Challenging Urban Adolescents’ Concepts of Race in a Secondary Humanities Class

• In Event: Roundtable Session 111
  In Roundtable Session: Schooling in the Middle and Then in High School: Studying the Importance of School Settings

Abstract

Scholars have developed the theory of culturally responsive pedagogy to meet the needs of an increasingly diversified school population whose knowledge and experiences traditionally have been marginalized by schools. Grounded in the practices of exemplary teachers, the theory promotes the academic achievement, cultural competence and critical consciousness of marginalized youth. The purpose of this paper is to examine the practices of three culturally relevant humanities teachers of low-income adolescents of color. The authors use qualitative research methods to answer the question; “How did culturally relevant humanities teachers teach about concepts of race, racial identity and internalized racism among a culturally diverse group of urban, low-income students of color?”

Authors

• Terrie Epstein, Hunter College - CUNY

• Conra D. Gist, University of Arkansas