Subverting Scripted Language Arts Curriculum: The Importance of Ethnic Studies Literature in the Elementary Classroom

• In Event: "Unless We Know Ourselves and Our History": On the Necessity of Ethnic Studies and Education

Abstract

Objectives and Research Questions
Ethnic studies is quickly becoming institutionalized across California, with research noting the positive effects on student engagement and agency, attendance rates, graduation rates, and standardized test scores (Cabrera, Milem, & Marx, 2012; de los Ríos, López, & Morrell, 2015; Sleeter, 2011). Although these studies occur within a high school context it is imperative we pay attention to its application across the K-8 contexts. Understanding that ethnic studies approaches center the experiences and resistance of People of Color within colonialism and imperialism, the question arises of its applicability amidst restrictive standards and scripted curriculum.

With the recent shift to the Common Core in California, few examples of ethnic studies applications exist at the elementary level, and even less focused on decolonization. The purpose of this study is to examine the practical realities of implementing decolonizing and ethnic studies pedagogies in a Common Core elementary classroom.

The following questions guide this study:

1) How does an elementary educator navigate the scripted language arts curriculum to incorporate ethnic studies literature?

2) How does ethnic studies literature inform how students read their world?

Theory
This study weaves critical pedagogy (Duncan-Andrade & Morrell, 2008), decolonizing pedagogy (Tejeda & Espinoza, 2003; Grande, 2004; Paperson, 2010; Tuck & Yang, 2012) and ethnic studies pedagogy (de los Ríos, Lopez & Morrell, 2015; Sleeter, 2001; Tintiangco-Cubales, et al., 2014) as a means to foster critical race theory’s notion of transformational resistance (Delgado-Bernal & Solorzano, 2001) within the elementary classroom.

Methods/Sources
Using a mixed methods approach incorporating autoethnography (Chang, 2008) and portraiture (Chapman, 2007; Lawrence-Lightfoot, 2005), the study highlights educator/student voices and relationships, while centering the researcher in context as an insider within both the classroom and community in South Central Los Angeles. Data were collected over an academic year and consisted of observations, artifacts and field notes from a public school in Los Angeles. The fifth grade classroom was in a low-income urban community of color, comprised mostly of Latino and Black students.

Findings
Study findings highlight the book One Crazy Summer (Williams-Garcia, 2010) as a counter-narrative to mainstream accounts of urban communities. The text highlights the Black Panther Party’s self-determination through programs like the Free-Breakfast Program and Summer Freedom School alongside direct actions against repressive government. This model of change drastically differed from the scripted curriculum—looking for change from within the government—but instead showed self-determination with communities coming together to create change, and severing their dependency on outside institutions. Moreover, connections were drawn between the book and the students’ world through a critical race analysis of their favorite TV shows, making interdisciplinary connections with math. The use of the text supported students in developing a thorough understanding of self-determination, to better read past and present colonial conditions.

Significance
According to the study’s findings, implications can be made for universities, school districts, and educators. Educators have room within the scripted curriculum to enact ethnic studies pedagogy, and must be supported and trained to do so within universities and district professional development.

Author

• Carolina Valdez, California State University - Fullerton