A door to the future: A Case Study in Exploratory and Culturally Sustaining Theater Curriculum

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Four
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT006 (Saturday)

Abstract

This study investigates inequities in arts education for Latino immigrant and linguistically diverse communities in California. It explores how an exploratory, culturally sustaining theater curriculum can be a transformative and healing vehicle for adult immigrant Latino high school students, offering emotional protection, cultural affirmation, and language preservation. Grounded in Chicana Feminist Theory, Testimonio, Storytelling, and Layered Policymaking, the research examines how educators negotiate policy and students experience the theater class. Preliminary findings suggest that implementing such a curriculum requires constant policy negotiation and administrative collaboration, and that the theater provides a culturally sustaining space for identity affirmation, emotional healing, and linguistic pride. The study contributes an empirical model of a Spanish-language theater curriculum and illustrates teachers' roles as policy agents.

Author

• Verónica Meza, San Jose State University