Bringing a Women of Color Feminist Lens to Analyze the Pedagogies of Men of Color Ethnic Studies Teachers

• In Event: Using Justice-Oriented Conceptual Frameworks in Research With Boys and Men of Color

Abstract

Background/Objectives

This paper looks at the ways men of color (MOC) Ethnic Studies teachers negotiate issues of hegemonic masculinity in their teaching. Research shows that boys of color are disproportionately disciplined in schools (Ferguson, 2001; Nasir et al, 2013). These experiences can result in disengagement with education and academic failure. In response, some researchers have pointed to the potential of Ethnic Studies to turn grades around. Indeed, a recent quantitative study on the effects of Ethnic Studies curricula demonstrates increased attendance rates, GPAs, and credits earned for students who enrolled in an Ethnic Studies course in the ninth grade. These course outcomes were statistically significant for male, Latino, and Asian American students (Dee & Penner, 2017). Policy makers also note the benefits that MOC teachers can have on the academic outcomes of boys of color (Fergus et al., 2014). Despite these benefits, concerns remain for the potential diluting of Ethnic Studies pedagogy (Sleeter et al., 2020) and the reproduction of toxic notions of manhood through patriarchal pedagogy enacted by MOC teachers (Brockenbrough, 2015; Martino, 2008). This paper uses a woman of color feminist lens to analyze the ways MOC teachers in a California school district negotiated hegemonic masculinity in their teaching of Ethnic Studies.

Theoretical Framework

This paper draws on notions of intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991) and woman of color feminism (Collins, 2008; Moraga & Anzaldúa, 1983) to analyze the experiences and pedagogy of MOC Ethnic Studies teachers. This framework disrupts neoliberal notions of success and excellence among the conversation on boys of color (see Dumas, 2016), and is instead interested in trancing and dismantling interlocking systems of oppression. This means acknowledging the simultaneity of oppression while also honoring embodied knowledge as a source of critique in the face of racism and heteropatriarchy. I believe this is a needed framework for the topic of MOC Ethnic Studies teachers.

Methods

This research comes from a larger ethnographic study looking at the experiences of Ethnic Studies teachers in an urban school district. In this paper, I draw from over 210 hours of participant observation of teacher professional development workshops and meetings, 145 hours of classroom observation, and five in-depth interviews with three men of color who are Ethnic Studies teachers.

Results

Findings from this study suggest that MOC Ethnic Studies teachers place value on knowledge students bring to the classroom and are critical of hegemonic masculinities. Teachers challenged students to reconsider heteropatriarchal ideas while also helping cultivate a critical and intersectional consciousness among their students. The men in this study also challenged popular notions that MOC teachers must be strict and punitive. Performances of love and care allowed students to reimagine manhood.


Significance

This study is at the intersection of two important conversation in education: 1) The proliferation of Ethnic Studies and 2) The recruitment of MOC teachers. By bringing a woman of color feminist lens to analyze the pedagogies of MOC Ethnic Studies teachers, this paper helps center embodied knowledge and intersecting critiques of power in this work.

Author

• Jocyl Sacramento, California State University - East Bay
  Presenting Author