From Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch, Volume 15 Number 5, May 2020
Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools
Christine E. Sleeter & Miguel Zavala
Teachers College Press
1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027
www.tcpress.com
9780807763469, $90.00, HC, 176pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: “Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Research” by Christine E. Sleeter (Professor Emerita in the College of Education at California State University, Monterey Bay) and Miguel Zavala (Director of the Urban Learning Program in the Charter College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles) is timely and compelling volume that conceptualizes Ethnic Studies not only as a vehicle to transform and revitalize the school curriculum but also as a way to reinvent teaching.
Drawing on Professor Sleeter’s research review on the impact of Ethnic Studies commissioned by the National Education Association (NEA), the two authors collaboratively show how the traditional curriculum’s Eurocentric view of the world affects diverse student populations. The text highlights several contemporary exemplars of curricula (from classroom level to district or state-wide) illustrating core concepts in Ethnic Studies across a variety of disciplines and grade levels.
Of special note is a final chapter that considers how research on P-12 ethnic studies can be conceptualized and conducted in ways that further both advocacy and program sustainability.
Critique: An ideal curriculum textbook and the newest addition to the ‘Multicultural Education Series’ from Teacher College Press, “Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Research” is essential reading for educators working to transform schools by re- humanizing learning spaces for all students. It should be noted for school district, college, and university library Ethnic Demographic Studies and Cultural Anthropology collections and curriculum development studies. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of education studies, academia, curriculum developers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that “Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Research” is also readily available in a paperback (9780807763452, $29.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.17).