Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools

This timely and compelling book 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 Sleeter’s research review on the impact of Ethnic Studies commissioned by the National Education Association (NEA), the authors 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. A final chapter considers how research on P–12 ethnic studies can be conceptualized and conducted in ways that further both advocacy and program sustainability. Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools is essential reading for educators working to transform schools by rehumanizing learning spaces for all students.

Book Features:

• Explores how the traditional curriculum is not ideologically neutral and the effect that has on both students of color and White students.
• Situates ethnic studies within anti-racist movements to decolonize schooling.
• Illustrates the transformative potential of contemporary ethnic studies projects.
• Draws on the insights of ethnic studies teachers, researchers, and activists from across the United States.
• Updates and expands on NEA’s synthesis of the research on the academic and social value of ethnic studies.

Christine E. Sleeter is professor emerita in the College of Education at California State University, Monterey Bay. Miguel Zavala is director of the Urban Learning Program in the Charter College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles.

“ Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools is essential reading for educators working to transform schools by re-humanizing learning spaces for all students.”

—Midwest Book Review

“Sleeter and Zavala provide context and research for a new stage of ethnic studies in schools that is meant for K–12 curriculum. They discuss student perspectives of curriculum, research regarding curriculum’s influence on students, and conceptual approaches to ethnic studies as counternarrative. Additionally, they build on extant research to implore teachers, teacher educators, students, and activists to reflect on their positionalities within their school environments.”

—Multicultural Perspectives

“At a time when institutions are grappling with how to move forward in response to multiple national pandemics, this text offers practical, sustainable, and evidence-based research documenting why we need ethnic studies curriculum in every classroom, including STEM. The authors demonstrate how ethnic studies curriculum, pedagogy, and research are engaging and critical for the academic achievement of all students, equipping all students but especially students of color with the tools to navigate our inequitable school system by centering their experiences, cultural identities, and allowing them a space to delink from colonial domination and to heal.”

—Democracy & Education

“In their timely book, Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools, Christine Sleeter and Miguel Zavala provide educators, researchers, and community organizers with crucial knowledge about the ethnic studies project.”

—Theory and Research in Social Education

“ Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools is crafted so that both scholars and practitioners can engage with the text in meaningful ways. The book is theoretically, conceptually, and academically robust with thorough research and analyses—and yet the text is clear and reader-friendly. In addition to being accessible, the book is intelligible to both educators who are new to ethnic studies and those who have experience and background in the field. For educators who are new to ethnic studies, the book provides foundational knowledge that is essential to understanding this emerging field. For educators who have experience with ethnic studies, this work provides comprehensive content and consistently challenges the reader to think in new ways and further the field.”

—The Wabash Center Journal on Teaching

“Christine Sleeter and Miguel Zavala pull no punches in their approach to ethnic studies in education. Despite the negative critiques of ethnic studies rooted in White supremacy and the politics of fear, their contribution to critical thought and praxis is necessary and commendable. Like many of our comrades in this struggle, I rejoice in the fact that they remain undeterred and unafraid.”
—David Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago

“Crafted in an engaging and accessible manner, Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools answers important questions regarding the overwhelming effectiveness of K–12 Ethnic Studies, while inspiring us to put our dreams of humanizing and rigorous academic experiences for our youth into action. I want everyone we work with to read this book!”
—Curtis Acosta, assistant professor, College of Education, University of Arizona

Contents

Series Foreword James A. Banks  vii

Acknowledgments xiii

1. What Is All This Fuss About Ethnic Studies? 1
A Story of Schooling and the Legacies of Colonialism 1
Ethnic Studies as a Decolonizing, Unfinished Project 4
Epistemic Privilege: Propelling the Movement Forward 5
Ethnic Studies in Our Schools 6
Hallmarks of Ethnic Studies 7
Overview of This Book 17
Joining the Struggle for Ethnic Studies 17

2. Mainstream Curriculum as (Multicultural) White Studies 23
Whose Viewpoint Structures Curriculum? A Contested Domain 24
What Do Current Curriculum Analyses Find? 27
Assumptions Embedded Within (Multicultural) White Studies 36
Students’ Perspectives 38
Conclusion 43

3. What the Research Says About Ethnic Studies 44
Academic and Personal Impact on Students of Color 45
Ethnic Studies for Diverse Groups That Include White Students 62
Conclusion 67

4. Ethnic Studies Curriculum as Counter-Narrative 69
Ethnic Studies as a Conceptual Approach 69
Ethnic Studies in Early Childhood 72
Black Studies in High School 76
Native American Studies 79
Ethnic Studies with Diverse Students 84
Youth Participatory Action Research and Ethnic Studies 90
Conclusion 93

5. Ethnic Studies Teachers’ Reflections on Their Praxis 95
Ethnic Studies Teachers 96
Identity as Central to Teaching 97
Foundational Values 99
Key Challenges 107
Conclusion 112

6. Research and the Movement for Ethnic Studies 113
Uses of Research in the Growing Movement for Ethnic Studies 114
Ethnic Studies Advocates 115
The Role of Research in Ethnic Studies Advocacy 116
Challenges 123
Sustainable Research and Advocacy 128
Looking Toward the Future 130

References 134

Index 149

About the Authors 162

2021 Association for Ethnic Studies Outstanding Book of the Year Award