Expressions of ethnic identity in pre-adolescent Latino students: implications for culturally relevant pedagogy

Abstract

This study describes how 72 fifth-grade Latina/Latino students express their sense of belonging to their ethnic group. The purpose of this study is to help teachers gain specific understanding of the ways that pre-adolescent Latina/Latino students express belonging to their ethnic group, in order to become more effective at implementing culturally relevant and inclusive pedagogy. Students in this study spoke in concrete and descriptive ways about ethnic food, their language and their families when asked about the ‘ethnic things’ in their lives. Findings from this study underscore the importance of listening for expressions of ethnicity among pre-adolescents in order to better support ethnic identity development, as well as school and family connections, for ethnic minority students at the crucial age of transition.

Keywords:

• ethnic identity
• inclusive pedagogy
• pre-adolescent

Notes

Research assistants who conducted the ethnic identity interviews were graduate students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Both were female students of Latina descent (Spanish and Mexican), bilingual in English and Spanish, born and raised in the USA in primarily Spanish-speaking homes.