Perfecting Ethnic Studies Pedagogy
Emily Penner, assistant professor and 2021 William T. Grant Scholar, is studying how to effectively teach Ethnic Studies classes in K-12 schools.
In 2014, Assistant Professor Emily Penner embarked on a project that examined the efficacy of Ethnic Studies classes in K-12 schools. Studying a group of ninth graders in the San Francisco Unified School District, she and her collaborator, Thomas S. Dee, found that the class had a tremendous impact: attendance increased 21 percentage points, credits earned increased by 23, and a students’ GPA increased by an impressive 1.4 grade points.
All wonderful news. But there was not a discussion as to why. Until now.
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. As a William T. Grant Scholar, 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. “Our previous study showed that Ethnic Studies had an impact, but it didn’t really say anything about why,” Penner said. “The idea now is to dig into why – prior work has examined Ethnic Studies practice and a small number of studies have examined the effects of taking these courses, finding evidence of substantial benefits for students. But no large-scale study has linked pedagogical practices to student outcomes. “This hasn’t been done at this scale before.” |
WHAT IS ETHNIC STUDIES?
Ethnic Studies, Penner describes, is an umbrella term for courses that explicitly center the experiences and histories of historically marginalized groups. They could have a wide scope and focus on many communities simultaneously, as in general “Ethnic Studies” courses, or be more specific, such as “Mexican American Studies.”
The prevalence of Ethnic Studies classes at the K-12 level has increased rapidly across the country. States vary on their stance and interest in Ethnic Studies curriculum – some state legislatures have passed laws to introduce or even require Ethnic Studies for K-12 students, while others remain mired in debate about the details and whether to include Ethnic Studies in the curriculum.
Its rapid growth creates an even stronger need and desire to study the efficacy of pedagogy and practice.
“We need to think about how new teachers are being recruited and trained to step into these classrooms that didn’t exist before,” Penner said. “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.”
The prevalence of Ethnic Studies classes at the K-12 level has increased rapidly across the country. States vary on their stance and interest in Ethnic Studies curriculum – some state legislatures have passed laws to introduce or even require Ethnic Studies for K-12 students, while others remain mired in debate about the details and whether to include Ethnic Studies in the curriculum.
Its rapid growth creates an even stronger need and desire to study the efficacy of pedagogy and practice.
“We need to think about how new teachers are being recruited and trained to step into these classrooms that didn’t exist before,” Penner said. “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.”
PEDAGOGIES AND PRACTICES
Penner will begin research by synthesizing current approaches to Ethnic Studies teaching and mentoring practices. To achieve this, Penner will observe Ethnic Studies classrooms and conduct interviews and focus groups with teachers to better understand core aspects of effective practices.
In the later stage of the project, Penner will link these data to student records and examine how the observed teaching practices predict student outcomes. Using data from interviews with district leaders and teachers, as well as observations of Ethnic Studies professional development activities, Penner will investigate how school districts can recruit and train new Ethnic Studies teachers to use effective practices.
“There have been a number of recent collaborative efforts to formalize and share Ethnic Studies curricula and pedagogy to support district efforts to expand their Ethnic Studies course offerings,” Penner said.
“It’s going to be really exciting to see how teachers are enacting these resources in their classrooms and how they’re engaging students through that work.”
In the later stage of the project, Penner will link these data to student records and examine how the observed teaching practices predict student outcomes. Using data from interviews with district leaders and teachers, as well as observations of Ethnic Studies professional development activities, Penner will investigate how school districts can recruit and train new Ethnic Studies teachers to use effective practices.
“There have been a number of recent collaborative efforts to formalize and share Ethnic Studies curricula and pedagogy to support district efforts to expand their Ethnic Studies course offerings,” Penner said.
“It’s going to be really exciting to see how teachers are enacting these resources in their classrooms and how they’re engaging students through that work.”
Penner is also looking forward to branching out and learning new skills. She possesses a strong quantitative background, she explains, but does not have as much training in how to observe teacher classrooms for research purposes.
