Students' Understanding of the History of American Slavery: Differences by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender

• In Event: 61.062 - The Disparate Stories of America

Abstract

Students in the United States learn about American slavery throughout their education. Yet, our understanding of what students from different racial, ethnic, and gender backgrounds know is limited. In this study, we use mixed methods to examine written narratives of students’ understanding of the history of American slavery. As a whole, narratives of slavery were most commonly associated with the end of the institution (the Civil War and abolition) and the violence of the institution (dehumanization or brutality). Differences were found by race and ethnicity as well as by gender. Understanding how students narrate what they know can help educational researchers and teachers better serve diverse educational needs by designing curricula that relates to students’ multiple social identities.

Authors

• Magdalena H. Gross, Stanford University

• Christine Min Wotipka, Stanford University