Recalling Racial Narratives in K-12 U.S. History Education

• In Event: African and African-Diaspora Unity for Liberation From Empires

Abstract

This mixed-methods exploratory study used Bell’s (2020) storytelling for justice framework to understand how race is taught in K-12 schools within the confines of United States history education. To understand the potential for curriculum to shape possibilities, the study surveyed 91 undergraduate students representing 16 majors at a mid-sized private university in the Midwest about their recollections of the stories they learned in US history. Findings suggest that when students studied a Eurocentric figure, they recalled learning stories of resistance least often. When students studied the Civil Rights Movement, they recalled learning absent narratives least often. Understanding the types of stories students recall having learned in US history is important for designing curriculum that leads to transformation, freedom, and democracy.

Authors

• Muffet Trout, University of St. Thomas (MN)

• Aura N. Wharton-Beck, University of St. Thomas (MN)