because it sows bigotry, resentment, and
hatred, particularly toward White people. It is considered anti-American, anti-White, anti-Jewish,
and radical leftist propaganda seeking to lead to the overthrow of the government. These ideas
are further spread through the media.
Although it was not the first time ethnic studies courses were critiqued, in 2010, the
Arizona House passed a bill that banned classes that
• Promote the overthrow of the United States government.
• Promote resentment toward a race or class of people.
• Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.
• Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals. (HB 2281,
Provisions section)
Through this bill, the Mexican American Studies class in Arizona was banned. Arizona’s
State Superintendent of Public Education, Tom Horne, began his journey to banning ethnic
studies by publishing an open letter to the people of Tucson. The letter condemned ethnic
studies, deeming it anti-American and arguing that it caused resentment toward White people.
He continued to lobby various bills to ban ethnic studies. His third bill was signed in 2010 and
centered on treating people as individuals and not as members of a racial group. Banning ethnic
studies was considered a battle in the long history of race wars in Arizona (Cammarota, 2017).
The supporters of the bill described ethnic studies as “a curriculum that teaches ‘resentment,’
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‘grievance,’ and ‘hatred’ . . . a discipline that to some seems more concerned with evoking
‘feelings’ than explaining the ‘facts’” (Cacho, 2010, p. 28).
More than 10 years later, the critique of ethnic studies continues. The Alliance for
Constructive Ethnic Studies (ACES), a group of more than 10,000 parents, teachers,
grandparents, and community members, has identified the problem of ethnic studies as being a
divisive curriculum that imposes a narrow ideology, polarizes students, sows bigotry, glorifies
violent movements, and erroneously equates capitalism with racism (ACES, n.d.). Because of
these beliefs, White parents have organized against ethnic studies. A group of parents claimed
that ethnic studies attacks White, Christian, American boys (Chang, 2022). Just like ACES, the
community of Los Alamitos and Placentia-Yorba Linda suggested that the curriculum “teaches
children that America is based on White Supremacy and that White people are racists, even if
they don’t know it” (Smith, 2021, para. 2) and calls ethnic studies “left-wing political ideology”
(para. 6). Other opponents of ethnic studies have pointed out that the curriculum tends to focus
on four historically oppressed groups (Latinx, Black, Asian American, and Indigenous) and
believe Jews and their experience with antisemitism should be included. Additionally, they
challenge the focus on Israel’s “supposed” oppression of Palestine (Rubin, 2023). While ACES
calls for “constructive ethnic studies,” Rothermich (2021) also found that some individuals
believe that all ethnic studies curricula are exercises in radical leftist politics rather than teaching
tools. Overall, opponents of ethnic studies see it as a polarizing and divisive course that unfairly
attacks White people in the United States.
Humanization and Critical Consciousness
Ethnic studies is a pedagogy that humanizes and builds critical consciousness through
authentic caring and humanizing connections, reclaiming unconditional love for oneself, and
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dismantling dehumanizing structures through dialogue and critical praxis: reflection and action.
Students learn to identify and solve problems, feel empowered to advocate and work toward
transformative change, and understand themselves and others better.
Humanizing Pedagogy
Ethnic studies courses help restore each student’s humanity. According to AgarwalRangnath (2021), educators can create humanizing and critical spaces in their classrooms by
developing critical literacy skills, engaging in critical storytelling, and developing authentic
caring and humanizing connections. Additionally, in 2022, Agarwal-Rangnath et al. provided a
practical framework for integrating ethnic studies into all subject areas, which included building
community and solidarity. Humanization is restored partly through caring relationships. Cariaga
(2019) said that classrooms can be a space where students can heal through community cultural
wealth and critique and reclaim power. Community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) leaves the
deficit-minded idea of poverty and victimhood and, instead, validates and celebrates all the
wealth, knowledge, and strength present in different cultural communities. This humanizing
space is created by building up the students and their identities through community cultural
wealth and creating humanizing space. Ethnic studies as a humanizing pedagogy helps students
understand themselves and others better and reclaim unconditional love for themselves. In these
courses, there is an emphasis on self-determination, social justice, equity, healing, and love
(Agarwal-Rangnath, 2020). Duncan-Andrade and Morrell (2008) said that through critical
pedagogy, students can increase their sense of community as well as their sense of hope.
In order to increase humanization, social justice, hope, understanding, and unconditional
love for oneself, a humanizing pedagogy has to engage in dismantling the current dehumanizing
structures. First, to dismantle dehumanizing structures, students need to learn about these
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dehumanizing and inequitable structures (Agarwal-Rangnath et al., 2022; Duncan-Andrade &
Morrell, 2008; Pour-Khorshid, 2020; Yick Wong Gilbride Koppel, 2021). Students need
opportunities to learn the history of these structures and their current effects. According to
Agarwal-Rangnath (2020), students need to have opportunities to converse, question, and take
action. They engage in dialogue to learn from each other, question their current conditions and
how they connect to the past, and take action to address those conditions. Part of this dialogue
includes engaging in critical storytelling (Agarwal-Rangnath, 2021). Again, through critical
storytelling, students are challenging the dehumanizing concepts of themselves and others in a
critical fashion that allows for action and hope. Through this questioning and critical storytelling,
students develop their critical consciousness.
Students need to understand the system of power (Agarwal-Rangnath et al., 2022) so that
they can critique and reclaim power (Cariaga, 2019). Only through understanding how power
works can students be empowered to be agents in their lives and communities. The dialogue and
action should include dismantling dehumanizing structures within the school system (del Carmen
Salazar, 2013). When students talk about their experiences and how school is part of their
dehumanization, they can address those issues and remove them, thus leading to their
humanization within the school. While this is how K–2 teachers create humanizing classrooms, it
is not known how teachers create these spaces in high school classrooms or how these spaces
affect teachers themselves.
Building Critical Consciousness
As mentioned, humanization requires critical consciousness, which can be strengthened
in ethnic studies courses. Yick Wong Gilbride Koppel (2021) showed that teachers build critical
consciousness by teaching students about social movements and forms of resistance.
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Additionally, they engage students in their own research and action. According to DuncanAndrade and Morrell (2008), schools can have pedagogies such as critical pedagogy that
challenge the historical and structural inequities of schooling, thus creating a sense of agency. By
challenging the historical and structural inequities, students can feel hopeful and like they are
part of the solution rather than passive victims.
Critical pedagogy that works toward criticality and a sense of agency has five steps. The
five steps of the cycle of praxis include identifying the problem, researching the problem,
developing a collective plan of action to address the problem, implementing the collective plan
of action, and evaluating the action before continuing the same cycle (Duncan-Andrade &
Morrell, 2008). Students become critical researchers and transformative intellectuals who
collectively come up with realistic solutions. Through this work, students are also able to better
understand themselves and others and feel like they have agency over their lives (DuncanAndrade & Morrell, 2008). Students are better able to see themselves and others as fully human
rather than the stereotypes of the dominant narrative or the effects of the structural conditions
they have faced. Students also think critically about freedom (Pour-Khorshid, 2020). Thinking
critically about freedom helps build hope along with that sense of agency. Through reflection,
hope, and agency, students can participate in the transformation of society. Although most of the
research on ethnic studies has focused on the humanization and critical consciousness of
students, some research has explored the effects of ethnic studies on teachers.
Impact on Teachers
The research on ethnic studies and teachers has shown that teachers critically benefit
from teaching ethnic studies courses and that ethnic studies teachers’ critical consciousness
levels vary. Curammeng (2022) described the experiences of two veteran ethnic studies teachers
25
of color. He found that ethnic studies was important in learning to critique White supremacy and
other forms of power. This study offers implications for teacher education programs, and not just
for those teachers who teach ethnic studies. While this study focused on the effects of teaching
ethnic studies on Filipino teachers, my research explored the effects on teachers of other races
and backgrounds, including White teachers. According to Sacramento (2019), when professional
development included a dialogical approach, teachers developed critical collaborative
consciousness. Similarly, St. Clair Henderson (2022), through an action research study, found
that as a teacher, she could support other ethnic studies teachers in developing their critical
consciousness by engaging in critically reflective dialogue during weekly meetings.
Additionally, she found that creating a safe space is important for this vulnerable dialogue and
that there was a need for differentiated support for different levels of critical consciousness.
Those with lower initial critical consciousness will need more support. Fernández (2019)
also researched professional development for ethnic studies and learned more about the teachers’
perspectives on professional development that focuses on implementing critical praxis that is
decolonizing and rehumanizing. These studies showed that professional development, whether
through conferences or weekly meetings, can build educators’ critical consciousness; however,
the literature is missing educators’ perspectives on how teaching the class itself can affect their
own humanization and critical consciousness. In another study, Patrón-Vargas (2022) looked at
the perspectives of ethnic studies teachers in Indiana. Overall, she found that the teachers’
perceptions of the Indiana ethnic studies standards depend on different characteristics such as
their level of experience, their racial identity, and the local context and sociopolitical climate.
While they had standards, the teachers interpreted them differently. It is important to see how
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teachers interpret ethnic studies in a setting where there are no standards and how this affects
humanization and critical consciousness for both them and their students.
Finally, Siebert (2022) conducted a narrative self-study to reflect critically on the way her
White identity affected her work by implementing ethnic studies as a graduation requirement.
She found and explored experiences of White shame and discomfort and the desire for a sense of
belonging. She also found that consciousness-raising around White emotions is not enough and
that White people also need to address how emotions are being confronted and addressed. By
doing this, White people can become sites for disrupting Whiteness and be part of collective
activism. Overall, ethnic studies can increase critical consciousness, but the impacts will depend
on the individuals’ identity and previous experiences.
Impact on Student–Teacher Relationships
The research, while limited, has shown that students and teachers build relationships
beyond academics when they get to share their stories and critically analyze oppression together.
This means that dialogue is important to build these relationships. However, there is a
misconception about what dialogue means in terms of critical pedagogy. For instance, Bartlett
(2005), who conducted a study on critical learning theory with teachers, found that some
educators reduce the potential of critical pedagogy when they do not understand the meaning of
dialogue and have trouble transforming traditional teacher-student relations as well as
incorporating local knowledge into the classroom. This is because the teachers saw dialogue as
engaging in superficial conversations with students rather than explicitly addressing oppression.
The relationship between students and teachers should be one of teacher-student with student–
teacher, where, through dialogue, both learn. The goal is not just to learn about each other but
also to learn about and better understand the world.
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Additionally, according to Bartlett (2005), the teacher should be “directive and
authoritative, but not authoritarian” (p. 348). Focusing on not being authoritarian, some teachers
dismissed their authority and formed relationships that were more about friendship. Because of
this, the focus was more on emotional ties than on critiquing and challenging existing social
relations. This meant that conversations happened only in the classroom; the relationship was
different with a different level of authority outside the classroom. Overall, the educators were not
engaging in criticality, as they were not completely familiar with the theory. Bartlett’s study
examined the perceptions of adult educators but not educators of high school students.
Additionally, it focused on literacy programs rather than high school education courses (Bartlett,
2005). My study focused on high school ethnic studies.
In terms of students, Domingo Zarazua (2020) interviewed his former students to get
their perceptions of best practices to create a healthy teacher-student relationship rooted in care
beyond academics. He found that, overall, teachers need to be responsive to students’ complex
needs. Even little interactions supported these relationships. Domingo Zarazua used a studentfocused curriculum and focused on Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth. This focus built
up students and their relationships with their teachers. An ethnic studies curriculum tends to
focus on students and community cultural wealth as well, making it comparable to Domingo
Zarazua’s dissertation study. In my study, I sought to determine whether students and teachers in
ethnic studies classes form similar types of healthy teacher-student relationships.
Critical Learning Theory
Critical pedagogy includes dialogical action toward liberation. People engage in praxis by
reflecting and acting on oppression with the facilitation of a teacher-student who, through
dialogue, gets them to build their critical consciousness and rehumanize themselves. Teacher-
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students and student-teachers grow with each other, and teachers have to be aware of the power
dynamics. Overall, Freire’s 1970 theory of dialogical action toward liberation stated that
liberation can be achieved only by the oppressed group along with a facilitator who engages
them in dialogue and builds critical consciousness along with them. This facilitator will most
likely be the teacher-student, but only if they have built their critical consciousness. Because the
goal is liberation, the dialogue should focus on issues that are causing the oppression.
Giroux (2003) argued that educators must address issues important to the students and
that schooling should allow for interrogating how power works and how it affects young people.
This way, they can challenge dominant ideologies and reach social and economic justice. Kiryio
and Thirumurthy’s (2012) definition of critical pedagogy also calls for understanding and
engaging in the realities of everyday life and for active engagement with oppressed and exploited
groups. They described critical pedagogy as the direct opposite of current education in the
United States and the idea of banking education. Instead, critical pedagogy engages in dialogic
education to reach liberatory and emancipatory education. Dialogic education includes reciprocal
conversations and debates to show multiple perspectives and experiences while still challenging
oppressive dialogue. Hearing the perspectives of oppressed people is particularly important.
Further, liberatory education creates a space in which teacher-students and student-teachers are
co-producers of knowledge. The teacher is still an academic guide with authority but facilitates
humanization, exploration, and creation. In the end, those who participate become active agents
in their lives, histories, and world (Kiryio & Thirumurthy, 2012). Critical learning and dialogical
action should address not only oppression in general, but also oppression generated by the
schooling system itself. McLaren (1989) pointed to the need for critical pedagogy to counter the
inequitable schooling in the United States. This includes addressing citizens’ complicity in the
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roots and structures of inequality and injustice and how educators can use critical pedagogy to
counter and resist it.
One way to engage in dialogue that addresses oppression and is relevant to students is
through the use of counternarratives. Giroux et al. (1996), explained the idea of counternarratives
as little stories to address the dominant narratives that exist for people with different cultural and
political backgrounds. These dominant narratives contribute to hegemony and public
consciousness, and the counternarratives challenge them. Part of the counternarrative can include
community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) and acknowledging and validating the wealth
individuals already possess.
Kohli (2012) used critical race theory and Freire’s critical pedagogy to better understand
the critical race dialogue in the experiences of 12 women of color in a teacher education
program. She found that through this dialogue, which is integral to Freire’s theory and what
creates critical consciousness, the participants were able to better understand racial oppression
and organize to build solidarity among diverse students. While Kohli’s research focused on
preservice teachers, my study looked at the impact of dialogue on both ethnic studies teachers
and students.
While Freire’s theory focused on economic oppression, hooks (1994) took it a step
further. In Teaching to Transgress, hooks (1994) introduced the idea of education as the practice
of freedom because educators are “transgressing” against sexual, racial, and class boundaries.
She explained this as the educators’ most important goal. Like critical pedagogy, education as
the practice of freedom challenges oppression, but it also focuses on sexism, racism, and other
forms of oppression, not just classism. Student voice is important, and the pedagogy should
include critical practice that is reflexive and critical. Additionally, teachers have to be aware of
30
the power dynamics in their classrooms. Therefore, this study focused beyond economic
oppression or even oppression by race and included all systems of oppression.
Preliminary Conceptual Framework
Two research questions guided the present study:
1. What do teachers perceive is the effect of the ethnic studies curriculum on their
students’ critical consciousness and holistic humanization?
2. What are the teachers’ perceptions on how teaching ethnic studies affects their own
critical consciousness and humanization?
I used a conceptual framework based on Freire’s (1970) critical learning theory, Yosso’s theory
of community cultural wealth, and critical race theory as explained by Solorzano and Yosso.
This study may help “understand meaning including the constructions of participants and how
they make sense of the world” (Maxwell, 2013, p. 31), and in particular how they make sense of
the effects of ethnic studies. By interviewing a student, I attempted to reach the goal of social
justice by empowering students to share their own stories and perspectives (Smith, 2002).
As proposed in the framework in Figure 1, when students and teachers engage in
dialogue and counter-storytelling within an ethnic studies course, both students and teachers are
humanized. Schooling in the United States has been an oppressive and dehumanizing endeavor
that limits critical consciousness, particularly for those not in the dominant social groups
(Anderson, 1988; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Laura, 2018; Massey et al., 2014; Patel, 2016; Scott,
1998, as cited in Collins, 2000; Spring, 2016; Tuck & Gaztambide-Fernande, 2013). Ethnic
studies, on the other hand, seeks to rehumanize and build critical consciousness (CSBE, 2021;
Cuauhtin et al., 2019; Sleeter & Zavala, 2020). One way it attempts this is through counterstorytelling. Counter-storytelling is “a tool for exposing, analyzing, and challenging the
31
majoritarian stories of racial privilege” and “can help strengthen traditions of social, political,
and cultural survival and resistance” (Solorzano & Yosso, 2002, p. 32). Counter-storytelling is
important because students and teachers enter the classroom with their own lived experiences
and knowledge, including internalized oppression and what Freire (1970) calls magical
consciousness and naïve consciousness. In magical consciousness, individuals basically attribute
their experiences to luck, while with naïve consciousness, individuals attribute them to
themselves.
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Figure 1
Preliminary Conceptual Framework
When experiencing oppression, individuals feel like either they have no control (magical)
or it is completely their fault (naïve). However, understanding that both structure and individual
actions play a role and that people have agency over their products would result in critical
consciousness. In the present study, I asked questions to try to determine participants’ level of
consciousness.
