Ethnic Studies Research
CSU Center to Close the Opportunity Gap faculty team member Dr. Heather Macias is currently working on examining the experiences and perceptions of secondary Ethnic Studies teachers throughout the state of California. The data from the teacher interviews and focus groups seek to better understand the role that secondary Ethnic Studies courses play in closing the educational opportunity gap, including how teachers serve the needs and strengths of their students to be academically successful, but also to address the state’s recent adoption of Ethnic Studies courses as a graduation requirement. Dr. Macias wants to keep asking and exploring the question, “as K-12 schools and teacher education programs begin to adopt, expand, and strengthen their Ethnic Studies programs, how can the field of Ethnic Studies remain true to its original tenets and goals for culturally and linguistically diverse students to gain the true academic and social-emotional benefits from an Ethnic Studies course?”
