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Effective K-12 Ethnic Studies

A broad range of courses qualify as Ethnic Studies - from African American Literature to Hispanic Mural Art Painting to Vietnamese American History. There are also various effective survey Ethnic Studies courses available. See Resources to learn more. For districts adopting a survey Ethnic Studies course, the following information will help ensure that it meets the requirements and legislative intent of state laws, as well as the guidelines of the State Board of Education and the History-Social Science Framework.

OVERVIEW

The United States has a long and complicated history. Ethnic Studies should not seek to tear down individuals, other ethnic groups, or the democratic foundations of the United States, but rather to build upon the diversity of the US by including the experiences of people of color in the story of America. This is what guides Ethnic Studies, stories that acknowledge where we have been, where we are, and where we want to be as a nation.

It should motivate students to analyze history in a manner that supports questions, viewpoint diversity, and academic rigor.

While Ethnic Studies works towards building a more inclusive American story, it also provides a platform for increased awareness, respect, self-confidence, intergroup understanding, and empathy.

Effective K-12 Ethnic Studies Should:

Empower students to dream big and overcome challenges

Foster respect and understanding by building self-confidence, awareness, and empathy

Celebrate diversity by elevating ethnic groups, their backgrounds, and contributions without denigrating others

Meet rigorous academic standards by using balanced, accurate resources that represent multiple and sometimes opposing perspectives

Address racism and discrimination openly and honestly

Present multiple perspectives and approaches that can effect change, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses

Encourage critical thinking, enabling students to analyze viewpoints and develop their own evidence-based opinions

Promote civic engagement and responsibility as essential components to an inclusive and just society

Learning Outcomes

This Ethnic Studies course should lead students to:

1. Study a wide variety of perspectives in order to foster cooperation and understanding across ethnic and cultural boundaries, celebrating the multitude of ways people of diverse backgrounds contribute to the United States.

2. Challenge racist, bigoted, discriminatory beliefs and practices.

3. Be empowered to better understand their own identities, value differences and inclusion, further a sense of human commonality, and thrive in a world of diversity.

4. Explore a range of approaches to bring about change in the US, and build the capacity to make informed, empathetic decisions as engaged participants in the democratic process.

5. Develop an understanding and appreciation of how race, ethnicity, nationality, and culture have shaped and continue to shape individuals and society in local communities and the United States overall.

6. Develop interpersonal and intercultural communication skills, learning to discuss potentially controversial topics, dialog respectfully with those holding different opinions, analyze issues, and express personal concerns. Gain experience actively listening and interacting with curiosity.

Curricular Elements

Students should:

Grapple with multiple and often competing pieces of information, form interpretations based on evidence, and learn how to place information in its appropriate context, and connect it to issues of broader significance.⁵
Actively seek to understand, analyze and articulate multiple points of view, perspectives and cultures.⁶
Learn that reading informational text in newspapers, articulating similarities and differences between political candidates, making claims supported by evidence, and discerning genres of arguments, for example, are all essential virtues that an informed citizenry must possess.⁷
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate into argumentative and expository writing and speaking.⁸
Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge.⁹
Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.¹⁰

Curriculum, resources, and materials should:

Include a balance of topics, authors, and concepts, including primary and secondary sources that represent multiple, and sometimes opposing, points of view or perspectives.¹
Use sources and genres that represent a variety of periods, cultures, and worldviews.²
Provide opportunities for students “to both understand our increasingly complex society and participate fully in our democratic system”.³

Be appropriate for students with diverse learning needs.⁴
Incorporate the historical thinking skills of sourcing, close reading, corroboration, and contextualization (Stanford History Education Group Reading Like a Historian).

Contact us to request a full curriculum sample or training options, or click here for more resources.

Let’s Work Together

Please contact us for any questions, a sample for the full Constructive Ethnic Studies Curriculum, or to discuss professional development opportunities.

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A diverse, nonpartisan coalition working to remove narrow ideological agendas from Ethnic Studies, enabling curricula that inspire mutual respect, fight racism, and celebrate ethnic accomplishments.

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