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Description
Ethnic Studies classes emerged in the late 1960s as instructional courses that countered the hegemonic narratives in education and reimagined the education system as one that responded to the diversity of its students and their communities. During this time,student-led activism played a pivotal role in restructuring the education system by successfully demanding the establishment of Ethnic Studies departments. Experiences of immigrating to America for different minority communities have transformed over the past 50 years, but Ethnic Studies has not been institutionalized to a degree commensurate with how communities have grown. Filipinx American students at San Diego State University (SDSU) are an exemplary community whose perspectives can be examined to investigate the impact of contemporary transformations in education and immigration on students’ livelihoods. Many Filipinx American students are members of the community that descended from a large wave of immigrants who moved to the US in the post-1965 era when Ethnic Studies was developing into an academic field. As Filipinx American populations have grown, cursory measures on academic achievement rates have perpetuated the myth that Filipinx Americans are a model minority. Meanwhile, ethnic based studies have shown how ideologies perpetuated by American colonialism continue to influence the way in which Filipinx Americans view themselves as a minority in the US. Ethnic Studies could address racialized discourses that affect students’ livelihoods by becoming standardized structures within the education system where all students have a safe environment to locate their identity. This research explores the disconnect between Ethnic Studies serving in this capacity and the degree to which Filipinx American students seek the opportunity to understand and participate in these courses. I explored how Filipinx American students perceive the value of Ethnic Studies. Quantitative and qualitative research grounded in students’ perceptions and engagement with Ethnic Studies is limited in academic literature and more of this research will be needed for educational reformers to make informed decisions about education systems and the future of Ethnic Studies programs.