33
Furthermore, students and teachers bring not just their experiences with dehumanization
and oppression, but also their own community cultural wealth, including aspirational, familial,
social, linguistic, navigational, and resistant capital (Yosso, 2005). This is shown in Figure 1.
Freire (1970) argued that humanization can only come from those who have been dehumanized
themselves, and it comes through dialogue. The students’ community cultural wealth is a source
for counter-storytelling and contradicting their naïve and magical consciousness. Counterstorytelling and dialogue in an ethnic studies class that looks critically at oppression and
dehumanization as well as individuals’ own wealth builds critical consciousness. This critical
consciousness would, therefore, lead to action necessary to change the dehumanizing aspects of
the world. I believe that the sense of agency that is gained from critical consciousness provides
the reflective action to address internalized oppression, therefore leading to humanization.
Furthermore, critical consciousness gives a sense of agency to make changes in oneself and the
world to reach humanization. This framework represents how critical dialogue within an ethnic
studies class leads to critical consciousness to address oppression and lead to humanization.
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Chapter Three: Methodology
Students of color tend to have a subpar experience with school and education (Anderson,
1988; Coates, 2015; del Carmen Salazar, 2013; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Massey et al., 2014;
Spring, 2016). Ethnic studies is a class that can make students feel more humanized and support
them in building their critical consciousness. This creates a more positive and empowering
learning environment. Some studies have shown that ethnic studies as a critical pedagogical
approach seems to have a positive effect on students, yet little is known about the students’ and
teachers’ perceptions of the effect of ethnic studies. This study examined how educators perceive
the personal and organizational impact of the ethnic studies curriculum on their and their
students’ critical consciousness and holistic humanization.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to learn from the experiences of
students and teachers who have taken or taught ethnic studies classes. This study examined the
perceptions of the effects ethnic studies has on rehumanizing and strengthening critical
consciousness. One-on-one interviews and focus groups with students and teachers allowed me
to explore and consider the perspectives of those in ethnic studies courses. Freire (1970)
described learning as dialectical; therefore, it would have been ideal to interview and get the
perspectives of both teachers and students. Instead, this study focused on the perspectives of
teachers and integrated the perspective of one student to triangulate the responses of the
educators.
Research Questions
The following research questions were used to guide the study:
1. What do teachers perceive is the effect of the ethnic studies curriculum on their
35
students’ critical consciousness and holistic humanization?
2. What are the teachers’ perceptions on how teaching ethnic studies affects their own
critical consciousness and humanization?
Selection of the Population
I interviewed both teachers and one student to better understand how they saw an ethnic
studies class affecting their critical consciousness and holistic humanization. Gaining this
knowledge from the interviews may help to address the current dehumanizing aspect of
schooling in the United States and potentially in other countries as well.
The student participant in this study had taken an ethnic studies course in California
within the past 8 years (2015–2023). More specifically, she took two full-year ethnic studies
courses in her junior and senior years (2021–2023). The other group of participants consisted of
10 teachers who had taught at least two sessions of ethnic studies classes in California within the
same time period. Table 1 shows the interview criteria for the student participant and the
interview and focus group criteria for teachers.
Table 1
Interview and Focus Group Selection Criteria for Students and Teachers
Interview student Interview teachers Focus group teachers
Took at least one high school
ethnic studies course in
California within 2015–
2023
Taught at least two sessions
of high school ethnic
studies in California within
2015–2023
Met criteria for interviews
and mentioned focusing on
humanization and/or
critical consciousness in the
one-on-one interview
36
The research questions focused on the perspectives of teachers, and I wanted to get the
perspectives of any student who had taken and any teacher who had taught ethnic studies. I
searched for students who had taken the course within the past 8 years (2015–2023), for them to
better remember their experiences but also to open up the timeline for students to have taken the
course and be over 18 at the time of the interview. Teachers had to have taught at least two
different sessions of a high school ethnic studies course. As with the student, they had to have
taught between 2015 and 2023 but preferably closer to 2023. The reason for at least two sessions
was to get the experiences of teachers who had taught the course more than once and had been
able to adapt and accommodate after learning from the first time teaching this course. To find
participants, I looked through the UC A–G requirement list to find high schools that offer ethnic
studies, and I also accessed ethnic studies teacher groups.
I sought and received University of Southern California Institutional Review Board (IRB)
approval. I started with convenience sampling (Johnson & Christensen, 2017) and then moved to
snowball sampling, in which each research participant was asked to identify other potential
research participants (Johnson & Christensen, 2017; Small, 2009). The purpose of this was to
gain access to student and teacher voices and then find more participants. It also helped to build
trust with the other participants, because they had a relationship with the initial participant. I
recruited the interviewees by sharing an email (see Appendix E) with ethnic studies teachers
explaining the purpose of the study, the sampling criteria, the time involved, and my contact
information. I asked the teachers to use a personal email to contact me to participate. The email
asked the teachers to share my information with other teachers and students over 18 whom they
thought might be interested in participating as well. Those interested in participating contacted
me to schedule a time and place to meet for the interviews.
37
I was able to interview 10 ethnic studies teachers and one student who took ethnic studies
in California. For the focus group interview, I had five teachers who demonstrated interest in
participating. However, on the date of the interview, only two teachers showed up. We waited
about 10 minutes to see if a third teacher would join; however, no one else did. To value the time
of those two teachers who did join, we continued with the focus group interview with the two.
I was able to interview only one former student. A teacher had contacted five of her
former students who mentioned they were interested in participating and gave me their contact
information after they consented. I contacted all five students. One responded but never
scheduled an interview, another one scheduled an interview but did not show up, and a third one
scheduled and I was able to interview her. The two other students never responded even when I
followed up with them. Because I conducted only one student interview, I used her perspective
to support the perspectives of the teachers.
Setting
The research participants came from multiple school districts in California that have had
a high school ethnic studies course within the last 8 years. The group included teachers in
traditional public schools and a teacher in a public charter school. The districts where these
teachers taught were in both Northern and Southern California. According to the U.S. Census
Bureau (2022), as of 2022, California had an estimated population of 39,029,342, with 22.4%
under age 18, 35.2% White not Hispanic, 40.2% Hispanic, 15.9% Asian, 6.6% Black or African
American, 4.2% two or more races, and 1.7% American Indian and Alaska Native.
Design Summary
The following section outlines the qualitative design for this research study. This study
was carried out using both a phenomenological and a case study design to understand how ethnic
38
studies were contextually experienced among teachers and students (Lochmiller & Lester, 2017;
Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). It is important to hear the perspectives of students and teachers;
therefore, the research was qualitative. This happens with one-on-one interviews and focus
groups because of their open-ended nature. The use of interviews and focus groups helps
researchers analyze for depth of understanding, rather than simply trying to find a solution to a
problem (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Because there is a lot of opposition to ethnic studies,
interviews allow for counter-storytelling. Counter-storytelling is an analytical framework for
education research (Solorzano & Yosso, 2002). Solorzano and Yosso’s (2002) definition of
counter-story is the “method of telling the stories of those people whose experiences are not
often told” (p. 32). Counter-stories can be created from the data gathered, the existing literature,
professional experiences, and personal experiences (Solorzano & Yosso, 2002, p. 34).
This study collected the personal experiences of those in ethnic studies classes and
connected them with existing literature to better understand how the participants see the world
and are part of it. Also, because of critical pedagogy and its focus on dialogue, it was important
to engage the teachers in focus groups and let them engage in dialogue. The teachers first
participated in one-on-one interviews, and then they were invited to participate in a focus group
if they mentioned that they focused on critical consciousness and/or humanization in their class.
The student participated in a one-on-one interview to elicit her perspective in a case study
format.
Methodology
The methodology involved qualitative data from open-ended, semi-structured interview
questions with one-on-one interviews and semi-structured focus group dialogue among teachers.
It included both in-person and virtual interviews depending on the preference of the participant
39
as well as time and space constraints. The semi-structured nature of the interview guide allowed
for the researcher to be the primary instrument (Lochmiller & Lester, 2017) and be flexible in
responding to the participants based on what they shared. When creating the interview protocol,
it was important to include questions for the following different concepts: humanization, critical
consciousness, dialogue, and action and reflection. By asking questions related to these concepts
to both the teachers and the student, I addressed both research questions.
Instrumentation and Protocols
I gathered the qualitative data through interviews and focus groups. The interview
protocol consisted of 14 questions for the student (see Appendix A), 16 questions for the teachers
(see Appendix B), and seven questions for the focus groups (see Appendix C). The questions
contained additional follow-up questions to go deeper into participants’ understanding. This
helped structure probes to further clarify the responses (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, p. 122). I
chose to conduct one-on-one interviews in person to find data that could not be directly observed
(Patton, 2002, p. 340). Additionally, this study used a semi-structured interview guide so that
“interactions are focused while allowing individual perspectives to emerge” (Patton, 2002, p.
344). It is important to get the perspectives, whether positive or negative, in terms of critical
consciousness and humanization in ethnic studies. Being able to ask follow-up questions allowed
me to hear those stories. In terms of focus groups, Krueger and Casey (2015) explained that they
help researchers better understand how people feel or think about a topic, in this case, ethnic
studies. Semi-structured guides begin with easy questions. The questions are sequenced so that
conversation flows naturally, starting with general questions and then narrowing to more specific
and important questions (Krueger & Casey, 2015, p. 44). This allows participants to feel more
comfortable sharing their experiences and perspectives.
40
Data Collection
I completed the following steps when conducting research and collecting data: After I
recruited the participants, I shared the consent forms and re-explained the consent guidelines and
the subjects’ rights (Glesne, 2011). I gave them a copy of these guidelines to keep in case they
wanted to follow up, decided to withdraw from the study, or felt something was not ethical and
needed to contact the IRB. I asked the questions face to face or virtually for one-on-one
interviews. For the focus group interview, the participants and I sat in a circle, and I facilitated
the dialogue. As Seidman (2013) suggested, I took handwritten notes to keep track of what was
being said without interrupting. This helped me keep track of the questions that were already
answered and how to follow up. It also helped with noticing trends and beginning to analyze the
data. I asked for permission to use a tape recorder to get participants’ responses verbatim (Patton,
2002). I protected respondents through the use of pseudonyms and considered logistics
concerning time, place, and number of interviews to be scheduled (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, pp.
127–128). For instance, the participants, both the teachers and the student, were given the option
of being interviewed at their campus, online, or in a study room at the local library.
The interviews took approximately 60 minutes, while the focus group took about 60
minutes and included two teachers. After the interviews, I locked the consent forms in a filing
cabinet and kept the recordings and transcriptions in a locked computer. I transcribed and
reviewed all of the interviews, and I deleted the interview recordings after 1 year.
To increase reliability and validity, I first field tested the interview guide questions with a
former student who had taken ethnic studies in ninth grade. From this, I learned that it would
take multiple iterations to get a well-developed interview protocol and that it is helpful to pilot
the questions to determine changes. The process also helped me to clarify the research questions
41
I was trying to answer and think about how to operationalize the concepts to get to those
answers.
The student’s responses may have become measured and limited when she learned that I
am a former ethnic studies teacher because she may have wanted to avoid sharing any negative
experiences, thinking that I might not like it. However, she may also have seen me as a teacher
who understands the concepts and wanted to know about what she learned. As a former ethnic
studies teacher, I also have my own experiences and beliefs about the class. I expected to hear
some of the same perspectives I have heard from previous students, and I have my assumptions
about how the class should be taught and what outcomes should happen. Furthermore, my views
of school and schooling have changed from when I was the student’s age, but I expected her to
have views similar to mine now, which reflects my bias and is something I had to discipline. If
the student identified with me, she may have been more willing to share her experiences and
perspectives, particularly if we shared an identity, such as being Hispanic or being part of the
LGBTQ+ community.
The interview protocol helped structure the interview and ensure that I was asking
questions relating to each of the concepts in the conceptual framework. In order to maximize the
possibility that my interviews would produce credible findings, I needed to ensure I was asking
open-ended questions that were not leading. I also needed to develop a rapport with each
participant early in the interview. While I asked background questions, I may have moved to
deeper, more personal questions too quickly. This is especially important because I was asking
about potentially sensitive issues such as identity, dehumanization, and oppression. I had to make
sure to remain neutral in my responses and body language, to get the most reliable and valid data
possible.
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Ethical Considerations
While conducting research, I needed to ensure that the practice minimized harm to the
participants. In order to do this, I, as the researcher, needed to consider my role and relationship
with my potential participants and how that may have affected their participation. For instance,
because I am an adult and a district employee, the student may have seen me as being in a
position of authority and power over her. As a result, the participant may have felt like she had to
participate in the study. She may have believed that her participation or lack thereof would affect
her grade, her position in the district, her opportunity for references in the future, or other aspects
related to her education. I needed to ensure that the student was aware of her rights and that this
interview was completely voluntary and she could opt out at any time. Also, I needed to
emphasize that I should and would maintain confidentiality. Because students are minors and
developmentally younger, it is even more important that this is clear. I checked for understanding
and had the participants explain to me in their own words what they understood to be their rights
and options as it related to being participants in this study.
Ethnic studies courses are already controversial because they focus on issues of
dehumanization through a critical lens. Therefore, discussing experiences with and perspectives
on ethnic studies can already be considered a sensitive topic. Furthermore, the data collection
activities may have put participants in an uncomfortable or trauma-inducing situation. I asked
them about their sense of belonging and addressed potentially sensitive topics of gender identity
and sexual orientation, racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression and dehumanization.
While these topics are not necessarily sensitive or threatening, they can be uncomfortable. It was
important to remind participants that their participation was completely voluntary, that they did
43
not have to answer questions if they did not want to, and that we could stop the interview at any
time.
Moreover, because the study related to dehumanization, there was the potential that
participants would share their perspectives on how they have been dehumanized. This could have
turned into an instance where I could not maintain confidentiality as a mandated reporter.
Therefore, I mentioned this at the beginning of the interviews. Additionally, if it were revealed
that they had participated in my study, the potential harm would be based on how vulnerable
they were with their responses to these potentially sensitive topics. A potential issue might be if
they identify as part of the LGBTQ community and were concerned that my publication would
out them. No data used allowed for a student to be identifiable.
A strategy to reduce harm is obtaining informed consent. I worked to ensure
confidentiality by using pseudonyms, having the data in a password-protected computer, deleting
the recordings 1 year after transcribing the interviews, and not collecting any names or contact
information (Glesne, 2011). Because I obtained informed consent, the participants knew that
their participation was completely voluntary and that it would not affect their grade or their
performance in the course, and that they did not have to participate just because I am an
employee of a school district or a former teacher. Following the other strategies decreases the
chance of identification and the possible harm that can come of it. Finally, I was aware of
participants’ verbal and nonverbal cues during the interview and reminded them that
participation was completely voluntary and that they did not have to respond to every question,
that they had control over what they shared, and that they could leave the interview at any
moment.
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Data Analysis
The items in the interview protocols and focus groups aligned with the research questions
and initial conceptual framework. I transcribed and coded all of the responses in the interviews
and focus group thematically using the concepts of the theoretical framework and the conceptual
framework. The analysis was guided by the two research questions. Including both teachers and
a student in the data collection allowed for participant corroboration (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016,
p. 246). Additionally, the findings were connected to the conceptual and theoretical frameworks
and the multiple theories within them (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Together, these strategies
helped triangulate the data to make it more reliable and valid.
Given how this study was designed, there were still a few limitations that may have
affected reliability and validity. I had difficulty finding participants, thus potentially limiting the
scope of perspectives. Although ethnic studies as a field has existed in the United States since the
late 1960s, ethnic studies at the high school level is more recent, and only in the past few years
have a few districts mandated ethnic studies as a graduation requirement for their students.
Therefore, there is a limited population of ethnic studies teachers and students who took ethnic
studies who are 18 years old or older. Also, in one-to-one interviews that happen once, there may
not be enough time to build rapport and get into deeper perspectives. Participants were also selfreporting outcomes, and there may have been information and recall bias from participants, as
well as response and social desirability bias. These last limitations are possible in any research
project, including this one.
My biases may have affected how I interpreted what I found because I may have “heard”
things differently. I may have unintentionally missed something participants said and focused
more on something else. As a former ethnic studies teacher who believes ethnic studies has a
45
generally positive impact and should build critical consciousness and holistic humanization, I
may have placed more value on the responses that aligned with my bias and unconsciously
discredited and invalidated those that did not. Nevertheless, my commitment was to
understanding the perspectives of the research subjects, not their perspective relative to mine.
By focusing on interviews and focus groups to collect data, I had to rely on participant
memory recall. According to Robinson and Firth Leonard (2018), memories change each time
they are recalled (p. 62). I had to use recall cues to help participants remember their experiences
without asking leading questions. Moreover, given the perceived sensitivity of issues of race,
gender, and other topics discussed in ethnic studies, some participants may have responded based
on social desirability bias. I had to word the questions in a way that was not leading and balance
the questions from multiple perspectives. For instance, I used the phrase, “Some people say . . . .
What would you say to them?” I also balanced this by providing a counternarrative: “Others say
. . . and what would you say to that perspective?” Being purposeful and strategic in the way I
asked questions may have helped increase credibility and trustworthiness.
To discipline my subjectivity, I created “interviewer’s comments” while conducting the
interview. When interpretations, biases, and other ideas came to mind, I recorded them
separately and analyzed them later. Additionally, I was descriptive rather than interpretive when
taking notes, focusing on writing verbatim and recording the interview to get the transcript of the
interview.
