Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies: A High School Case Study

• In Event: K–12 Asian American Studies as Praxis: Defining Deep Solidarities for Educational Research

Abstract

Objectives & Research Question
During the 2016-2017 school year, an administrator asked a second-year Ethnic Studies teacher to pilot an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Studies elective class in the San Francisco Unified School District. At a high school comprised of a diverse population of mostly newcomers who were English language learners from Central America, there was a need for AAPI students to have a space where they could build their sense of identity and strengthen their understanding of community. This paper engages in the following question: What is the significance of learning AAPI Studies at a high school level from a teacher rooted in Ethnic Studies pedagogy?

Theory
Students engaged in the three pillars of historically relevant and responsive pedagogy: (1) history and identity, (2) history is political, and (3) historical duty and action (Daus-Magbual, 2016). In learning about the 1960s and 1970s student-led movements, such as the Third World Liberation Front strike, and visiting historical landmarks vital to the creation of AAPI Studies, such as Angel Island and the International Hotel, students were able to relate their lived experiences to history and see their historical duties of becoming agents of change. Engaging in historically relevant and responsive pedagogy allowed for students to meaningfully immerse themselves in the cross-cutting values foundational to the school district’s (2015) Ethnic Studies curriculum: hope; love and respect; community; solidarity and unity; self-determination and critical consciousness.

Methods/Sources
This paper draws from class artifacts and testimonies that describe student experiences in the first and only class of AAPI Studies at their high school. The paper also includes teacher autoethnography to emphasize the importance of teacher advocacy, infrastructure needs, and pedagogical considerations for implementing high school AAPI Studies.

Findings
This AAPI Studies class was created because there was a need for AAPI students to have a space where they could build their sense of identity and strengthen their understanding of their history and community. Because students were seen and treated as co-creators of the space, this led them to learn to love themselves and each other, and ultimately understand the importance of building solidarity. Now pursuing higher education or in their professions, students still keep in touch with each other, are reminded of the lessons we learned in class, and show how they are applying what they learned in the many different spaces they are currently a part of.

Significance
The AAPI Studies course was implemented the same year Donald Trump was elected as President. Although this was a time when students felt hopeless for themselves and their families, students were still determined to build their sense of identities, awaken their critical consciousness, and strengthen their understanding of solidarity. Fast forwarding to now, with the recently approved Ethnic Studies requirement in California, there is a need to ensure that teachers are provided the support to facilitate spaces where they and their students can reimagine and cultivate equity, social justice, and liberation in education. The findings provide recommendations for future implementation of K-12 AAPI Studies.

Author

• Lauren Arzaga Daus, University of California - Los Angeles
  Presenting Author