Reflections on Racial Identity Development: Leadership for Ethnic Studies through a Filipina American Perspective

• In Event: Surviving to Thriving: Pathways Toward Renewal for Asian American and Pacific Islander K-20 Women Leaders

Abstract

Students graduating from California high schools in 2030 will have to take an Ethnic Studies course as a requirement for graduation. Schools and districts are working to implement Ethnic Studies courses and train teachers. The recommendations for educators to understand their racial identity, especially as they are assigned to teach Ethnic Studies, are emphasized by numerous scholars as part of their professional development (Ladson Billing, 2014; Sleeter, 2017: Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2015). Educators, specifically teachers and administrators, are tasked with making crucial decisions for the implementation of their Ethnic Studies programs, the problem is that the majority of educators have not analyzed their racial identity and its development. This study, through the use of critical autoethnography will serve as a model for educational leaders.

I am a second-generation Filipina-American who credits Ethnic Studies with helping me understand my lived experience as the daughter of immigrant parents. Ethnic Studies is the foundation for who I am as an educator of almost 30 years. I have served as a teacher, principal, and a district level administrator in various capacities. My last position in the TK-12 system was as an Assistant Superintendent. In these roles, I helped build Ethnic Studies programs. As a member of the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium (LESMCC) and now in my current capacity as a Sr. Director with the Association of California School Administrators, I have the opportunity to support numerous educators across the State with Ethnic Studies professional development. With this higher level vantage point, there is a widespread need for educators to not only understand what Ethnic Studies is and how to teach it, but also how their own racial identity affects their teaching and leading. Through this investigation of self, as I support schools and school districts with Ethnic Studies professional development, I am able to use my own racial identity development journey as an example.

Kim (1981) presented an Asian American Identity Development Model with 5 stages: 1) Ethnic Awareness, 2) White Identification, 3) Awakening to Social Political Consciousness, 4) Redirection to Asian American Consciousness, and 5) Incorporation. Nadal (2004) modified Kim’s model, taking into account the Philippines’ historical contexts of Spanish and United States colonization, as well as the fact that the group, Asian-American, is not monolithic. Using Nadal’s (2004) F/Pilipino American Identity Model, I provide examples of each of the stages through personal vignettes of my lived experience.

This critical autoethnography includes the stories of resilience as a child of immigrants who became an educational leader. I illustrate the numerous instances of racism and violence, especially as a Filipina-American leader working towards equity and racial justice. This study serves as a model of inspiration for other leaders to reflect on their own journeys. This study aims to further the importance of understanding one’s racial identity development as a form of resistance and as a pathway to healing. The latter becoming fuel for the resilience needed to be the best leaders we can be for our students.

Author

• Tracie Noriega, Association of California School Administrators