Coaching for Liberation: Collaborating with a First-Year English Teacher to Integrate Ethnic Studies

• In Event: Implementing Ethnic Studies in Bay Area Schools: Research on Teachers, Pedagogy, and Curriculum

Abstract

Objectives 

This proposal explores the collaborative work between a teacher educator and a first-year high school English teacher to embed ethnic studies principles within her 8th grade English Language Arts curriculum. The purpose of this partnership was to support a beginning teacher’s development of critical pedagogies aligned with ethnic studies, and to understand the systemic and pedagogical constraints that affect the implementation of ethnic studies in an English classroom - as opposed to history courses in which Ethnic Studies is traditionally placed.

Perspectives or Theoretical Framework

This work is grounded in an ethnic studies framework (Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2014), that emphasizes student identity and experiences as well as broader community relevance. Ethnic Studies situated within English classrooms requires that teachers move beyond teaching texts that reflect the experiences of the dominant class. Additionally, the study design is predicated on the Freirian (1974) concept of praxis, in which one reflects on one's action in order to transform the world.

Methods

This study took place over the 2024-2025 school year, during which a first-year teacher and I engaged in curriculum planning sessions followed by lesson observation. Qualitative data was collected was included lesson plans, audio-recorded co-planning conversations, student work samples, and field notes based on the teaching of the book Charisma’s Turn. 


Results
The findings suggest that ethnic studies can be meaningfully integrated into English curriculum even in middle grades contexts. The findings also speak to beginning teacher's success and increased confidence in teaching texts that supported students' social and cultural development, even while not a member of her student's cultural communities. Findings also demonstrate students' engagement in higher-order analysis connecting classroom literature to their lived experiences. At the same time, the teacher at the heart of the study also faced challenges of holding a disposition aligned with Ethnic Studies while teaching within the current political climate that attempts to ignore and erase contributions of minoritized populations.

Significance
The study points to the importance of mentorship models that center justice-oriented pedagogy, especially for early-career teachers. It also highlights that co-teaching and reflective inquiry are powerful tools for resisting marginalization of ethnic studies content. Ultimately, the partnership revealed that small shifts in reading practices, writing assignments, and framing questions can transform the classroom into a space of critical consciousness.

Author

• Stephanie Robillard, St. Mary's College of California