Teaching Asian American Studies Critically in K–12 Schools

• In Event: AsianCrit in Teacher Education Research and Practice

Abstract

Across the nation, a range of efforts to bring ethnic studies broadly, and Asian American studies specifically, to K-12 classrooms have taken place in the last decade. However, the vast majority of educators have received little to no training in ethnic studies and learned few, if any, Asian American histories in their own education (Author, 2018, 2019, 2020). This paper will review the Stop AAPI Hate Asian American Studies K-12 Curriculum Framework developed by the authors (2022) as a means to offer guidance to educators who want to teach Asian American studies but do not have a strong foundation in ethnic studies and/or Asian American studies. The paper includes examples of pedagogical practices as well as feedback from educators who have taken professional development workshops about the framework.
While most educators are unfamiliar with AsianCrit (Chang, 1993), the framework was designed through and with AsianCrit to determine four essential concepts: 1) identity, 2) power and oppression, 3) community and solidarity and 4) reclamation and joy. For example, we urge educators–regardless of their own ethnoracial identity–to begin any ethnic studies work by examining and reflecting on their own identities, and for their students to do so as well. Only once this is established can learners be prepared to learn about stereotypes and discrimination in the past and present. This pedagogical move is a distinct shift away from how Asian American histories are typically taught in isolation and superficially from the white gaze, with little attention to Asian racialization over time.
Also heeding to AsianCrit’s call for challenging white supremacy and intersectional oppressions through Asian American counterstories (Iftikar & Museus, 2018), the framework aims to support teachers to move away from superficial inclusion of a few Asian American contents that fit into the master narrative of the United States; instead, it guides teachers to see Asian American studies in its entirety, including 1) a critical interrogation of power and oppression behind Asian American experiences; 2) a critical study of Asian American resistance and solidarity against power and oppression as well as the contention and complexity in the struggles; and 3) a reclamation of Asian American histories and identities that appreciate the diversity, multiplicity, and hybridity within Asian America (authors, 2022).
Although the recent efforts toward the teaching of Asian American histories, both within state legislatures and from grassroots activists in formal and informal spaces, are undeniably important, it is equally important to ensure educators have the resources and information to teach these histories accurately, meaningfully, and with a focus on Asian American voices and experiences (Sacramento, Curammeng & Tintiangco-Cubales, 2023; Tintiangco-Cubales & Duncan-Andrade, 2021). As most teacher preparation programs fail to teach critical renditions of U.S. history, much less ethnic studies, the framework offers a guide for educators who want to engage in this work but lack professional development support or instructional guidance.

Authors

• Noreen Naseem Rodriguez, Michigan State University

• Sohyun An, Kennesaw State University