Autoethnography, a Chicana's Methodological Research Tool: The Role of Storytelling for Those Who Have No Choice but to do Critical Race Theory

Abstract

This article investigates the role of autoethnographic research as the methodological tool of choice for a Chicana who positions herself along the liminal perspective. I posit that testimonios, autobiographical educational experiences, must be used as valid ethnographic research to contribute to existing knowledge around issues of educational equity. Producing autoethnographic research acknowledges and validates my Chicana presence as well as draws attention to my marginal position inside dominant structures of education. Autoethnography and critical race theory are the manners in which I think about the world and the ways I have chosen to engage in educational research. My work is derived from personal experience in Los Angeles urban schools and later in elite institutions of higher education. These distinct locations present a unique opportunity to problematize the internalized forms of class and racial structures that permeate educational institutions. Grounded in my own educational biography, testimonios frame my research perspective to interrogate the role that educational institutions play in the creation of particular ideologies in working-class students of color.

Notes

1. Title I was enacted in 1965 with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was created to relieve the effects of poverty by providing schools with additional funding in order to meet state and academic based standards tailored to particular school needs. In order to qualify, schools must show evidence of at least 40% poverty rate based on free and reduced-fee lunch applications.

2. All names have been changed.