To increase the credibility and trustworthiness of the study, I followed multiple strategies.
For instance, I engaged in researcher reflexivity, analysis of negative and discrepant cases, peer
examination and peer review, adequate engagement in data collection, and member checks and
respondent validation, as suggested by Merriam and Tisdell (2016). I kept a journal to reflect on
46
the process, and I included “observer’s comments” to differentiate between what I noticed and
heard and my interpretation. I looked for cases in which participants did not experience critical
consciousness and humanization as well. I transcribed the recorded interviews verbatim,
analyzed them, and compared them to each other. I also checked in with the participants to
ensure that my interpretations aligned with their responses.
Positionality
I conducted research in a public school district in California. I also work for a public
school district as a justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion coordinator. In this role, I am
considered classified management. I work with all district staff, and I am considered to have
more power and authority because of the “management” aspect. Furthermore, I am a former
ethnic studies teacher conducting research on ethnic studies. This gave me a position of power in
addition to the power I had from being a researcher in the participants’ space.
In addition to the power dynamics posed by my role in a district setting, my positionality
may have affected my interaction with potential participants. I am a light-skinned Hispanic,
cisgendered woman who was born and raised in the same community and district as the
participants. My light skin may give me the privilege to step into school spaces and may also
bring distrust among students of color. If the student knew that I am part of the LGBTQ+
community and she was too, she may have felt more comfortable sharing that aspect of her
identity as well. If the student was not part of the LGBTQ+ community, she may have felt
uncomfortable with me and limited her responses.
To address the potential issues of positionality, I was explicit about the research and the
nature of it. As suggested by Maxwell (2013), I was clear about the goals of the research,
including my personal, practical, and intellectual goals. I also completed a researcher identity
47
memo (Maxwell, 2013, pp. 34–35). This memo helped me be more aware of my positionality,
my biases, and my goals. I obtained informed consent and let the participants know that they
could leave the research at any time. Additionally, I shared a little about myself and built rapport.
Finally, I engaged in a critical analysis of myself, of myself related to others, and of the system
and reflected along with my research participants to gain different perspectives (Milner, 2007).
Summary
This study used a qualitative approach to gather data from interviews and focus groups.
The data were collected from one student who had taken a high school ethnic studies course in
California between 2015 and 2023 and was over 18 and 10 teachers who had taught at least two
sessions of the same class in the same time period. The data were collected and analyzed to help
answer two research questions, which were designed to determine what teachers perceive is the
effect of ethnic studies curriculum on students’ humanization and critical consciousness and the
teachers’ perceptions of how teaching ethnic studies affects their own humanization and critical
consciousness. The findings are presented in Chapter Four, and a discussion of the findings is
presented in Chapter Five.
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Chapter Four: Results
Ethnic studies is becoming a required course in public high schools in California.
Meanwhile, other states are taking policy positions against offering these courses. There is a lot
to learn about the impact of this course on both students and teachers in a way that sheds light on
the policy conflict. The purpose of this study was to better understand the perceptions of both
students and teachers as to the impact of ethnic studies on humanization and critical
consciousness.
Methodologically, this chapter draws on one-on-one interviews with 10 teachers in
California who had taught ethnic studies over at least two different grading periods within the
last 5 years and with one student who took the course during high school within the same time
frame. I used a case study approach to go more in depth with one student to uncover a deeper
understanding of the experiences of students. This approach was also necessary because it was
difficult to get the participation of students over the age of 18. Ethnic studies in California has
been a graduation requirement in high schools only in the past few years and, for most of the
teacher participants, their students were still under 18 years old. I used critical learning theory as
a theoretical framework.
In this chapter, I present the results of the analysis of the interviews with 10 ethnic
studies teachers and one student in California. The chapter is organized by research question,
first discussing how teachers perceived the impact of the course on students and the student’s
perspective integrated within it and then how the teachers thought the course affected them. For
each research question, the emergent themes are presented and discussed.
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Participant Demographics
The participants interviewed in this study included one student and 10 teachers. The
student, Sofia, graduated from high school in 2023 and took ethnic studies in her junior and
senior years of high school. She attended high school in Southern California. She identifies as a
first-generation college student, a child of Mexican immigrants, a Chicana, and queer and comes
from a low-income background. In terms of the participating teachers, I interviewed three
teachers who identify as female and seven who identify as male. Tables 2 and 3 provide more
information about the participants of the study.
Thematic Data Coding
The data presented in the findings were generated through the analysis of the interview
participants’ responses created to address the themes associated with the research questions. The
meetings were all held through Zoom, and the participants’ responses were video recorded
directly through Zoom and then transcribed. I then coded the interviews thematically using
Atlas.ti. See Tables 2 and 3.
Table 2
Student Participant Characteristics
Pseudonym Characteristics Experience with ethnic studies
Sofia 18 years old, Chicana, woman,
first-generation college student,
part of the LGBTQ+ community
Took ethnic studies junior and
senior years in high school
(2021–2023)
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Table 3
Teacher Participant Characteristics
Pseudonym Characteristics Teaching experience
Emma White, woman, Southern California; started as
community organizer, wanted to teach ES
24 years teaching; 8 years
ES
Samantha White, woman, Northern California; geography
class became ES class
24 years teaching; 2 years
ES
Elena Latinx, woman, Northern California; wanted to
teach ES
25 years in education,
moved into admin for 8
years and returned to
teaching to teach ES; 2
years ES
Antonio Latinx, man, Southern California; wanted to
teach ES
26 years teaching; 5 years
ES, 10 years MAS
James White, man, Northern California; picked to
teach ES and wrote a letter against it
11 years teaching; 3 years
ES
Andrew White, man, Northern California; picked to
teach ES and refused at first
11 years teaching; 3 years
ES
Diego Latinx, man, Southern California; wanted to
teach ES
15 years teaching; 10
years ES
Jorge Latinx, man, Northern California, member of
the community where he teaches; wanted to
teach ES
Unknown
Pablo Latinx, man, Northern California, member of
the community where he teaches; wanted to
teach ES
16 years teaching; 16
years ES
Matthew White, man, Southern California;
“I was volunteered to be an ethnic studies
teacher”
2 years teaching; 2 years
ES
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Presentation of Findings
The results of this study are organized by each research question. Two research questions
guided this study:
1. What do teachers perceive is the effect of the ethnic studies curriculum on their
students’ critical consciousness and holistic humanization?
2. What are the teachers’ perceptions on how teaching ethnic studies affects their own
critical consciousness and humanization?
Results for Research Question 1
Research Question 1 asked the following: What do teachers perceive is the effect of the
ethnic studies curriculum on their students’ critical consciousness and holistic humanization?
The themes that emerged in response to this research question included an increase in critical
consciousness, empowerment, and hope; healing; a sense of belonging; and engagement in
meaningful learning.
Theme 1: Effect on Critical Consciousness
Critical Consciousness, Empowerment, and Hope
The data highlighted the idea that through ethnic studies, students become more selfaware and learn to think critically about their surroundings. They begin to see themselves and the
world more clearly and are encouraged to question the existing power structures, norms, and
systems. According to Matthew, students begin to “see themselves a little more clearly and they
see how different institutions relate to them.” Students gain awareness and have a better
understanding of how they are situated within social structures.
Ethnic studies seems to help students become more aware of systemic inequities and
disparities in their communities and better understand the historical context that led to the current
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state of society. Ethnic studies helps students become critical of their country’s history and past
actions while also fostering a sense of hope for the future. Students learn that understanding the
historical context is essential for creating a better future that they can play a role in shaping. This
awareness empowers them to understand and critique the world around them. Jorge mentioned
that he felt
that [students] leave with a great knowledge and more. They have an idea of how the
world is operating and why things are, and I see such a value for them when they get to
think about and be critical, and actually have that critical consciousness to say, “Man, my
government did that, or this community is that way, they’re doing this, this happened
because things haven’t changed.”
Students are better able to understand phenomena happening around them and connect them to a
historical and contemporary context. Additionally, students can make connections to their own
lives. Elena stated, “[Students] learn how to navigate the world with a critical lens . . . where they
can question power and how it relates to their lives.” In addition to being critical thinkers and
questioning power and the world around them, they can relate to their own experiences and
navigate that world that they now understand better. Sofia shared a similar sentiment: “The
purpose of [education] is to be nourishing and wanting you to engage critically with the material
and wanting you to look further and apply the concepts that you’re learning into your own life.”
Overall, she agreed that through ethnic studies, students get to build their understanding of
society and apply their learning to their own lives.
Ethnic studies empowers students to question their experiences and understand that many
of the challenges faced by their communities have structural origins. They learn that they can be
agents of change, actively working to address societal issues and injustices. Along with the idea
53
of having greater awareness and historical understanding and questioning their experiences, all
teachers emphasized that along with the critical consciousness came a sense of agency,
empowerment, and hope. For example, according to Emma,
Students start to question their experiences. “Maybe the things that the folks in our
community are up against are structural? Maybe there’s a reason why, historically.” And
I find what happens is the students become stewards for their town. The students pick an
issue that they want to see changed. And there’s a consciousness around power. There’s a
consciousness about things changing. And there’s self-reflection, a critical look at self
and empowerment. There’s that consciousness around “there’s a bigger story.”
She further emphasized that students “learn to be critical of this country, critical of the history
and what has gone on in this country, but also hopeful about what could be created by the
people.” So, while they are becoming critical and more aware of the systemic inequities, they are
also hopeful about what they can do to address these inequities and create change.
Sofia reinforced this idea when she described the tools ethnic studies gave her:
Just being able to deconstruct certain concepts and not just taking it for face value, like
actually thinking deeply about the concept at hand and being able to deconstruct it. Not
only deconstruct it but also question it, have a discussion, and be able to have the
capacity to have a discussion about it. Because I think people lack critical thinking skills.
They don’t know how to have a healthy conversation about something that they don’t
understand, or they don’t wanna go that deeply into it. It’s just like face value, like, “Oh,
I’m being hit with this thing of information, and that’s it.” Like I’m not thinking about,
“Why is it like that? Who did this?” The “why” behind it.
Similarly, Andrew said,
54
I think that kids who learn ethnic studies are more capable of being out in the world and
helping to fix problems that we have. . . .The class is really teaching kids how to live in a
system that for most of our students is rigged against them and how can they work within
that system to expand and be active agents of change and growing and seeing the past
wrongs and moving forward and fixing those problems that they have faced, especially
our community, for so long.
As an example of how this happens, he mentioned,
One of the favorite things that my students really love is when they go out and start to try
to change the rules. So, my students will fight rules that they see as being unjust at our
school. So, it gives them the voice that everyone has but allows them to learn the process
of how we can effect change and change these rules at the school.
Even while in the classroom, the students are already taking ownership of their learning and
engaging in action to address the issues that they have identified in their communities.
In terms of critical consciousness and agency, Pablo explicitly defined critical
consciousness as having the agency to do something about one’s lived experiences:
Critical consciousness is having the agency to kind of do something about it. Pretty much
looking at how we, as individuals, make individual choices, but we’re also influenced
oftentimes by society. So, we influence society right back. And critical consciousness just
means not necessarily judging folks for what they’re doing individually, but rather
looking at the bigger picture of certain institutions and structures that influence them to
behave a certain way, to think a certain way, and to think things are, quote-unquote,
“normal.” It’s just that we’ve been conditioned for them to look as though they’re
normal.
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He explained how individuals have agency to create their own decisions but also how society
influences those decisions. Although society influences individuals, they also have the agency to
shape society and create new social constructs.
Jorge defined critical consciousness similarly: “[Critical consciousness] is also an
opportunity to move forward and find ways to fight these systems.” The power to fight the
systems is the agency that students have in response to the status quo and inequities that they
learn about in their course. Sofia said,
I think institutions often don’t want people of color, women, they don’t want queer
people to rise up and start thinking critically and start seeing all the things that are wrong
in the world and worse. They don’t want us trying to change things, and I think ethnic
studies really made me look inward. You know, all of the people we were reading their
literature, or we were just learning about in general, made me realize, “Oh shit, I can
actually, sorry, I can actually do something, like I can, I’m capable,” . . . just like
realizing the power that there is and building community, and just knowledge in general,
how powerful all of that is.
Overall, students have greater power because of what they learn in ethnic studies.
Andrew said, “There’s a certain amount of power you have when you understand why things are
as opposed to not, and it’s empowering to young people.” As Sofia mentioned, “Knowledge is
power, you know, is where your strength comes from.” Students having the knowledge of how
the current systems work empowers them and gives them agency. Sofia summarized this power:
“I generally felt like I was ready to take on the world after I took ethnic studies. I would just feel
so empowered and validated by what we would learn. I love, I miss ethnic studies.”
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Overall, the ethnic studies curriculum and pedagogy encourage students to become agents
in their community, taking on issues they want to change. They become conscious of power
dynamics and recognize that there is a broader narrative beyond individual experiences.
Ethnic studies encourages students to analyze their surroundings and take an active role in
addressing issues rather than seeing themselves as victims. It shifts the focus from personal
experiences to understanding the larger power dynamics at play. It also motivates students to
engage with society, challenge unjust rules, and work toward change. It teaches them to navigate
the world with a critical lens and question power dynamics and how they affect their lives.
Student Voice
Ethnic studies seems to provide students with a voice. This voice allows for student
empowerment and self-discovery. Education is not only about acquiring knowledge but also
about self-discovery and personal growth. Students grow in their academic identity and their
journey as human beings. They can find their voices and opinions. Matthew said students
mention that they talked with a relative or family member and felt like they had something to
say. According to Matthew, it was as if students were finding themselves and recognizing they
had opinions on different topics and that those opinions were worth sharing.
Involving students in the learning process and allowing them to express themselves seem
to have positive effects. Students are encouraged to express their opinions and become active
participants in their learning process. When students are empowered to have a voice in their
education, student engagement and sense of agency increase. When students feel heard and
valued, they become more engaged in the classroom and feel like they are part of a community.
This engagement leads to a more dynamic and interactive learning environment. Andrew said
that
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giving [students] that voice and allowing them to talk has really changed the way that
students interact with the class, and they feel like they’re part of it. And they feel like
they’re part of the community. And they feel like they have an active role in the way the
class is taught.
Giving students an opportunity to talk allows them to engage more fully in the class.
Emma, when discussing the co-creation of classroom structure, explained,
The students felt like they had a voice. There was engagement. They felt like they were
being heard. They felt, like, the implementation of listening to them, and I think, at the
end, we came up with solutions in terms of what education could be, what teaching and
learning could be. I think it was really powerful.
The students are creating their own conditions for learning and changing the institutions of
power using their voice. They get to practice what it is like to change the structures and
institutions they have to navigate.
Additionally, when students have a voice, they build their sense of social responsibility
and are empowered to address social problems. For example, students actively seek to change
rules they perceive to be unjust at their school. Andrew said students identify rules at their school
that they consider unfair and use their voices to try to change those rules. This implies that
student empowerment extends beyond the classroom and encourages students to take
responsibility for issues in their wider community. Moreover, through empowerment, students
feel more confident discussing social problems and considering how they can contribute to
finding solutions. As Elena mentioned,
As we go through the course, they are more open and more confident in what they want
to share. I think it comes from just being empowered by all the stories and lessons that we
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do cover and all the information; I think they become more empowered to use that voice.
. . . I see a change in that they feel empowered to talk about a social problem and how
they can contribute to a solution.
This connects education to real-world issues and social responsibility. Sofia shared how she felt
empowered to use her voice to stand up for those who are being dehumanized:
Just [speaking up] alone also brings a lot more visibility to being more conscious about
dehumanization and the way that they don’t think that you’re human sometimes. So, just
being that physical, present, loud voice that they can’t get rid of.
The data showed the transformative power of giving students a voice in their education.
When students are encouraged to express themselves, they become more engaged, confident, and
socially responsible. This approach not only fosters learning but also contributes to personal
growth and the development of active, engaged citizens.
With the critical thinking skills and information that students attain through ethnic
studies, students can start working toward their liberation and that of society as a whole. They
can navigate and address the issues that affect them, regardless of their racial or ethnic
background. Elena said,
I think [ethnic studies] liberates everybody when the facts are out there, and you can
navigate them and have the skills and guidance to be able to address those things that are
affecting you, whether you’re White or of any other background.
Overall, ethnic studies seems to have a transformational impact on students. It helps them
develop a critical consciousness, empowers them to challenge systemic issues, and equips them
with the knowledge and skills to be active agents of change in their communities and the broader
society.
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Theme 2: Effect on Holistic Humanization
Understanding Others Better
Two teachers discussed how this course could be divisive and exacerbate the
dehumanization of others. One teacher, Antonio, mentioned that the course, particularly when
taught remotely, emboldened some students to be racist. Once, he said, a student left the “Nword” behind for the teacher to find. Antonio attributed this effect to the press and social media
attacking ethnic studies. Another teacher, Samantha, said there was pushback from her White
students, asking, “Where’s my history?” Furthermore,
I think they do kind of look at the history and go, “Yeah, White people kind of sucked
back then.” We don’t get into current history; we don’t do current events that much for
specific reasons, but I do think that on some level they kind of walk away from it going,
“Yeah, the Americans are, American history is racist.” And I, in a way, that’s kind of the
point for them to really recognize the truth of the history as opposed to like this, no pun
intended, this whitewashed history. But I do think they sort of walk away with this sort of
understanding of American history being, you know, embedded in racism, which is true;
that’s a harsh reality to learn.
