The Role of Political Ideologies and Local Voices in Ethnic Studies Curricula and Mandates

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Leveraging Social and Cultural Capital and Community Funds of Knowledge (Table 20)

Abstract

In the wake of anti-CRT legislation, ethnic studies have come under fire, with local and state voices weighing in. Given the growing backlash against ethnic studies, there is a need to better understand the sociopolitical contexts that produce sites of opposition. This study investigates these issues by employing Bell and Stevenson’s (2015) framework of educational policy to engage in a comparative case study of two school districts in two different contexts: California and North Carolina. In an analysis of state and local policy documents and recordings of school board meetings, we find how political ideologies of local opposition must be in coherence with local school boards in order to counter top-down policy decisions.

Authors

• Cassandra Rubinstein, North Carolina State University

• Emily G. Braren, North Carolina State University