Assistant Professor’s study shows ninth-grade Ethnic Studies course led to increase
in high school graduation and college matriculation
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A recently published paper by Assistant Professor Emily K. Penner in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that participation in a ninth-grade Ethnic Studies course substantially increased high school graduation, the probability of enrolling in college, and attendance and credits earned in each year of high school.
The study is a follow-up to Penner’s earlier work that examined the effects of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Ethnic Studies course at the end of ninth grade. Penner and her colleagues, Sade Bonilla, UMass Amherst and Thomas Dee, Stanford University, continued following students in the earlier study to test whether the effects of the course persisted through the end of high school and into young adulthood. Both studies analyzed data from 1,405 students across five cohorts of students in several SFUSD high schools, relying on a unique student assignment mechanism to identify the causal effects of the course. Students in these cohorts were automatically signed up to take the course if they had eighth-grade GPAs below 2.0. Students with GPAs above 2.0 were not assigned to the course, but could opt in. |
Assistant Professor Emily K. Penner
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Penner and her colleagues found that the course benefitted students throughout their high school careers and beyond. Students assigned to take the course had significantly higher attendance, earned more credits toward graduation, and were more likely to stay enrolled in each year of high school. By their fourth year of high school, 90 percent of these students had graduated, compared to only 75 percent of their peers.
“Ethnic Studies helped academically marginalized students complete high school and start college,” Penner said. “Providing students with environments that affirm their identities and center experiences of communities of color, while also giving students an opportunity to grapple with challenging issues like racism and inequality, had lasting academic benefits in ways that few other interventions have.”
The prevalence of Ethnic Studies classes at the K-12 level has increased rapidly across the country. A growing number of school districts and states are offering Ethnic Studies courses to K-12 students and, in some cases, requiring completion of an Ethnic Studies class. Proponents of Ethnic Studies classes argue that such classes are necessary to understand the full historical context of the United States’ development and that participation can improve academic engagement, critical thinking, and longer-run student success. Critics of Ethnic Studies argue that the classes are biased, lack academic rigor, and are a politically charged indoctrination that constitutes a form of “reverse racism.”
SFUSD’s Ethnic Studies course focused on themes of social justice, anti-racism, stereotypes, and social movements led by people of color. Topics in the course included the genocide of Native Americans in California, community resistance in Chinese and Latinx neighborhoods in California, and labor organizing during the Great Depression and World War II among African Americans and Filipino Americans. The course also encouraged students to explore how social constructions of race, ethnicity, and culture shaped their individual identity, their family and community histories. Students also designed and implemented participatory-action projects based on their study of racialized and ethnic relations in their local communities.
“Ethnic Studies helped academically marginalized students complete high school and start college,” Penner said. “Providing students with environments that affirm their identities and center experiences of communities of color, while also giving students an opportunity to grapple with challenging issues like racism and inequality, had lasting academic benefits in ways that few other interventions have.”
The prevalence of Ethnic Studies classes at the K-12 level has increased rapidly across the country. A growing number of school districts and states are offering Ethnic Studies courses to K-12 students and, in some cases, requiring completion of an Ethnic Studies class. Proponents of Ethnic Studies classes argue that such classes are necessary to understand the full historical context of the United States’ development and that participation can improve academic engagement, critical thinking, and longer-run student success. Critics of Ethnic Studies argue that the classes are biased, lack academic rigor, and are a politically charged indoctrination that constitutes a form of “reverse racism.”
SFUSD’s Ethnic Studies course focused on themes of social justice, anti-racism, stereotypes, and social movements led by people of color. Topics in the course included the genocide of Native Americans in California, community resistance in Chinese and Latinx neighborhoods in California, and labor organizing during the Great Depression and World War II among African Americans and Filipino Americans. The course also encouraged students to explore how social constructions of race, ethnicity, and culture shaped their individual identity, their family and community histories. Students also designed and implemented participatory-action projects based on their study of racialized and ethnic relations in their local communities.
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Co-authors of the study are Sade Bonilla, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst College of Education; and Thomas S. Dee, Barnett Family Professor, Stanford University Graduate School of Education.
Read the publication in full here. Following these findings, Penner is now focusing on how to effectively teach Ethnic Studies classes. |
"Providing students with environments that affirm their identities and center experiences of communities of color, while also giving students an opportunity to grapple with challenging issues like racism and inequality, had lasting academic benefits in ways that few other interventions have." - Assistant Professor Emily Penner |
In April, the William T. Grant Foundation named Penner a William T. Grant Scholar. The highly prestigious award is given annually to only a handful of early-career researchers nationwide. Penner will, over the next five years, explore effective pedagogy for teaching Ethnic Studies and how this pedagogy contributes to reducing inequality in academic outcomes for racially and ethnically minoritized students.
“Now that we know the effect that Ethnic Studies can have on students, we need to think about how new teachers are being recruited and trained to step into Ethnic Studies classrooms that didn’t exist before,” said Penner, who also earned her Ph.D. from the UCI School of Education. “We have robust pipelines to train teachers to become Science or English teachers, but that doesn’t exist yet for Ethnic Studies. A lot of districts are going to expand their class offerings, but then will need to go and find teachers to teach the classes and others to build skills.”
Read more about the award and research here.
ABOUT THE UCI SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
One of the nation’s premier education schools, the UCI School of Education is focused on advancing educational sciences and contributing to improved educational opportunities and outcomes for individuals across the entire lifespan. A diverse, dynamic and collaborative institution, the School of Education’s research, community partnerships and programming are dedicated to producing innovative scholarship, addressing the needs of local schools, and inspiring future generations of educators. Established in 2012, the School of Education ranks No. 15 in the U.S. News & World Report’s list of top graduate schools of education, No. 7 among public schools. Located in the heart of diverse and burgeoning Orange County – the nation’s sixth most populous county – the School of Education is uniquely positioned to serve as a model for a 21st Century school of education.
“Now that we know the effect that Ethnic Studies can have on students, we need to think about how new teachers are being recruited and trained to step into Ethnic Studies classrooms that didn’t exist before,” said Penner, who also earned her Ph.D. from the UCI School of Education. “We have robust pipelines to train teachers to become Science or English teachers, but that doesn’t exist yet for Ethnic Studies. A lot of districts are going to expand their class offerings, but then will need to go and find teachers to teach the classes and others to build skills.”
Read more about the award and research here.
ABOUT THE UCI SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
One of the nation’s premier education schools, the UCI School of Education is focused on advancing educational sciences and contributing to improved educational opportunities and outcomes for individuals across the entire lifespan. A diverse, dynamic and collaborative institution, the School of Education’s research, community partnerships and programming are dedicated to producing innovative scholarship, addressing the needs of local schools, and inspiring future generations of educators. Established in 2012, the School of Education ranks No. 15 in the U.S. News & World Report’s list of top graduate schools of education, No. 7 among public schools. Located in the heart of diverse and burgeoning Orange County – the nation’s sixth most populous county – the School of Education is uniquely positioned to serve as a model for a 21st Century school of education.