Despite some concerns about ethnic studies being divisive, the findings in this study
predominantly suggested that students are learning respectful ways to address issues and build
community. They gain skills to address problems constructively, not just to criticize.
According to all of the teachers interviewed, ethnic studies helped students understand
themselves and others better. They noted that this course helps build self-awareness and
empathy, increases the value of diversity, builds stronger communities, humanizes struggles, and
addresses division. Teaching students about their own histories, their identities, and the histories
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of their classmates and members of society leads to greater sensitivity and empathy. This
awareness helps them become better human beings who are more empathetic and understanding
of the people around them.
For example, Jorge said that even when students are learning about a culture that is not
their own, “they have an appreciation and a knowledge that they didn’t have before of how
systems have perpetuated these things.” In particular, White students gain a better understanding
of their classmates of different races and ethnicities. Samantha explained that she has had a few
White students
over the years just helping enlighten them to the experiences and the histories of their
classmates. And my White students, for the most part, were very receptive and really
open and very sensitive to their classmates’ experiences and their classmates’ histories.
Overall, students learn about each other and the different experiences they face, leading to
improved understanding of people from other backgrounds. As Sofia stated, because of ethnic
studies, “I feel a lot more empathetic, too.”
Ethnic studies courses encourage students, White and students of color, to become more
knowledgeable and perceptive about their surroundings and community. They gain an
appreciation for cultures different from their own, and this knowledge helps reduce stereotyping
while promoting respect for others. Andrew said students “learn the types of stereotyping and
similar things to that to help them to understand better about how they can be better citizens and
treat people with respect.” Students learn the distorted narratives that exist about others and learn
to treat people based on who they are rather than those assumed narratives.
By addressing dehumanization, ethnic studies courses help build stronger communities.
Ethnic studies allows students to see the humanity in all people. Students develop an
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understanding that everyone has their own struggles and that there is both history and context
behind people’s actions. This perspective promotes openness to multiple viewpoints and a more
compassionate worldview. Andrew said students “realize that their experience is similar. It
humanizes that struggle and people can understand and personalize what’s happening around
them.” Students get to see that others are not so different from them, and they can empathize
with others’ experiences because they may have experienced something similar or get to see their
classmates as persons with experiences. Similarly, Elena described “seeing the humanity in all
people and that no one’s perfect and acknowledging that even the people who harm, there’s a
reason and a history behind those things. Being open to not one view of seeing the world.”
Students can humanize others even if they do not share the same experiences. Even when harm is
caused, they can connect this harm to systemic issues and still see those who are causing harm as
humans. They get to have these different views of the world when they learn about different
structures.
While students get to better understand their classmates’ histories and experiences, they
are also learning about being White and Whiteness as a structure. Emma said,
How can you hate? It’s like, no, it’s a structure. Whiteness is a structure of people
learning and taking advantage of it, and then perpetuating it with the next generation. It’s
a structure. So, it’s not, “Oh, hey, White people,” it’s like, “No, understand what has
gone on and who has been given privileges.”
Students learn that it is not about a group of people but a system that tends to benefit people of
certain characteristics and identities. Students learn about these systems and how they operate.
Similarly to Emma, Andrew talked about how students learn about this system in a way that is
not divisive but collaborative:
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One of the biggest things that you hear people say about ethnic studies is that it’s divisive
and that it will create struggles within the community. But everything that I’ve seen is
actually the opposite. For example, even when the kids are fighting rules and trying to
change things, they’re learning the respectful way to do it and not just badmouthing the
dress code, but actually being like, “We need to write letters and emails to teachers and
ask them for their help.” And who can help them? And by doing that, not only are you
building their skills and knowledge of ways to change things, but you’re also helping
them to build community and stuff because they’re realizing that you can’t do it all by
yourself.
While Emma discussed how students learn about the system and how it operates, Andrew
took it further by explaining that students learn how to navigate that system in order to create
change within their communities. He also emphasized collaboration and coalition building to
create the change that students want to see.
Healing
Ethnic studies courses may provide healing for the students who take them. Half of the
participants mentioned the idea of healing. They suggested that engaging in practices such as
storytelling, mindfulness, meditation, and critical consciousness can lead to personal healing and
growth. This healing process is not limited to individuals but can extend to entire communities.
When individuals are empowered and have a better understanding of the power dynamics at
play, they can work together to heal their communities and bring about positive change. Emma
said that students are influenced by mindfulness, meditation, and storytelling:
I think the impact is that students begin to heal. I begin to heal. We all begin to heal, and
when people are healed, they could have more capacity, then, to heal others or to change
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the society. Students become transformed. I see their joy increasing because they start to
listen to themselves more. They start to listen to their own voices, their own ideas. They
become deprogrammed, in many ways. And there’s happiness that comes from that when
we have certainty, because we know that the answers live inside of us.
Students humanize themselves, begin to see their value, and heal. While Emma described the
healing aspect of storytelling and mindfulness, Jorge connected the healing directly to critical
consciousness:
It is kind of just really learning to navigate systems of inequality. And I talk about the
harm, right, in the self-care. And I think that critical consciousness is . . . a way to heal
internally from everything that it creates.
While Emma connected healing to storytelling and the reflection aspect of praxis, Jorge
connected it further to the action part of praxis. When students are able to share their experiences
and understand the systems of oppression in a way that they can respond to change their
circumstances, they work toward healing.
Not only do students find healing for themselves; there is also healing for the community.
Matthew said, “When we’re fighting racism, we can move past that and focus on healing the
community. By doing that, it takes less focus on the action and more focus on rebuilding the
community, which helps to bring more positivity.” Students do not see themselves and their
communities as only victims; there is a sense of healing in the agency that they have in
rebuilding their community. Likewise, Jorge said that “ethnic studies provides . . . or critical
consciousness provides these communities who are curious, the opportunity to be also
participants in their own healing and self-care to engage in these things in the community.”
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Again, through ethnic studies, students and communities receive a sense of agency to address
issues in their community and, in doing so, heal. As Sofia said,
We are able to change, and you don’t have to be a superhero or even an elected official,
or something like that, to make that change. No, there’s power in building your
community. There’s power in knowing the history behind your community. There’s a lot
of power that everyday people have, especially people from marginalized communities
like mine.
They do not need other people to come save them; in community, they have the power to heal
themselves. Sofia continued,
Without taking [ethnic studies], I feel like I would have been a very different person who
was not as conscious and aware of her surroundings and that ethnic studies gave me that
additional insight into what people have gone through, what my community has gone
through; it just really empowered me. I wouldn’t have been as empowered to make
change in my community, especially for a brown woman, a Latina. It changes you. It
really does. And it reminds you that anything is possible, that the people before you have
done it, and they worked so fucking hard for it, and that you can carry on that legacy if
you choose.
Ethnic studies connected Sofia to a community of people who have been resisting oppression for
generations and a community of current individuals who are doing the same. In doing so, it
provided her with agency and hope to continue this legacy. As the teachers shared, ethnic studies
helped the community heal.
By listening to their own voices and ideas and those of others and gaining the agency to
address whatever is causing inequities in their communities, students become empowered and
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are better able to navigate systems of inequality. They shift from a victim mentality to a mindset
of agency and empowerment. Thus, addressing issues such as racism is not about blaming people
but about analyzing students’ own surroundings and actively working to change the situation.
This leads to the transformation of students’ communities and a sense of healing for those
involved.
Sense of Belonging
Through ethnic studies classes, students grow in their sense of belonging, develop social
and cultural pride, take ownership of their identities, and develop a better understanding of their
histories and identities. Students feel seen and acknowledged, even when discussing issues of
exclusion. Overall, students feel included and valued. Additionally, students grow in their sense
of social and cultural pride. It leads to greater confidence, a stronger sense of self, and a better
understanding of their place in the world, particularly in relation to larger societal issues.
Students learn to accept themselves and understand that they are part of history. Sofia said,
“Being a Chicana is something that brings me a lot of pride, and that’s definitely something I
would have not figured out if it wasn’t for ethnic studies and learning the power behind that
word and that community.” Ethnic studies shows the role of education in recognizing and
centering diverse identities. Students feel honored and related to as human beings rather than the
feelings of disconnection and exclusion they experience in other aspects of their education.
Ethnic studies classes seem to serve as a crucial bridge between students and their
education, offering a deeper and more inclusive perspective on the world. Matthew provided a
detailed account of how ethnic studies brings about a sense of belonging for students:
I think a lot of the students took away from it a sense of belonging because a lot of the
classes talked about them. . . . It made them feel a little bit seen. There was kind of a
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being seen, even though we’re talking about how you’re excluded. Right? It’s like,
finally, someone sees that I’m not being included in something. It’s kind of a weird way
to frame being seen. But I think that that was definitely something that a lot of students
took away from it. And, you know, there’s a lot of social-cultural pride that comes out in
our class. And so I think that it’s really great to see a little bit more confidence coming
from students, as they have more academic language and context for the circumstances
that they might see in their larger community, like, “Why are there no Trader Joe’s in our
neighborhood?” Well, let’s look at a map where all the Trader Joe’s are. “Oh, look at
that! It’s all the rich White neighborhoods.” And so when we can start overlaying things
in our community, and we see them and touch them, they start feeling a little more
confident. They can look at social media and say, “That’s a dog whistle.” They can start
making more sense out of the world around them. . . . A little more ownership of their
identities, and how they fit into the world around them.
By learning the content, even when it relates to the topic of their exclusion, students feel seen
and validated. They finally have a course in which they can better understand their lived
experiences, who they are, how the system around them works, and how they can navigate those
systems rather than be excluded from them. They gain a sense of belonging within this world,
within their classroom, and within their learning experience.
On a similar note, Antonio said that he thought students “learned to accept themselves. I
think they learned that they’re part of history, that there’s a place for them, that the education is
really about who we center and who we don’t center.” Because their experiences are finally
centered, they can feel like education is about them. They learn about themselves and their
history, thus validating their existence and experiences and their belonging in this world. This
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educator perspective was strengthened by Sofia’s student perspective: “Ethnic studies gives a
voice to those that our typical history books don’t give a microphone to or give a voice to.” In
these classes, students are finally learning about their communities and histories. Sofia saw this
as
empower[ing] because a lot of the kids in ethnic studies do come from those groups and
they don’t realize how much history that we have in this country, because our history
textbooks and curriculums, they’re very whitewashed, like you don’t actually learn about
the different struggles.
Not only are students learning about their place in the history of the world, but they also
gain a sense of being human and being a learner. Diego said that
to an extent, ethnic studies is the only connection point to where some feel honored as
human beings, and related to, rather than just really disconnected and pushed out of
school in different ways. So, in a sense, saving education and saying, life and ethnic
studies is that connection point that really honors that. And I think that’s where that
emerges from, because it provides access to academic identity as a real human being.
Students feel as though they are and can be learners within the education system and like they
are being treated as full human beings. These identities reinforce their belonging within the
education system and the world in which they live.
Ethnic studies can also help students gain a sense of belonging within their community.
James said,
Many times, I’ve seen students really get excited about something local, something in our
community that they feel passionately about, and they get to share it. So, I think it makes
them feel a sense of purpose and belonging in their community.
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By being active agents in their community, the students get to feel like they belong within it.
Overall, ethnic studies helps students feel like they belong to themselves and to their
communities and within the education system, history, and the world.
Meaningful, Mind-Expanding Learning
Students feel like they are learning something meaningful to their lives in ethnic studies.
The curriculum and pedagogy connect with students on a personal level, making the learning
experience more engaging and relevant. According to Mayer (2011), students work harder to
learn material that has personal value to them. Students see value in what they are learning in
ethnic studies, which can potentially motivate them to be more committed to their studies.
In ethnic studies, students are learning something different than they do in traditional
courses. Samantha explained, “[Students] learn their history beyond the superficial history they
may have gotten at elementary school about their heritage, and I think it’s eye-opening.”
Students are going deeper into their identities, backgrounds, and experiences, and this opens up
their worldview. According to Diego, “When [students] start to learn more of this deeper
knowledge itself or content, it’s like ‘mind blown.’” The phrase “mind blown” used by one of
the students suggests that the content in ethnic studies is pushing the boundaries of their previous
knowledge. It makes them think deeply and critically. According to Andrew, this critical
thinking is getting them to discover things like their ethnic or racial background. Ethnic studies
not only teaches historical and cultural information but also fosters self-awareness and a deeper
understanding of one’s own identity.
In addition to learning more about themselves and the structures around them, students
feel that there is a choice in their learning, and they feel safe. Emma said that students
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felt like they were learning something that was meaningful to their lives, that there was
choice. I heard students talk about it feeling very safe, that what students learned in
ethnic studies were things they had never learned in other classes. You know, a lot of
students talking about seeing the world in a different way and understanding that they
have agency, that they have power, that power lives inside of them.
Feeling safe suggests a supportive and inclusive classroom environment where students are
encouraged to express themselves and explore topics freely. Sofia said,
[Ethnic studies] is so inspiring and eye-opening that, generally, I wouldn’t even just say it
saves lives; I would say it changes them too. The way that it just makes you rethink
everything and not just accept the status quo, it encourages you to think critically about
your surroundings, and I feel like it would save lives because it’s definitely changed my
life. I feel like I understand the world around me so much better. I would say, just finding
that community in your class, because I know that, in my ethnic studies class, for
example, a lot of people were going through a hard time, including me, and ethnic studies
would be that one point in the day where you could just listen for something that you
were actually interested in or spend time with the community that you build in that class,
because I’ve never, ever had a community like I have in my ethnic studies classes, just
like having that collective mindset and that we were all there for each other and we could
be so vulnerable. And it was really beautiful. Honestly, I would think that’s the way that
ethnic studies would save lives.
It was empowering for the students to learn the course content and build a sense of community
with each other. Ethnic studies has a positive influence on students’ motivation and passion for
learning.
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Discussion for Research Question 1
Similar to the student’s perspective, the teachers believed that the ethnic studies
curriculum increased students’ critical consciousness, increased their sense of agency and hope,
empowered them to be change agents in their communities, and gave them a stronger voice they
could use to challenge the inequitable systems around them. In terms of holistic humanization,
teachers believed that ethnic studies helped the students understand each other better, increased
their sense of belonging, and engaged them in meaningful learning. Overall, the teachers
perceived that the curriculum had a positive impact on students. Even the one teacher who said
that the curriculum may seem like an attack on White people generally believed that it also helps
people of different backgrounds understand each other better and that it helps them better
understand the historical context of contemporary social issues and the difference in experiences
for people of different backgrounds.
Results for Research Question 2
Research Question 2 asked the following: What are the teachers’ perceptions on how
teaching ethnic studies affects their own critical consciousness and humanization? In terms of
critical consciousness, teachers expressed an increased sense of criticality and questioning the
system, particularly that of education, in which they participate. In terms of holistic
humanization, teachers overall felt a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in teaching the course.
Theme 1: Effect on Critical Consciousness
Need for Consciousness
Some of the participants mentioned that they were teaching the course because they were
already questioning systems of power and they saw ethnic studies as a way to continue this
practice. For instance, Diego, Antonio, Emma, Pablo, and Jorge expressed that they were
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teaching the course because they felt that their students should not have to wait until college to
learn these skills and be exposed to this relevant content. Diego said, “I realized how much
conscious teachers are really needed and knowing that if I don’t co-construct some deep critical
knowledge with [students], there’s a chance they won’t get it at all during their formal
education.” Diego saw himself as having critical consciousness and thought that if he did not go
into teaching to help students build their own, they might not ever develop it.
Emma said that throughout her own education, she was “very much interrogating the
system,” and she moved from being a community organizer to a teacher because she believed
“students need educators who are going to advocate for them. They’re gonna need educators who
are going to change the system.” She was already questioning the system, and she wanted to be
part of the community that would change it from within. Pablo specified, “I’m glad I’m teaching
[ethnic studies], but at the same time if it was an official ethnic studies class or not, I’d be
teaching ethnic studies.” For Pablo, it was important to teach ethnic studies even without the
official title so that students could receive the content and skills he did not receive until college.
For Elena, her previous critical consciousness led her to teach the course:
I think I have become a little more critical of the system that I work in. I switched
positions because I was starting to become critical, more so, of this educational system,
and after teaching a little last year twice the unit on the school-to-prison pipeline, I started
thinking, “Wow, we could do so much more of the system.” So, I think I’m becoming
more critical and asking myself questions about why things are a certain way or are not a
certain way. I think it’s empowering me to continue down that road to see where this is
taking me in terms of my own critical analysis of the system that I am a part of.
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While she initially decided to teach this course because she was already questioning the
educational system, by teaching the course, she was able to further grow in her own critical
consciousness. Other teachers expressed similar sentiments.
All participants said that they were questioning more, and most said they were
particularly questioning the school system they are a part of and their role within it. James
explained that although he was fortunate enough to have come from a background in sociology,
which
does train you a lot in being critically aware of the unseen systems, the unseen structures,
and oppression that’s happening, I feel like [ethnic studies] has definitely broadened it to
see it in other areas that I hadn’t really taken the time to explore and including schooling
. . . so [his critical consciousness] has been definitely growing and seeing it in school.
Although James came into teaching with some critical consciousness, teaching the course has
helped him increase it and apply it to the system in which he currently works. The critical
consciousness that teachers gain from teaching ethnic studies has also led them to change their
minds about their role as teachers.
