Ethnic Studies Curricular Interventions: A Decolonizing Process, Pedagogy, and Production

• In Event: Roots of the Colonial: Reframing and Reimagining Change in Educational Research

Abstract

White supremacy and a white racial narrative informs American educational ideals but this is not made explicit in teaching and learning within US schools, which often normalizes whiteness and humanizes whites (Leonardo, 2004; Bonilla-Silva, 2006). White humanization is evident within the curriculum that teaches and valorizes the stories and lived experiences of white heroes and omits the experiences and contributions of historically marginalized communities of color in the United States. This “hidden curriculum” is a site where racism, white supremacy, and colorblindness are preserved through a Eurocentric colonial narrative, where curriculum becomes an apparatus that creates, reproduces, and maintains social inequity (Apple, 2004; Bowles & Gintis, 1976; Brayboy, Castagno, & Maughan, 2007). In the late 1960s, inspired by the Third World project (Prashad, 2008; Fanon, 1963), students, faculty, and community members pushed for schools and school districts to produce and offer curricula that reflected the diversity and complexity of the United States population (Sleeter, 2011). While Ethnic Studies programs and departments exist at the university and college levels throughout the nation, implementation and research at the K-12 level has been limited (Omatsu, 1999; Tintiangco-Cubales, Kiang, & Museus, 2010). This paper addresses this gap and examines the development and implementation of Ethnic Studies curricula in California high schools. First, I draw connections between high school Ethnic Studies courses and the global Third World project of decolonization, by situating these innovative curricula within a larger socio-historical context. Employing Third World, decolonial, and critical pedagogical frameworks, I then compare and contrast (1) the Third World Liberation Front strike and the development of relevant schools for people of color of the 60s with (2) the movement for responsive education through Ethnic Studies in an urban public school district. Teachers and students, in both instances, resist the Eurocentric and colonial nature of US classrooms and advocate for a counter-hegemonic curricular praxis. The high school Ethnic Studies project, in particular, is a unique site where teachers simultaneously challenge the hostility students face by inserting a humanizing curriculum and challenge their own colonial mentality through critical professional development. I argue that Ethnic Studies classrooms serve as a site for decolonization, transformative pedagogical praxis, and the production of organic intellectuals. This paper speaks to the broader literature on how Ethnic Studies curricula can improve educational outcomes for all students and especially students of color.

Author

• Jocyl Sacramento, California State University - East Bay