“My two goals are to dig into the literature on Ethnic Studies and obtain a better sense of what truly constitutes Ethnic Studies teaching and pedagogy, and to spend time learning from experts who measure teaching in other disciplines,” Penner said. To assist with each goal, Penner is working with a pair of mentors: Christine E. Sleeter, professor emerita at the College of Education, California State University, Monterey Bay; and Heather C. Hill, the Jerome T. Murphy Professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Ultimately, Penner’s goal in her efforts is to learn from and support Ethnic Studies teachers in ways that foster engaging, critical, and caring experiences for all students. “I hope that by the end of this grant we have developed a good understanding of the most effective teaching techniques and practices that Ethnic Studies teachers are engaging in, and that we communicate those out to other locations trying to build their Ethnic Studies programs,” Penner said. |
THE WEALTH OF THE COMMUNITY
Penner, who is also an alumna of the School of Education’s Ph.D. in Education program, previously taught at an elementary school in Oakland. While there, her school was temporarily closed due to a “failing grade,” as deemed by the standards of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Following the school’s closure, administrators and teachers worked with the predominantly Latinx, low-income community to revamp the curriculum and programming. The school re-opened and is now considered one of Oakland Unified School District’s more successful schools.
“The experience helped me recognize the importance and the wealth of knowledge out there in communities,” Penner said. “It was integral in getting the school turned around; there are other schools that existed a mile down the road, that were closed down, that didn’t engage the community in the same way, and that have continued to struggle.”
While working as a teacher and pursuing her master’s degree, Penner read the research and scholarship of Greg Duncan and George Farkas. When she was considering where to enroll for her doctorate, she noticed that UCI had recently hired Duncan and Farkas to join what was then the Department of Education. Their presence made the choice of where to enroll that much easier. Duncan, who like Farkas is now a distinguished professor at the School of Education, would ultimately serve as Penner’s dissertation chair.
After a stint as a postdoc at Stanford University, Penner returned to the School of Education as assistant professor. She appreciates the School of Education’s focus on school-based research and hopes to contribute to the mission of improving educational opportunities and outcomes for students of all backgrounds.
“The point of school-based research is to identify the ways that schools are, or are not, supporting students of all backgrounds,” Penner said. “Ethnic Studies is a type of programming that is explicitly about trying to center the experiences and histories of marginalized and ethnic groups.
“With proper practices, we can transform not only student experiences in Ethnic Studies classes, but long-term trajectories as well.”
Following the school’s closure, administrators and teachers worked with the predominantly Latinx, low-income community to revamp the curriculum and programming. The school re-opened and is now considered one of Oakland Unified School District’s more successful schools.
“The experience helped me recognize the importance and the wealth of knowledge out there in communities,” Penner said. “It was integral in getting the school turned around; there are other schools that existed a mile down the road, that were closed down, that didn’t engage the community in the same way, and that have continued to struggle.”
While working as a teacher and pursuing her master’s degree, Penner read the research and scholarship of Greg Duncan and George Farkas. When she was considering where to enroll for her doctorate, she noticed that UCI had recently hired Duncan and Farkas to join what was then the Department of Education. Their presence made the choice of where to enroll that much easier. Duncan, who like Farkas is now a distinguished professor at the School of Education, would ultimately serve as Penner’s dissertation chair.
After a stint as a postdoc at Stanford University, Penner returned to the School of Education as assistant professor. She appreciates the School of Education’s focus on school-based research and hopes to contribute to the mission of improving educational opportunities and outcomes for students of all backgrounds.
“The point of school-based research is to identify the ways that schools are, or are not, supporting students of all backgrounds,” Penner said. “Ethnic Studies is a type of programming that is explicitly about trying to center the experiences and histories of marginalized and ethnic groups.
“With proper practices, we can transform not only student experiences in Ethnic Studies classes, but long-term trajectories as well.”