Change in Views of Schooling and Students
Teachers said ethnic studies changed the way they saw education and teaching,
particularly in the way they structure the class and treat the students. Emma “learned that in
education we have a huge role as educators to do what is right by youth, and I don’t think I
would be here if it wasn’t for ethnic studies.” Because of teaching ethnic studies, Emma learned
that her purpose in education is to do what is best for students. James changed his idea of what
was best for students and what his role was in making that happen:
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My identity as a teacher, too, has kind of grown and shifted in terms of my sense as a
teacher, of seeing students, as one of my goals is to make sure they belong, they feel like
they belong and have a voice rather than just my goal is to teach, teach them and help
them graduate or help them get a career.
Initially, James’s perception of his role as a teacher was to get students to pass the course in
order to graduate. Since teaching ethnic studies, he now sees his role as helping the students gain
a sense of belonging and empowering their voices so that students can speak out and share their
opinions and thoughts.
Because of changes in mindsets toward schooling and their roles as educators, the
teachers have changed the way they see and treat their students. For example, Matthew thinks of
students differently. He says that because of his continued reflection, “I think it just continued to
break down the barriers between those kinds of authoritarian teacher roles and the submissive
expectations we have for students often.” He does not treat the students as inferior or individuals
who just need to blindly follow what he says. Similarly, Diego described having
mutual respect and honoring [students] as co-learners, not like, “I’m the teacher, you’re
the students, listen to me.” I know I really do my best to not have that approach. I
approach it as a classroom community and even doing my best to facilitate student
leadership though class council and the committees. I really want to take that further as
well, which is honoring students as young intellectuals and as human beings.
Students are seen as peers rather than subservient, and both the students and the teachers are seen
as learning together.
How teachers see their students as co-learners and peers affects how they structure their
courses. For Emma, it was important to co-create the learning environment with her students:
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How do we build a decolonial structure? How can I build a structure where students are
trusted, where students make decisions, where students are co-creating? So, this idea of
shared power really was something I didn’t know that I would transform into.
To achieve this, Emma “restructured [her] classroom so it’s very student centered. It’s not topdown. It’s collective. I knew the content would be a little bit different, but everything within the
structure of the school day has changed for me and the students, too.” This co-created structure
includes things like different policies around tardiness, phone use, and lesson design. For
Andrew, the way to treat students as co-learners is by engaging with them to co-create respect
agreements for the class.
For Pablo, changing the structure of the classroom meant making it more like a university
structure:
My whole goal is to bring the university to the classroom. Just how professors have their
own expertise and they do their own research. It’s like, “What passions do you have that
lead you to learn?” Because we all learn, whether it’s us or whether it’s our students that
think that because they don’t have good grades, that they’re not capable of learning, but
they learn different things. . . . I just brought those same attributes to education.
Pablo changed the structure of his classroom to make it more student centered. For him, it meant
allowing students to share what they are passionate about and learning about that just as
professors at the university level do.
Seeing students as counterparts and co-creators in learning humanizes the students.
Matthew said,
I don’t want to be applying the same sort of dehumanizing process on a number of
students who come from the groups that my community and people I look like have
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oppressed for hundreds of years, you know. So, there is this kind of need to be constantly
self-reflective, that I’m being compassionate, that I’m listening, right? Because a lot of it
is listening. . . . And so a lot of it requires listening, appreciating, and creating spaces for
students to say what is correct when it’s outside of my breadth of knowledge, like lived
knowledge as opposed to someone I might have read.
Matthew recognized that it was humanizing to listen to his students and get to know them better.
This included acknowledging that he has a lot to learn and that students come with expertise.
Recognizing Bias
Part of growing in critical consciousness includes the participants’ ability to recognize
their own biases and the importance of continuing to reflect and learn. All participants mentioned
the importance of reflection, how this led to seeing their biases and blind spots, and the idea of
continuous learning to address them. Andrew said that
from day one I knew that I was not an expert at the subject, so I really had to push myself
to learn and do a lot of reading. So, for me, personally, it was very challenging and very
intellectually engaging to teach that new subject and to prepare for it. It also helped me
see some of the things, because, growing up as a White male, I didn’t really experience a
lot of racism and stuff, so becoming an ethnic studies teacher, I got to it. It brought the
struggles that a lot of my students faced. It humanized them and brought them to me.
Because of his openness to learn and reflect, Andrew realized that “ethnic studies has changed
the way that I think. Personally, I’ve never thought of myself as being racist, but there were
definitely biases there. Just hearing stories and empathizing with kids has really helped me to see
their struggle.” Andrew started teaching ethnic studies already understanding that he had a lot to
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learn. However, by teaching the course, he further realized that he had biases and blind spots that
he had not noticed before.
Similarly, Matthew said,
So, I have a lot of privilege, and it can be particularly uncomfortable to enumerate some
of those privileges to a student population that otherwise doesn’t have that kind of
opportunity, and so it’s been really humbling. I think that’s a big takeaway. It’s quite
humbling the self-reflection that comes along with the content as it’s being taught.
While it was difficult for him to realize and acknowledge his privilege, he was able to do so by
teaching this course.
Emma, another White teacher, said she had learned that
I have a lot of work to do. As a White woman teacher in a system, I want to do better. I
want to be better. I want to not perpetuate the things that my ancestors have perpetuated
for years. Also, when it comes to teaching, I also really want to center the students. But
really centering the students is very political; I’m in trouble a lot. But I know in the
classroom and the students also know that things are meaningful, it’s meaningful, so I
think I have learned over the course of doing this work that education can be meaningful.
Not only did Emma learn about the work she has to do for herself, but she has found further
meaning in education and her role within the system. She further understands that she is working
within a system of oppression and part of the work she needs to do is challenge it even if it
means having to get in trouble with her supervisors by challenging the system itself.
Although several teachers wanted to teach the course and ensure they were building
critical consciousness with their students, four teachers felt they were not the best situated to
teach the course but were “volunteered” to teach the course, as Matthew put it. Even then, they
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showed critical consciousness in acknowledging that they were not fully prepared and grew in it
as they taught the course. James wrote a letter to the administration asking that they hire
someone with more expertise to teach the course. Andrew said,
So, it’s actually funny because when they first came to me with ethnic studies, I said, “I
have no interest in teaching that class. You know, I am everything that that class goes
against. I’m White, I’m male, I’m the oppressor, I’m conservative Christian,” like
everything that goes into it. But now that I started teaching it, it’s my favorite class to
teach. I just love it. I love challenging the kids. I love helping them to learn the system
and how to fight against it and everything that’s happening. It’s also been really good for
my family because my family is of mixed ethnicity. So, I get to explore a lot of the
cultural stuff with them, too.
Although Andrew initially held some misconceptions about the class, including the potential
personal affront on his identity, the shift in his mindset—from not being best suited to teach the
course given his background and experiences to leveraging his position to engage in this learning
with students—showed a level of critical consciousness that grew and expanded as he taught the
course.
Similarly, Samantha said,
Quite frankly, I was teaching geography, and then they made the switch to ethnic studies,
and nobody else wanted to teach it in my department. One other man was teaching it. He
was sort of like the “ethnic studies guy,” and it was sort of his thing, but then we had
extra sections of it. So, I ended up taking those on. . . . I enjoy the curriculum a lot. I think
it’s an important subject matter. I do. I sometimes feel like I’m not doing it justice. I wish
I had more training on how to do it or how to do it right or how to do it well. But for the
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most part, it’s been going really well and I really do enjoy it . . . honoring, maybe for the
first time or just recognizing students’ identities.
Samantha said she ended up teaching ethnic studies because the school needed teachers and there
were no other teachers to do it. She had been teaching ninth-grade geography, but ninth graders
were now taking ethnic studies instead. While she enjoys and appreciates the curriculum, she
showed critical consciousness by acknowledging that she may not be doing it justice because she
does not have enough training and expertise in this particular field.
Overall, educators who teach ethnic studies seem to be growing in their critical
consciousness whether they wanted to teach the course initially or ended up with it because there
was no one else to teach it. They are more reflective, engage in continuous learning, and even
change the structure of their courses to align with the pedagogy of critical consciousness and
holistic humanization.
Theme 2: Effect on Holistic Humanization
Research Question 2 also sought to answer how teaching ethnic studies influenced
teachers’ humanization. Overall, teachers reported that teaching the course was a healing
experience and one that felt good. It was empowering to them, and it allowed them to humanize
their students and build stronger relationships with them.
Healing and Positive Feelings
All 10 teachers said the course made them feel good in some way. Samantha said, “I love
teaching history, so it makes me happy. I love teaching the controversy, that makes me happy,
for lack of a better word. Happy, I guess, isn’t the best. But you know, I mean satisfied.” For
Samantha, teaching ethnic studies, which can be seen as a controversial aspect of history, is
gratifying. Likewise, according to Diego, ethnic studies is “really fulfilling and integrating, and I
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just feel blessed for the opportunity to have taught it. I love it.” In addition to teaching making
him feel good, he sees the value of teaching this course. Emma said, “I teach world history. I
know I teach social science, but I really like ethnic studies; it’s what I want to teach.” Although
Emma has experience teaching different social sciences, ethnic studies is the course she wants to
teach above all others. Overall, the teachers said they feel good teaching ethnic studies and it is a
course they want to teach.
A few teachers went deeper into how the course makes them feel. Jorge said ethnic
studies “has been kind of transformational.” Teaching ethnic studies has positively changed his
life. Matthew said teaching ethnic studies “is kind of liberating, right? It’s this recognition that
it’s okay to celebrate things outside of your own spaces, as long as it’s done with reverence and
with open ears.” Although there are differences in experiences, it is freeing to be able to honor
and celebrate those different experiences. Two teachers said the course provided healing to them.
Emma said the course had led her to heal along with her students and their community.
Similarly, Elena said ethnic studies has
really been a healing process for me, especially coming from administration. There’s a lot
of policing and keeping order and rules and discipline and all that, and now I get to build
relationships and focus on social-emotional things. And, so, for me, it’s been healing
professionally, because I’ve been able to get back to that space.
As an assistant principal, Elena had to focus on discipline and control with her students, but now
she gets to build relationships and focus on their well-being, which, in turn, is healing for her.
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Empowerment
As part of teaching ethnic studies, teachers felt more confident in themselves in terms of
standing up for others. Matthew said he was able to develop his academic confidence, which
empowers him to speak up:
I may be a little more vocal around my family, who’s particularly more conservative
across the board. So, maybe less passive when I hear or see things that I am not
appreciative of. I think that there’s confidence. Often, I think teachers are co-learners
when we take on new content or we investigate nuances of a topic. We often learn kind of
parallel with our students, and I think I’ve developed enough academic knowledge that I
have confidence in actively engaging in maybe less-than-desirable things that I hear and
see at home.
As a co-learner with his students, Matthew felt like he learned along with his students and gained
the language and confidence to speak up against dehumanization and oppression even outside of
his role as a teacher. James similarly indicated that because of ethnic studies, he feels more
empowered to use his voice for others who are being dehumanized. Diego also addressed
combating dehumanization:
Part of how we humanize it is to not just accept the dehumanization as the way it is and
it’s gonna be and that’s it. There’s something we can do about it. We actually have to
name it, stand against it, and engage in cycles of reflective practices that involve what I
just named and more to really address it. Love is a key way we need to combat the
dehumanization.
Again, Diego expressed the agency and power that he has to address dehumanization and do
something about it.
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Humanizing Students
In teaching ethnic studies, teachers humanize their students. Samantha said teachers need
to “[do] our best to be sensitive and to recognize and to try to see our students for who they are.”
Rather than seeing students as stereotypes or a monolithic group, teachers need to get to know
their students and see them for who they really are. By seeing students for who they are, teachers
are humanizing their students. For Andrew, learning about racism and different experiences
helped him humanize his students:
Becoming an ethnic studies teacher, I got to [learn about racism]. It brought the struggles
that a lot of my students faced. It humanized them and brought them to me. . . . The
biggest things that I learned is just how to treat people and how to acknowledge them and
acknowledge their struggle. Which, as a White male, I always went through the world
like, “Oh, yeah, everybody’s fine.” But then, when I actually started studying those
struggles and understanding what those differences are, just being able to see them and
acknowledge them has really helped.
By learning along with his students in ethnic studies and getting to know them personally, he
was able to see them as fully human and understand their history better.
Overall, by teaching ethnic studies, teachers got to see their students as fully human,
increased their confidence to speak up for others who are dehumanized, and were able to heal
and feel good teaching the course.
Discussion for Research Question 2
The impact of ethnic studies on teachers was similar to that on the students. Similarly to
students, the teachers come in with varying levels of critical consciousness and understanding of
others of different backgrounds. There were some differences between teachers who identified as
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teachers of color and those who identified as White. The teachers of color were more likely to
come into the class wanting to teach it and wanting to expose their students to the critical
consciousness and content they wished they had gotten earlier. The White teachers were more
likely to feel hesitant to teach the class, in a way demonstrating a level of critical consciousness
and self-awareness. Overall, regardless of the initial critical consciousness they felt they came in
with, all teachers perceived that their critical consciousness grew by teaching the class. It was
harder to measure the impact on their holistic humanization, but the teachers seemed to increase
in their understanding of their students and their experiences and see them as more fully human.
They also learned more about their own identities and perceived teaching the course as a positive
experience.
Perspectives on Pedagogy
While not explicitly asked in the research questions, an important aspect of ethnic studies
is the way that it is taught. This was mentioned by the student as well as by the teachers
interviewed. Overall, ethnic studies was seen as more than just the content, encompassing a way
of learning that challenged the status quo itself. Mainly, the respondents mentioned that the
course should be taught with fidelity. This included following its tenets of criticality, putting
students at the center, building community, engaging in restorative practices, empowering
students through agency, and the teacher being an active participant along with the students.
Fidelity
For the teachers, it was important that they understood the potential power of the course
and that they taught it based on what it was originally meant to be. When asked what teaching
the course with fidelity meant, Elena said,
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Building community, putting students first, tailoring the curriculum to students,
connecting with them in social-emotional pieces, social justice, critical lens, empower
students to take on that leadership role of “if this is a problem I see in the community,
what can I do to help? What can I contribute? How do I contribute? What are the systems
in place? What are the powers in place? How do I fit into them?”
As Elena explained, the course, at its core, challenges institutionalized and other forms of
oppression and puts students at the center. It requires giving students agency and power and
explicitly challenging oppression to work toward social justice.
Teacher Participation
Teachers went beyond content by engaging in the courses themselves. One way teachers
participated was by being vulnerable with their students. Several of the teachers said it was
important for them to be vulnerable with the students and also share their own stories and
experiences. Four of the 10 educators mentioned that they completed the assignments along with
their students. Teachers sharing their own experiences, either through completing the
assignments or just in conversation, allowed the students to get to know the teachers better and
relate to them. Samantha said,
I bring in my personal stories all the time. . . . I think [students] enjoy hearing them. I
think they connect to it because their situations are similar for a lot of them, and they
identify, they see me in their life and they see themselves reflected in my life, and it’s
good, especially being a White woman. I think it’s important for them to not just see me
as like, “Oh, she’s just some White teacher teaching me about Latino history.” They can
go, “Oh, well, she’s not Latina, but she was an immigrant too like my mom was, and she
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also had to translate, which I had to do for my parents when I was a kid, or I still have
to.” So, in that respect, I think that it makes me more relatable.
In addition to modeling the vulnerability that they expect to see from the students, the teachers
are also humanizing themselves and their students by uncovering the similarities in their
experiences.
Teachers also mentioned the need to be active participants in authentic dialogue. Diego
said that in addition to asking questions of the students, he should be asking himself the same
questions. Moreover, Matthew said that getting to know students’ identities was a dialectical
process. He said that authentic dialogue required others:
When we begin the investigation of who we are, it is a dialectical process. And so you
need other people to be participating in that question in order for it to facilitate an
authentic dialogue. So, I think, in my active sharing of stories, it creates safety or it
lowers the defense or something.
Sharing his own stories and being vulnerable opened students up to do the same; therefore, he
made sure to participate in this process along with them.
The teachers’ level of vulnerability also helped the students open up. Matthew said, “I
think that a certain amount of earnestness and honesty in the classroom, and a willingness to
share who you are as an instructor, as a person, creates a space for younger people to do that as
well.” Because of their vulnerability, students are more likely to share their experiences in class.
The mutual sharing of experiences helped build relationships and build community in the
classroom.
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Community Building
Ethnic studies pedagogy includes the space to be in community and connect with each
other. Antonio said, “Ethnic studies is just not a book, but it is a community.” Although the
teachers could help the students better understand the curriculum by sharing their stories, it was
more important for the teachers to be able to connect to their students. Diego said, “So, there’s
the more formal curriculum and sharing my experiences that relate to that, but also just the
everyday and connecting to students as human beings. . . . I’m real with them.” More importantly
than teaching the content, ethnic studies is about connecting with students as humans. Pablo said,
“To be frankly honest with you, ethnic studies were secondary to [student–teacher
relationships].” Connecting with the students humanized them.
Emma said, “I think that it’s important for the teacher to be transparent about just who we
are. Right. Like, we’re people. We’re all people in the room who are trying to build community
and liberation.” Although it is important for educators to teach the content, the purpose of ethnic
studies is to work toward liberation and humanization. This means that the educators have to
connect with the students, humanize them, and work together toward their mutual liberation.
Elena said, “Teaching ethnic studies feels extra special because I get to connect to my students.
Personally, they get to know me really well, because I share and I become vulnerable with
them.” Because of Elena’s sharing and vulnerability, the students get to know her better, and that
makes her feel more connected to them.
This community was also built through students sharing about themselves. Andrew
explained,
In ethnic studies, a lot of it has to do with the personal aspect of how they live. So, what
are their experiences with racism instead of just teaching, “Oh, this is what racism is”?
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It’s like, “Have you ever experienced it?” And that stopping to ask that question really
helps to get to know those kids. . . . In ethnic studies, you really dive into who that person
is and how they interact with the world. . . . You really feel like you’re learning about
them as people.
The structure and topics of the course allow students to share about themselves, and the teachers
get to know them better, thus building community.
Relationships were so important to teachers that a few teachers even built relationships
beyond the classroom. Pablo said, “Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you
care.” Teachers may know a lot of ethnic studies content, but students will not care about that
knowledge until they know that the teachers care about them as humans. One way that a few
teachers showed they cared was by building relationships beyond the classroom. Diego started a
club called Poetic Justice to further connect with the students. He said the club allowed for
“different mediums and different spaces for students to share experiences and me to share
experiences.” Additionally, Matthew described how he became involved in his students’ lives
beyond the classroom to show he cared:
I’m multifaceted in their lives, and a big part of it, too, is I go out of my way to spend
time seeing these kids do their cultural things. I have a student who’s an Aztec dancer,
and I go because it’s awesome. . . . So, I think a lot of it is that I have a good relationship
with these students because I put time and energy into them, and when they see that, they
know it’s authentic. How do you not feel good when someone cares about you?
Matthew recognizes that it takes time and energy to build relationships with students, and he is
willing to put that time in beyond the classroom. He does so because he cares about his students
and he wants them to feel good.
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Above all, to create connections and relationships, the teachers had to show care for the
students. Sofia got the sense that her teacher actually cared about them and about what they were
learning. She noticed the students actually put effort into the assignments and into learning, and
she attributed this to the level of care that the teacher provided:
Ethnic studies gives you a very different schooling experience that you don’t typically get
in those other classes. Not that same level of care. It’s not as personal as ethnic studies is
for most students. And you would see it in the effort that [students] would put into their
work, like it wasn’t half-assed. And it’s ’cause it was the first time, probably for a lot of
them, that they felt seen in a class.
Her teacher was not there just to teach but to create relationships with the students, to listen, and
to care for them. This level of care translated to improved student effort and learning, but the
focus was the care.
Social-Emotional Learning/Restorative Justice Practices
In addition to building relationships inside and outside the classroom, another way that
teachers built trust to get students to talk about vulnerable and potentially controversial topics
was by engaging in restorative practices. This includes engaging in restorative practice circles,
focusing on socioemotional learning, and validating the students’ knowledge and expertise.
Andrew, Emma, Elena, Matthew, and Diego talked about using restorative circles. Andrew said,
“We do a lot of circle time, and kids will share stories in circle.” The restorative circles are a
structure and process that restructures the way the course is run by teachers and also allows the
students to experience humanization.
Emma said that the course allowed the students to understand their position in the course
and the humanity in themselves and others: “So, then, we do restorative circles. What happens is
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that students figure out that there’s no hierarchy either. It’s not like, ‘Here’s the A student and
here’s the F student.’ We’re all students. We’re all people.” In the circle, everyone gets to share,
and no one student is above the other regardless of their backgrounds and experiences. In sharing
their stories within the circle, students also see the humanity in others rather than just the labels
that are often used in society to categorize people. Additionally, it reinforces the idea that they
have agency over their learning. Students are allowed to exercise their agency in restorative
circles because the teacher understands that the students come into the classroom with a lot of
prior knowledge. Emma said that in the circles, they “focus on building capacity as folks who all
have intellect, who all have ability, who all have something to contribute. It’s built into that
every day.”
In addition to restorative practice circles, teachers engaged in social-emotional learning.
Elena shared, “I do a lot of social-emotional connections with them, too.” When I asked her what
she would say to other educators who believe that there is no time in class to focus on socialemotional learning given all the content the class has to go over, she responded,
When we, as humans, feel like we’re heard and we are safe, our brains work a lot better.
So, if I can do these little SEL activities built into my class to help lower that affective
filter, help them feel safer, help them feel connected, why not? I think it’s important,
especially in a class where there’s a lot of discussion and a lot of vulnerability, because
we ask them to be vulnerable, and if they don’t feel safe and connected, they’re not going
to share anything and connect with each other.
Incorporating social-emotional learning into her pedagogy allows students to feel more
comfortable being vulnerable and engaging in discussions, and ultimately this leads to students
forming connections with others in the classroom.
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When I asked Sofia what she would say to teachers about incorporating social-emotional
learning into their classrooms, she stated,
I would tell them that I know you guys are gonna think it’s gonna sound stupid and that
we’re high schoolers, and we have better things to do. But just give it a chance, and
you’ll see that your students would be much more engaged and ready to learn.
Both the student and the teachers believe that social-emotional learning is important and that it
creates a safe space to be vulnerable and learn.
Dialogue
Another ethnic studies pedagogical approach was engaging in dialogue. Teachers
mentioned having open discussions. During these discussions, students would address
stereotypes, local events, and contemporary issues; respond to journal prompts; or engage in
debates, among other topics. James, like all the other teachers, said, “They’re usually discussing
something.” The reason for this, in his words, was, “If students are talking about it, then they’re
learning about it. And then they’re learning from each other about it. And so I have them sit in
small groups so that they can share and discuss.” In addition to learning with and from each
other, Pablo said that engaging students in discussion allowed the students to bring their own
expertise into the classroom. Samantha also said that it allows students to organically get to
know each other.
Centering Students
The pedagogy of ethnic studies involves centering students and tailoring the course to
them. This includes teaching them local history, giving them agency over their learning, getting
them to engage in discussions with each other, and, overall, being flexible. The ethnic studies
course that Sofia took included local history. She said it was “the first time I’ve ever had a
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teacher or a class actually discuss what happened down the street and the history of the place that
we live in.” It was powerful for her to finally learn about the local history of her hometown.
While traditional classrooms are teacher led, Sofia said that in ethnic studies, her teacher
would “allow students room to grow, learn, room to talk, and discuss and question things.” The
teacher would do this by “mak[ing] sure that we were comfortable first off. But second, learning
how to speak out in class and be able to have these types of discussions, being able to openly and
freely talk and discuss and just taking up space.” Students had the opportunity and empowerment
to engage in dialogue. The teacher was a facilitator in these conversations:
My teacher would really guide these conversations that we would be having about the
material. She would very much make sure that she wasn’t inflicting her own ideas onto
us, but also nurturing brains into thinking critically and discussing certain things. She
would be the nudge, and then the class itself would be its own thing. It was really cool.
The teacher was prepared with content but would let the students make the learning their own by
serving as a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Sofia thought this approach was very powerful:
Never in my life before have I ever had a teacher ask us, “What do you want to learn?”
She didn’t just lecture and say, “Do your homework, do your notes.” No, it was very
different. The more and more I knew her, the more I realized, “Oh, she actually gives a
shit.” And that’s not something you can say for the majority of the teachers at the school.
Instead of just telling them what they should learn, the teacher would give the students agency in
leading their own learning. The teacher was prepared with content but was flexible to adapt to
the students’ needs and desires for learning.
The teachers said that the discussion topics would often arise organically. Because of
this, Elena said, it was important to “[have] the flexibility within [the topics] to adjust to the
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students’ needs and the students’ interests and what comes up for them as we’re starting to have
those conversations.” In a similar vein, Pablo said, “I think the teachers have to be ready to
engage in discussion to use what students are saying and also, on the spot, sometimes formulate
questions to further discussions; it’s a further dialogue.” Ethnic studies teachers need to create
flexibility in structures to allow students to organically ask questions and use those questions in
real time to pivot to meet student interests and needs, while still connecting them to the content
and curriculum.
Building Agency
The course was not just about building relationships, but also about creating agency in
the students. Part of the reason for creating connections, forming relationships, and including
safe spaces for the students was so that students could move beyond the content and into solving
the problems they face. More than the content, ethnic studies was creating a community of
critically conscious students with the skills, knowledge, and tools to challenge the status quo and
make the world a more just and equitable place. Pablo said,
I think it’s important for us as educators to understand that it’s more important, not
necessarily like the details of our content that they should learn, but the tools necessary to
learn the content. . . . Like, “What tools can I use now to pretty much make sense of the
world around me?”
To change the world, the students first need to understand it, and in ethnic studies class,
they are gaining the tools to do so. The course built the students’ agency and empowered them to
put their learning into action concerning something relevant to them that they were passionate
about. Matthew said,
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Many times, I’ve seen students really get excited about something local, something in our
community that they feel passionately about; they get to share it. So, I think it makes
them feel a sense of purpose and belonging in their community.
Assignments in which students address something local that they are passionate about gives them
agency and also a sense of belonging and purpose.
Challenges to Fidelity
While teachers said that teaching the course with fidelity was important, they also shared
some challenges. Some of those challenges are that the course is being institutionalized, that it is
considered controversial, and the lack of preparation and support the teachers felt they had.
Teaching the course with fidelity can become hard to do when the course is
institutionalized. Diego said,
We have to do our best to ensure that it retains its core of what it’s about and the reasons
why it’s effective and does not become diluted, weakened through the broader
institutionalization to the point that it loses the effectiveness and purpose, which is a risk
of happening whenever something is broadly institutionalized.
When it becomes a required course taught by teachers who are not prepared to teach it, it can
lose its purpose and impact. This is what Pablo felt was happening to the course:
I feel like it’s a bandwagon. Now, I feel like it’s a fad, and it feels like it’s lacking; it’s
lost its punch. In a sense, I was thrilled, and, initially, that was my goal—to make this a
requirement for graduation. We’ve achieved that. But I feel like it’s not all pros; I feel
like now that it’s institutionalized, I feel like it’s been watered down, and I feel like at the
same time people have gotten comfortable and are not adding to it.
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To Pablo, the course is not being taught with fidelity or the tenets described by Elena. This was
disappointing to him because, when taught with fidelity, the teachers believed the course had the
power to save lives.
Overall, teachers said that it was important to teach the course with fidelity, particularly
because it is a controversial course. Two out of the 10 teachers felt like they were being singled
out for teaching this course. Antonio said that he thinks that
because of what’s going on in the press, [parents] think it’s, you know, critical race
theory, and they read what’s going on in the paper, they read what’s on Twitter, they see
all that stuff, and they try to relate it to us in our course, and it’s far from it. We don’t
teach critical race theory.
Parents relate the course to the controversial concept of critical race theory, and this singles the
teachers out as teaching something controversial. In addition to the parents, Antonio said, he
feels singled out by teachers:
I love teaching [ethnic studies], but amongst our faculty, it singles me out. We have a lot
of teachers that wouldn’t touch this course with a 10-foot pole, and they kind of shut
themselves, even though I’m the department chair. They don’t share as much around me.
They really think that I’m there to overthrow the government.
His colleagues’ and the parents’ perception of ethnic studies brings heightened attention to these
teachers and makes teaching the course controversial within their communities.
In addition to the perception of ethnic studies as controversial, the teachers’ lack of
preparation and support to teach this course can make it easy to teach the course as just another
history class. This is what Samantha ended up doing: “Ethnic studies is a social science, but it’s
not exactly a history class unless you choose to teach it as a history class, which I have.” Partly,
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this was because she felt like she was just thrown into the course without the proper preparation
and support. She said she wishes
there was more solid curriculum for teachers to use; maybe even a textbook would be
nice. I think it’s hard to teach. It’s just such an important course, and I think it’s
important to do it justice properly, and sometimes I feel like we don’t have the resources
to do that, but overall, I’m glad my district is piloting this. I enjoy the curriculum; I enjoy
the students.
Andrew echoed her sentiments: “Unfortunately, with ethnic studies, it’s such a new class that
there’s not a ton of curriculum generally available.” Because of the lack of curriculum and
pedagogical support, Elena said, she “can see that if the teacher is not 100% into the tenets of
ethnic studies and teaching ethnic studies support, . . . it can become just a regular old class
where they’re reading and answer questions kind of thing.” Based on the teachers’ responses,
lack of support and curriculum leads to teaching the class without fidelity.
The teachers understood that the course started out of protest and that it was meant to
raise critical consciousness and humanization. By focusing on criticality for social justice and
centering students, the course had the power to positively influence the students. James said that
good ethnic studies saves lives, because, the more I’ve come to understand ethnic studies,
the more powerful I can see it being. I also realize, like, my limited early edition
understanding of it was pretty limited, and I don’t know if that was going to save many,
many people’s lives, but maybe hopefully get them started on a journey.
Like James, all the other teachers said that the course had the power to positively influence the
students’ lives, but only when taught with fidelity.
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Because the course has the potential to save lives, the teachers described the importance
of having the “right” teachers teaching this course. For Diego, this meant someone who brought
their own critical consciousness and wanted to bring it to their students: “I realized how much
conscious teachers are really needed and knowing that if I don’t co-construct some deep critical
knowledge with them, there’s a chance they won’t get it at all during their formal education.”
Five of the teachers said that they were teaching the course because they had not received this
type of education until college and they wanted their students to get it earlier or just get it in
general, because not all students go to college.
Additionally, Emma said that teachers should question themselves when they are going to
teach this course: “I think anyone who’s going to teach ethnic studies should really think about
what they’re bringing. It’s not a world history class, not a U.S. history class. It’s like, this is
powerful stuff.” She continued, “There’s a certain level of consciousness that you need to have
about yourself, and you have to at least be curious about the community you’re serving.” In
addition to critical consciousness, Emma believes, ethnic studies teachers should at least be
curious about the community and have a love for it, because it is not a typical class that focuses
just on delivering the content.
Sofia summarized why the course should be taught with fidelity, saying she knows how
transformative ethnic studies can be and how there needs to be a lot of care put into it:
So even though I think it’s a good thing that ethnic studies is starting to become a
requirement in the State of California and certain school districts, I just hope that it’s not
watered down that it essentially just becomes U.S. History 2.0.
When taught with fidelity, the course can be transformative.
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Discussion for Pedagogy
Both the student and the teachers said that the way the class was taught was important.
They understood that the course was more than just the content or a focus on the history of
certain groups of people. More than the knowledge and the facts, the course should help the
students build relationships with each other and give them the tools to change the world for the
better. This means that the teachers have to be intentional about centering the students and giving
them the space to make the learning their own. They have to facilitate dialogue, build trust, and
allow them to bring their learning to life. This also includes the teachers building relationships
with the students, being strong in the content, giving up some of their power to their students,
and engaging in learning with the students. Part of this teacher learning is continued reflection,
engaging in dialogue, and raising their own critical consciousness. These are some of the tenets
of ethnic studies and part of what it means to teach the course with fidelity.
Summary
The perceptions of ethnic studies teachers and one student who took ethnic studies in
high school were solicited through interviews to answer the following research questions:
1. What do teachers perceive is the effect of the ethnic studies curriculum on their
students’ critical consciousness and holistic humanization?
2. What are the teachers’ perceptions on how teaching ethnic studies affects their own
critical consciousness and humanization?
Through the interviews with the participants, an overall sense of increased humanization
and critical consciousness emerged. The student, Sofia, said ethnic studies helped her think more
critically and question everything around her. She stopped taking things for granted and learned
to deconstruct different ideas and experiences to critically analyze them and understand them.
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She said the course was transformative and empowered her to challenge dehumanization. By
learning about the systems of oppression and how they worked, she was better able to challenge
those systems in a hopeful way. She also grew in her own identity and pride in herself and her
community. Overall, she was also able to build empathy and understand others better.
The teachers perceived similar impacts on their students. To them, students were better
able to understand oppressive systems and how to navigate them or challenge them.
Understanding these systems empowered students to work toward creating change in a hopeful
way. They also believed that the course helped students understand themselves and others better.
Their understanding of how the systems affected their experiences and those of others helped
humanize them and those around them. This also helped them gain a sense of healing and
belonging. Finally, the teachers also began to question more, including questioning themselves
and their role within the schooling system. This also led them to address the way they structure
their courses and how they engage with students. Both the student and the teachers described this
structure and interaction as part of the pedagogy necessary in ethnic studies. In terms of
humanization, teachers were better able to understand their students and their experiences and
humanize them.
Chapter Four brought forth the themes that arose from the exploration of the research
questions. Chapter Five provides an in-depth discussion of the research findings, their
implications, suggestions for future research, a revisit of my conceptual framework, and a
discussion of the limitations of this study.
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Chapter Five: Discussion
Chapter Five summarizes the findings of this phenomenological study, which examined
the perceptions of students and teachers in California as to how ethnic studies influences holistic
humanization and critical consciousness. This chapter provides key research findings in further
detail, connections to the literature, implications for practice, and recommendations for further
research.
This study focused on the problem of dehumanizing schooling, particularly for Black
students, Indigenous students, and students of color (Anderson, 1988; Ladson-Billings, 2006;
Laura, 2018; Massey et al., 2014; Patel, 2016; Scott, 1998, as cited in Collins, 2000; Spring,
2016; Tuck & Gaztambide-Fernande, 2013). This dehumanizing schooling limits critical
consciousness and contributes to what Ladson-Billings (2006) called the education debt. The
purpose of this study was to better understand how students and teachers who took and taught
ethnic studies believed the course affected their humanization and critical consciousness. The
following questions guided this research:
1. What do teachers perceive is the effect of the ethnic studies curriculum on their
students’ critical consciousness and holistic humanization?
2. What are the teachers’ perceptions on how teaching ethnic studies affects their own
critical consciousness and humanization?
This study relied on qualitative methods to collect data. I conducted both one-on-one interviews
with teachers and a former student and a focus group interview with teachers.
Findings
Study findings suggested that ethnic studies increases humanization and critical
consciousness, not just for the students in the course but also for the educators who teach it. Both
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students and teachers are more likely to question the world around them and concepts and ideas
that they had taken for granted. Additionally, they feel empowered to address the systemic issues
that they have learned about to make the world better for everyone. The findings further
suggested that the course helps those exposed to it to better understand and accept themselves
and others. Overall, students develop better feelings toward their own identity, their community,
and others different from themselves. This section presents a summary and discussion of the
study’s findings in relation to current research.
Research Question 1
Based on the interviews, the teachers perceived that the course helps build the students’
critical consciousness and a sense of empowerment and hope and provides students with a voice.
This is consistent with the current research. For instance, hooks (1994) described critical learning
theory as education as the practice of freedom through amplifying student voice. This voice
should be reflective and critical. Students are practicing freedom when they speak up against
oppression and dehumanization in a critical way. Pour-Khorshid (2020) also discussed how,
through critical learning, students think critically about freedom. Students are active agents in
their lives (Kiryio & Thirumurthy, 2012). Interview responses from the student participant
indicated that ethnic studies helped students build their critical thinking skills. They were better
able to question and deconstruct concepts as well as engage in discussion with others about
topics that are often taken for granted. This finding aligns with Agarwal-Rangnath’s (2020)
research indicating that social justice education should lead students to question and take action.
It also aligns with Freire’s (1970) critical learning theory idea of dialogical action toward
liberation.
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In terms of their perception of the impact on the students’ holistic humanization, the
teachers showed that they believed the class helps students understand others better and provides
a sense of healing, a sense of belonging, and meaningful and mind-expanding learning. Students
gain greater self-awareness and more knowledge and appreciation for their own history and
experiences and those of others, and they become more empathetic, receptive, and sensitive.
These findings align with the responses from the student, Sofia. By hearing others’ stories and
learning about other groups’ experiences, students see the humanity in all people, reduce
stereotypes, and notice similarities in experiences. Additionally, they better understand the
structural aspects of their own and others’ experiences.
Part of building critical consciousness and humanization requires learning about
dehumanization and inequitable structures (Agarwal-Rangnath et al., 2022; Duncan-Andrade &
Morrell, 2008; Pour-Khorshid, 2020; Yick Wong Gilbride Koppel, 2021). This includes
understanding Whiteness and White supremacy as a structure. Students must learn to navigate
the systems of oppression and dehumanization through collaboration and coalition building
rather than seeing White people as “oppressors” and people to blame and hate. Although students
are learning about White supremacy (Cacho, 2010), this learning is about White supremacy as a
structure rather than seeing White people as racist (Smith, 2021) and attacking White boys
(Chang, 2022). Instead, students are building accepting attitudes toward others (de Novais &
Spencer, 2019; Milhouse, 1986).
The course helps them build empathy and understand others better. Through this class,
students are better able to understand dehumanization and the perspectives and experiences of
others. Hearing others’ stories and experiences allows students to see other sides of people, and
not just their external appearances. Although there is a fear that ethnic studies can be divisive,
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breed resentment toward White people (Cacho, 2010), and attack White people (Smith, 2021)
and White boys in particular (Chang, 2022), the responses from the student participant showed
the opposite. Instead, there seemed to be an increase in accepting attitudes, as shown in the
studies by de Novais and Spencer (2019) and Milhouse (1986).
The responses showed that ethnic studies increases a sense of pride and connection with
students’ identity and community, provides a sense of healing, and helps students build empathy
when they are better able to understand others. According to Tintiangco-Cubales and DuncanAndrade (2021), CRP and ethnic studies center and support youth wellness. Ethnic studies also
increases a sense of identity (E. López et al., 2022), which is consistent with this finding.
Additionally, multiple scholars said that social justice education should help students create a
positive view of themselves and their community (Cano, 2020; Looney, 2020; Medina-Glover,
2020; Serrano, 2020; Starr Bean, 2020; Touloukian, 2020; Vyas, 2020; Yu, 2020). This study
showed that ethnic studies can do that for students. Students were also better able to understand
the power and history behind their identity and their community. This provided a sense of agency
and hope. This aligns with research by Duncan-Andrade and Morrell (2008) about critical
learning bringing a sense of community and hope to students.
In terms of healing, the teachers’ interviews showed that they believe the course helps
provide healing for the students and their communities. Part of the healing comes from students
seeing their value and humanity, and another part comes from students learning about the
systems of oppression and how to navigate them to create transformational change. A positive
view of self and of their community aligns with multiple research studies (Cano, 2020; Looney,
2020; Medina-Glover, 2020; Serrano, 2020; Starr Bean, 2020; Touloukian, 2020; Vyas, 2020;
Yu, 2020). Learning about dehumanization and inequitable structures aligns with research on
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social justice education from Agarwal-Rangnath (2020), Duncan-Andrade and Morrell (2008),
Pour-Khorshid (2020), and Yick Wong Gilbride Koppel (2021). Additionally, students are active
agents in their lives (Duncan-Andrade & Morrell, 2008; Kiryio & Thirumurthy, 2012).
Students also gain a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging comes from being seen
and acknowledged in the content. Learning about their histories, backgrounds, and current
experiences allows them to gain a sense of pride in their identities and an understanding of their
place in history. Even if they are learning about exclusion, they are learning about how to
navigate those systems and accept themselves as they are. It also connects them to their
communities. Kiryio and Thirumurthy (2012) said critical education requires understanding and
engaging in the realities of everyday life. Students or young people become active agents in their
own lives. Giroux’s (2003) concept of critical learning theory discussed how it is integral to
address important issues relevant to the students’ lives and how power works and affects
students.
Ethnic studies provides meaningful and mind-expanding learning experiences for
students. They can learn about their backgrounds beyond traditional schooling. They can feel
safe within this system, learn about their own identities, and have a choice in their learning.
According to McLaren (1989), critical learning includes addressing inequitable schooling.
Similarly, del Carmen Salazar (2013) said that education should address the school system itself.
Several educators said that the students were addressing inequity at school, including challenging
the school rules and procedures. For instance, Emma described how the teacher and students cocreated the classroom structure and policies such as the phone policy and dress code. This also
relates to the idea that teachers should address the power dynamics in the classroom (hooks,
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1994). Several teachers mentioned that they were not authoritative in the classroom, saw the
students as co-learners, and co-created the learning with them.
Ethnic studies empowers students and transforms them by giving them a sense of agency
and hope to address dehumanization and systems of power and oppression. This relates to
Ladson-Billings’s (1995a, 1995b) concept of culturally relevant pedagogy. Additionally, this
finding is consistent with the idea that teaching for social justice should explicitly address
oppression (Ladson-Billings, 1995a, 1995b; Looney, 2020; Ochoa & Ochoa, 2022; Serrano,
2020; Starr Bean, 2020). Moreover, according to Tintiangco-Cubales et al. (2015), one of the
effects of ethnic studies on teachers is that it increases their cultural awareness and
empowerment. Students learn more about themselves, and they grow in their sense of agency to
address dehumanization.
Research Question 2
The second research question asked teachers to share their perceptions as to how ethnic
studies affected their own critical consciousness and holistic humanization. Although some
teachers started teaching ethnic studies because of their own levels of critical consciousness and
others felt they were not ready, overall, the course seemed to increase critical consciousness in
teachers. The different levels of consciousness align with the research by Patrón-Vargas (2022)
showing that perspectives on ethnic studies standards depended on the level of experiences,
racial identity, local context, and sociopolitical climate. Teachers began with different
backgrounds and experiences and taught in different contexts, which affected the way they saw
ethnic studies and how to teach it. Samantha, for instance, relied on teaching the course as a
synchronous history class, whereas Emma restructured her whole course with the support of her
students and made it student centered. Through their teaching, teachers were able to humanize
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students, seeing them for who they are rather than a monolithic group and learning from their
stories and experiences. They were able to develop authentic caring and humanizing connections
with their students (Agarwal-Rangnath, 2021).
The different views of students led teachers to question themselves and their role in
schooling. This reflection led them to structure their courses differently than they would another
course. For instance, teachers said they co-created the structure or aspects of the course, which
was described by Weiss (2020) and Yu (2020). Weiss (2020) also mentioned the concept of
students and teachers learning alongside each other. Bartlett (2005) discussed the role of the
teacher in the classroom and not being authoritarian. Bartlett (2005) also made a distinction
regarding what teachers considered “dialogue” among students and teachers. For some teachers,
he said, dialogue was just about creating emotional ties. However, Freire’s (1970) critical
learning theory’s definition of dialogue is more about critiquing and challenging existing social
relations (Bartlett, 2005). In co-creating the structure of the classroom and the course, it could be
argued, the teachers are building emotional ties and also challenging the status quo. In cocreating the course, the educators are responsive to students’ complex needs (Domingo-Zarazua,
2020). Spending time in circle, addressing socioemotional needs, and taking time to just be
challenge the way school traditionally works. This builds emotional ties. Emma also said that she
gets in trouble for the way she runs her course, and Sofia said that the way her class was run was
unconventional, but in a good way. If the educators are explicit about what they are doing with
their students, it can also be considered challenging the status quo.
The teachers also became more aware of their own biases and their need to continue
learning and growing. Through the conversations with their students, the educators realized that
they had biases and that, while they may know some of the content, they also had a lot to learn
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from the experiences of their students. Sacramento (2019), Kholi (2012), and St. Clair
Henderson (2022) showed that critical reflective dialogue leads to an increase in critical
consciousness. Critical reflective dialogue with students can help increase critical consciousness
as well, which aligns with Freire’s (1970) theory that teacher-students should engage in dialogue
with student-teachers and build critical consciousness along with them. Ethnic studies is also
important in learning to critique White supremacy and other forms of power (Curammeng,
2022).
Even when some teachers were “forced” to teach the course, they demonstrated a level of
critical consciousness when they addressed their administration to let them know that they felt
they were not the most qualified to teach this course. This was the case with Matthew, Andrew,
and James. They communicated with their administrators that they believed someone with more
background knowledge in ethnic studies should be the one teaching the course. By questioning
being assigned to teach the course when they did not feel they were the most qualified, the
teachers showed some level of critical consciousness.
Samantha said she started teaching the course because there was no one else to teach it
and the school changed from offering geography to ninth graders, which she had been teaching,
to offering ethnic studies. She said several times in the interview that she did not feel well
prepared or well supported to teach the course. She was the only educator to say that she did feel
sometimes that the course was an attack on White people. She even said that she tried changing
the language to things like “new Americans” to not emphasize “White” and felt like it was an
attack on them. This feeling corresponds with Siebert’s (2022) research on her own White shame
and discomfort as she had to implement ethnic studies as a graduation requirement. She found
that she also experienced these feelings and that consciousness-raising around White emotions is
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not enough. White people also need to address how emotions are being confronted and
addressed. Samantha said she did “feel like I’m not doing [the course] justice.” Although she is
building her critical consciousness, she is still experiencing shame and discomfort and limiting
the critical consciousness that her students can build.
The ethnic studies course that the educators taught also affected their holistic
humanization. Teaching the course brought the teachers positive feelings and a sense of healing.
Teachers also felt empowered. As with the students, they gained a sense of agency and the
confidence to speak up or do something to address dehumanization and oppression.
The present study focused on the impact of ethnic studies on students. Eduardo López et
al. (2022) showed that ethnic studies builds students’ sense of identity. Tintiangco-Cubales et al.
(2015) found that it increases cultural awareness and empowerment. Overall, this study focused
on the impact on students, but the results indicated that the course also has similar effects on the
teachers who teach it.
Pedagogy
Although there were no research questions related to pedagogy, both the student and the
teachers discussed the importance of the way the course was taught. The participants said they
believe it is important to teach the course with fidelity. To do this, teachers had to put students at
the center, facilitate critical dialogue, help students put their learning into practice, connect with
the students, care about the students and their well-being, and be engaged in learning along with
the students.
The teachers’ interview responses showed that they put students at the center of learning.
Cano (2020) and other researchers in culturally relevant pedagogy (Gay, 2018; Ladson-Billings,
1995a, 1995b; Tintiangco-Cubales & Duncan-Andrade, 2021) have discussed how teachers
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should put students at the center of learning. This includes creating an environment of trust,
safety, and love through getting to know the students; co-creating agreements and expectations
for the class; valuing students’ experiences; and helping build a positive view of themselves and
their community (Cano, 2020; Looney, 2020; Medina-Glover, 2020; Serrano, 2020; Starr Bean,
2020; Touloukian, 2020; Vyas, 2020; Yu, 2020). As Sofia, the student participant, stated, ethnic
studies was the first class where she felt seen and like she had agency over her learning.
Additionally, Sofia saw that her classmates put more effort into their assignments in ethnic
studies than in other courses, and she attributed this to feeling seen in this class. This also aligns
with Gay’s (2018) research on culturally relevant pedagogy and how student achievement
increased in response to teacher relationships.
Because students were at the center, this meant that teachers had to address the power
dynamics within the classroom. Emma said,
How do we build a decolonial structure? How can I build a structure where students are
trusted, where students make decisions, where students are co-creating? So, this idea of
shared power really was something I didn’t know that I would transform into.
Questioning the power dynamics and being aware of them is something that hooks (1994)
discussed in Teaching to Transgress. In a typical classroom setting, the teacher is at the head of
the class imparting the knowledge onto empty receptacles, or what Freire (1970) referred to as
the banking model of education. Instead, the results of this study indicated the teachers were not
“sages on a stage,” but rather teacher-students (Freire, 1970) learning along with their students.
To put students at the center, the teacher has to be flexible and adaptable to facilitate
learning. The teachers had to be knowledgeable of the content and also skilled facilitators of
dialogue in order to be adaptable and flexible and meet the needs of their students. As Agarwal-
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Rangnath (2020) stated, teachers had to give students opportunities to discuss, question, and take
action. All the teachers said that they had students engage in discussions. Several had restorative
circles to facilitate dialogue, and then students in a few of the courses put their learning into
practice within their schools and communities. The teachers were flexible in order to have
content based on students’ interests. This aligns with Weiss’s (2020) research on social justice
education. Additionally, Weiss described how it was the teacher’s role to give students critical
thinking skills and believe in their capacity to co-construct learning. As Emma said, teachers
“focus on building capacity [of students] as folks who all have intellect, who all have ability,
who all have something to contribute.” Students come in with community cultural wealth
(Yosso, 2005) and knowledge and have the power and agency to co-construct knowledge.
The ideas of engaging in critical dialogue and putting the learning into action align with
Freire’s (1970) concept of critical pedagogy. More specifically, they relate to the idea of praxis.
Through dialogue, the students and teacher are engaging in reflection. Then, when they put the
learning into action, they are engaging in the action piece of praxis.
Putting students at the center goes beyond academics and into student wellness. Teachers
created a community with their students, got to know them inside and outside of class, and
learned alongside them. Agarwal-Rangnath (2021) said that in social justice education, teachers
need to develop authentic caring and humanizing connections, which the teachers were doing.
These connections were not just friendships, therefore aligning with Bartlett’s (2005) idea that
teachers should be “directive and authoritative, but not authoritarian” (p. 348) and Kiryio and
Thirumurthy’s (2012) idea of the teacher as an academic guide with authority but who facilitates
humanization, exploration, and creation. The interview responses showed that ethnic studies
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teachers had a balance between creating relationships and caring about students while also
building the students’ critical consciousness.
Additionally, the teachers were vulnerable and completed the tasks that they asked of
their students. Eight out of the 10 teachers said they shared stories with their students, including
personal experiences. They connected the stories to the content. Sharing their stories with the
students made the teachers more relatable. Three out of the 10 teachers (Diego, James, and
Emma) also said that they completed the assignments along with their students. The assignments
ask the students to be vulnerable, and the teachers model by sharing their own experiences and
engaging in their own reflection and growth.
Conceptual Framework
Based on the results of the study, I have developed the conceptual framework in Figure 2.
At the center is a learning environment with students and the teacher. The learning environment
has a dashed outline because learning can happen within the classroom and also outside of it. At
the center of the learning environment circle is a student, because this course is student centered.
There are more students and the teacher in a circle, because everyone is equal and
knowledgeable. Although the teacher is the authority in the classroom and serves as a facilitator,
they are there as learners with their students. Double-sided arrows connect all the students and
the teacher with each other, because everyone gets to teach and learn from each other and there is
also relationship building between them. From the learning environment, a double-sided arrow
goes to pedagogy. The teacher and students affect the pedagogy, and the pedagogy affects the
learning environment and the students and teacher. The boxes around pedagogy include
important aspects of it in ethnic studies. The outcome of the pedagogy is represented at the
bottom of the framework with humanization and critical consciousness. Once students and
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teachers raise their levels of humanization and critical consciousness, they engage in action to
challenge oppression at different levels. Challenging oppression leads to further humanization.
Limitations
The limitations of this study included the fact that participants were self-selected for this
study. This would bring selection bias. The teachers who felt more passionately about the course
may have been more likely to self-select to participate in this study than those who were not
interested in teaching the course anymore or who did not believe in its impact. Additionally,
there was only one participant who was a former student. This student believes so much in the
impact of ethnic studies that she decided to major in it in college. This gives only one perspective
of the impact of ethnic studies and one that may more heavily lean toward its positive impact.
Because the purpose of this study was not to generalize but to develop a deep description
of the participants’ perceptions of the impact of ethnic studies, the responses are not
generalizable, but they contribute to better understanding the effect of ethnic studies on both
teachers and students as the state is moving toward making this course a graduation requirement.
Implications for Practice
This study examined the perceptions of students and teachers as to how ethnic studies
affected their critical consciousness and holistic humanization. The study findings can help
inform educational practitioners at the site and district levels as to how to incorporate the newly
required ethnic studies courses into high schools in California. The study may also inform
changes that could be made to increase critical consciousness and humanization in schooling in
general.
111
Figure
2
Conceptual Framework
112
Schools and districts may consider recruiting and hiring teachers who have background
knowledge in ethnic studies curricula and pedagogy and who are interested in teaching the
course. A single-subject social science credential in California does not represent competency in
this area. Additionally, those districts that implement ethnic studies, which will be all public high
schools in California soon, need to destigmatize ethnic studies and make it easier for those
teachers who end up teaching it, regardless of their background. The results of this study
indicated that several teachers felt unprepared or underprepared to teach the course. While they
enjoy teaching the course now and have grown in their capacity to teach it, a few of them
reported that they did not volunteer to teach it, and some of them had asked not to teach it. Even
then, teaching ethnic studies benefited both the teachers who wanted to teach it and those who
did not. Both groups of teachers perceived an increase in their humanization and their critical
consciousness.
Even when teachers are not fully qualified and ready to teach this course, they can grow
in their own knowledge and critical consciousness as they teach it. However, this is more
difficult when they are doing so alone and do not have support and resources. Therefore, schools
should provide continuous training and support for ethnic studies teachers, particularly those
who did not volunteer to teach the course. Additionally, teachers need space and time for
reflection and discussion with other ethnic studies teachers. In some schools, there is only one
teacher who is teaching the course, so this collaboration can exist among teachers in different
schools and districts.
The impact of ethnic studies came not just from the content itself, but by the way that the
course is taught. Therefore, teachers need not just content knowledge and support but also
pedagogical support. Part of this support should include a focus on humanization with social-
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emotional learning, relationship building, storytelling, and incorporating restorative justice
practices. In order to center the course on the students, educators also need support in creating a
flexible curriculum and learning how to facilitate discussions, ask follow-up questions, and cocreate the curriculum with their students.
Administrators need to provide flexibility to their ethnic studies educators to co-create the
classroom structure and the curriculum with their students, and they must understand that the
course will go against the norm. Beyond ethnic studies, administrators and districts, as a whole,
can move toward increasing critical consciousness and holistic humanization systematically
across all their courses and systems by integrating the ethnic studies principles of centering
students, providing them with a voice, empowering them with the agency and hope to transform
the systems around them, and engaging in critical knowledge creation across all subjects.
Future Research
Based on the findings and their relation to the current literature, there are several
recommendations for further research.
The first recommendation is to conduct a study to gain students’ perspectives on the
effect of ethnic studies on their critical consciousness and humanization. This study should elicit
the perspectives of more students, including students of different backgrounds, students who
took the course more than once, students who took a semester course compared with a year-long
course, and students with teachers with varying degrees of experience.
Additionally, further research should explore the experiences of those who believe the
course created division. This includes getting the perspectives of both students and teachers who
have this perception. Researchers can further investigate the impact of teaching ethnic studies on
those teachers who wanted to teach the course and those who were made to teach the course, as
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well as those with more support, training, and resources as compared with those with little
support. Another group that should be considered is those teachers who have taught the course
but decided to stop teaching it, to better understand the reasons why they decided to stop.
Additional focus can be placed on the curriculum and pedagogy within each course, particularly
if it emphasizes critical consciousness and holistic humanization. This includes looking at the
lesson plans, looking at student work, and conducting classroom observations.
Moreover, future studies can seek to gain a better understanding of the levels of critical
consciousness and humanization that teachers began with, how they received them, their effect
on pedagogy, and the impact on students. Another aspect that can be researched is how teachers
with critical consciousness teach other subjects that are not ethnic studies and the perceived
impact on humanization and critical consciousness.
Conclusions
This study sought to understand the perspectives of both teachers and students as to how
ethnic studies influenced the holistic humanization and critical consciousness of those who
participated in the course at the high school level. The study findings suggested that, overall, the
course helped raise critical consciousness and humanization for both the teachers and the student.
Participants discussed how the course helped students build critical thinking skills and increased
a sense of empowerment through agency and hope. The participants said that students felt they
could address dehumanization and systems of power and oppression.
The findings further suggested that the course increases the teachers’ and students’ sense
of pride and connection with their identity and community. Additionally, the course brings about
a sense of healing, empathy, and understanding. The students and teachers get to understand
themselves and others better and have empathy toward the experiences of others different from
115
them. In general, the teachers also reported that the course affects them. They grow to see their
students as more human, they question themselves and their participation in the schooling
system, and they also feel empowered and healed.
Finally, the findings provided insight into how the pedagogy of the course, rather than
just the content, serves to bring about humanization and critical consciousness. The participants
said that the course should be taught with fidelity. This meant that the course should be student
centered; the teacher is there as a facilitator. Additionally, the course is more than the content; it
includes creating relationships and engaging the students and themselves in reflection and action.
This study offers practitioners additional insight into the implications of teaching or taking an
ethnic studies course.
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Appendix A: Interview With Former Students
Title: Ethnic Studies As Critical Consciousness and Humanization
Researcher: Leticia Diaz-Garcia
Email: ldiazgar@usc.edu
I am going to start by asking you a few background questions about you and school.
1. Tell me about your experience with school.
• When did you graduate high school?
• What do you like about school, if anything?
• What do you dislike about school, if anything?
• What is the purpose of school?
• What should be the purpose of school?
• When did you take Ethnic Studies in high school?
Heart of the Interview
Now, we are going to move on to ethnic studies (ES).
Ethnic Studies
2. Suppose I didn’t know anything about ethnic studies. What would you say it is?
• What do you learn from it?
• According to you, what is the purpose of ethnic studies?
Humanization
We’re shifting over to some questions about how ethnic studies may have affected you.
3. Tell me, how did the ethnic studies class make you feel?
• What emotions did you have in class? What caused these emotions?
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• What did the class make you think about yourself?
• What did you think about the class?
4. What did you learn about yourself in ethnic studies, if anything?
• What did you learn about your identity?
• What is your identity?
• How do you feel about your identity?
• How did you change, if at all?
5. Some people think that some people are better than others because of their race,
religion, wealth, or other identity factors. What would you say to them?
6. Some people say that ethnic studies saves lives. What would you say to them? How
does it save lives?
Critical Consciousness
Now, I’d like to ask you some questions about dehumanization. Dehumanization is not
seeing or treating people as fully human, as a person with full worth or value.
7. What forms of dehumanization did you learn about in class, if any?
• How did you feel about these forms of dehumanization before ES?
• How do you feel about them now?
8. What can you do to address dehumanization, if anything at all?
• What have you already done, if anything?
• What skills do you have to address dehumanization, if any?
9. What would you say causes dehumanization? What causes people to see others as less
than human?
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10. How can you take what you’ve learned in Ethnic Studies to use outside of class, if
anything?
• What skills can you use, if any?
• What will you remember beyond class, if anything?
• What would you want others to know about what you learned, if anything?
Praxis
Next, I have a question about your class.
11. How was your ethnic studies class taught?
• What strategies did your teacher use in class?
• What did the average day look like?
• What activities did you engage in for this class?
• What lessons did you have in this class?
• What discussions did you have, if any?
12. Tell me about your relationship with your ethnic studies teacher.
• How was the relationship created?
• How did your relationship change, if at all, from the beginning of the class to
the end of the class?
13. How was storytelling used in class, if at all?
• What experiences did you get to share, if any?
• What experiences did your classmates share, if any?
• What experiences did your teacher share, if any?
• In what ways were you able to share your experiences?
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Closing Question
In closing, I have one last question.
14. What else would you like to share about your experience with ethnic studies?
Closing
Thank you for your time and for sharing your experiences with me today. I am grateful
for your time and willingness to share. If I have a follow-up question, can I contact you?
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Appendix B: Interviews With Teachers
Title: Ethnic Studies As Critical Consciousness and Humanization
Researcher: Leticia Diaz-Garcia
Email: ldiazgar@usc.edu
I am going to start by asking you a few background questions about you and school.
1. Tell me about your experience with school.
• How long have you been teaching?
• How long have you been teaching ethnic studies?
• What led you to become a teacher?
• What led you to become an ethnic studies teacher?
Heart of the Interview
Now, we are going to move on to ethnic studies (ES).
Ethnic Studies
2. Suppose I didn’t know anything about ethnic studies. What would you say it is?
• What do you learn from it?
• According to you, what is the purpose of ethnic studies?
Humanization
We’re shifting over to some questions about how ethnic studies may have affected you.
3. Tell me, how did teaching the ethnic studies class make you feel?
4. What did you learn about yourself in the ethnic studies for which you were the
teacher, if anything?
• What did you learn about your identity?
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• What is your identity?
• How do you feel about your identity?
• How did you change, if at all?
5. Some people say that ethnic studies saves lives. What would you say to them? How
does it save lives?
6. What are your perceptions about how ES made your students feel?
7. What did your students learn about themselves through this course?
8. What changes did you notice in your students throughout the course?
Critical Consciousness
Now, I’d like to ask you some questions about dehumanization.
9. How would you describe dehumanization?
10. What can you do to address dehumanization, if anything at all?
• What have you already done, if anything?
• What skills do you have to address dehumanization, if any?
11. How can you take what you’ve learned in teaching ethnic studies to use outside of
class, if anything?
• What skills can you use, if any?
• What will you remember beyond class, if anything?
• What would you want others to know about what you learned, if anything?
12. How would you describe critical consciousness?
13. How did students grow in their critical consciousness, if at all?
Praxis
Next, I have a question about your class.
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14. How was your ethnic studies class taught?
• What strategies did you use in class?
• What did the average day look like?
• What activities did you engage in for this class?
• What lessons did you have in this class?
• What discussions did you have, if any?
15. Tell me about your relationship with your ethnic studies students. How was the
relationship created?
16. How was storytelling used in class, if at all?
• What experiences did you get to share, if any?
• What experiences did your students share, if any?
• In what ways were you able to share your experiences?
• How were students able to share their experiences?
Closing Question
In closing, I have one last question.
17. What else would you like to share about your experience with teaching ethnic
studies?
Closing
Thank you for your time and for sharing your experiences with me today. I am grateful
for your time and willingness to share. If I have a follow-up question, can I contact you?
136
Appendix C: Focus Group Guide
Title: Ethnic Studies As Critical Consciousness and Humanization
Researcher: Leticia Diaz-Garcia
Email: ldiazgar@usc.edu
1. What led you to agree to participate in this study?
2. How is ethnic studies different from other courses?
3. What does your class purposefully critically analyze oppression?
4. Other than the content, how do you allow for humanization in the classroom, if at all?
5. If you could offer advice to other ethnic studies teachers to increase humanization in
their classroom, what would you say?
6. If you could offer advice to other ethnic studies teachers to increase critical
consciousness in their classroom, what would you say?
7. How does the learning in ethnic studies go beyond the classroom?
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Appendix D: Informed Consent/Information Sheet
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089
INFORMATION/FACTS SHEET FOR EXEMPT NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH
Title: Ethnic Studies As Critical Consciousness and Humanization
Researcher: Leticia Diaz-Garcia
Email: ldiazgar@usc.edu
You are invited to participate in a research study. Research studies include only people who
voluntarily choose to take part. This document explains information about this study. You should
ask questions about anything that is unclear to you.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to hear and better understand the perspectives of high school Ethnic
Studies teachers in California as to the effect the class has on humanization and critical
consciousness. This study aims to provide the voices of those directly involved and affected by
the courses. This study is unique in that it addresses humanization and critical consciousness
specifically through Ethnic Studies which is an issue that has not been widely explored.
The findings in this study might also be beneficial and relevant for other districts interested in
humanizing education or implementation of Ethnic Studies.
DEFINITIONS
Humanization: humanization includes the values of love, respect, hope, solidarity, and is based
on the celebration of community cultural wealth (LESMCC, n.d.)
Critical consciousness: the skills and ability to challenge the status quo of the current social
order including the cultural norms, values, mores, and situations that produce and maintain social
inequities (Ladson-Billings, 1995)
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to participate in a 60 minutes
semi-structured one-on-one interview, and a 60-minute focus group interview (if
necessary). All interviews will be audio-taped. You do not have to answer any questions you do
not want to during the interviews. If you do not want to be taped during the interview,
138
handwritten notes will be taken. Your responses will be anonymous and confidential.
ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATION
Your alternative is to not participate. Your relationship with your employer will not be affected
whether you participate or not in this study.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Leticia Diaz-Garcia will be the Principal Investigator of this study. Any identifiable information
obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential. Your interview responses will be
coded with a false name (pseudonym) and maintained separately. You will have the right to
review and edit the transcripts of the one-on-one interviews. All audio tapes related to this study
will be destroyed once they have been transcribed. The transcripts will be stored on a passwordprotected computer, which only the Principal Investigator can access.
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects
Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research
studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions or concerns about the study, please contact the following individuals:
Principal Investigator:
Leticia Diaz-Garcia
ldiazgar@usc.edu
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Christina Kishimoto
ckishimo@usc.edu
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
University Park Institutional Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los
Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu
139
Appendix E: Script to Request Participation
Dear [teacher’s name]:
I am looking for participants for a research study on the perspectives of how ethnic
studies affects ethnic studies teachers and their students. This study is being conducted by me,
Leticia Diaz-Garcia, as a doctoral student at the University of Southern California. The results of
this study will help us better understand the experiences of those who teach and take ethnic
studies classes at the high school level.
I am looking for adults who have taught at least two sessions of high school ethnic
studies in California between 2018 and 2023 and students over 18 who took those courses in the
same time frame.
If you fit the requirements and are interested in participating, please contact Leticia DiazGarcia at ldiazgar@usc.edu from a personal email address to maintain your confidentiality.
Additionally, I would like to ask if you could forward my information to other ethnic studies
teachers who may be interested in participating. Furthermore, another aspect of the study is
getting the perspectives of previous students. If possible, please also share this information with
previous students over 18 who you think may be interested in participating.
You will not be penalized or rewarded based on your participation in this study.
Participation will take about 60 minutes and can be conducted virtually or in person at your site
or the public library. You may also be asked to participate in a follow-up focus group interview
that would take about 60 more minutes. Thank you for your time. Please feel free to reach out to
me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
140
Leticia Diaz-Garcia
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
This study applied Freire’s critical learning theory and related literature to understand the impact of an ethnic studies curriculum on teachers’ and students’ holistic humanization and critical consciousness. The purpose of this research study was to determine how students and teachers perceived that the course influenced their own critical consciousness and holistic humanization and whether the teachers perceived a change in the critical consciousness and humanization of their students. This qualitative study relied on one-on-one interviews with 10 ethnic studies teachers and 1 former student in California. The interviews were conducted through Zoom, and the responses were later coded thematically based on the conceptual framework. Findings from this study indicated that both the student and the teachers increased in their critical consciousness and humanization. The student reported that the course helped her understand herself and others better, increased her awareness of oppression, and increased her capacity to challenge that oppression. The teachers indicated they became more reflective, challenged the way they taught the course, and felt a sense of healing. The respondents also reported that the way the course was taught was important. This study contributes to the literature on the impact of ethnic studies beyond academics, including the impact on teachers. It also provides implications for practice for K–12 institutions that seek to increase critical thinking and healing.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Diaz-Garcia, Leticia
(author)
Core Title
Ethnic studies as critical consciousness and humanization
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Educational Leadership (On Line)
Degree Conferral Date
2024-05
Publication Date
03/29/2024
Defense Date
03/05/2024
Publisher
Los Angeles, California
(original),
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
critical consciousness,critical learning theory,critical pedagogy,ethnic studies,humanization,OAI-PMH Harvest,Oppression,pedagogy,praxis,restorative,social justice education,social-emotional learning,student-centered
Format
theses
(aat)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Kishimoto, Christina (
committee chair
), Franklin, Gregory (
committee member
), Green, Alan (
committee member
)
Creator Email
dr.leticiadiazgarcia@gmail.com,ldiazgar@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113861900
Unique identifier
UC113861900
Identifier
etd-DiazGarcia-12737.pdf (filename)
Legacy Identifier
etd-DiazGarcia-12737
Document Type
Dissertation
Format
theses (aat)
Rights
Diaz-Garcia, Leticia
Internet Media Type
application/pdf
Type
texts
Source
20240401-usctheses-batch-1133
(batch),
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
critical consciousness
critical learning theory
critical pedagogy
ethnic studies
humanization
pedagogy
praxis
restorative
social justice education
social-emotional learning
student-centered