UCLA

This dissertation explores how four critical teachers of color learn and develop through dialogue and reflection about their own educational and life histories as well as their work in ethnic studies classrooms. As K–12 schools in states like California integrate ethnic studies into their curricula, educators are looking to established ethnic studies programs and experienced ethnic studies teachers as models. The existing literature on K–12 ethnic studies primarily focuses on students’ educational experiences, though it offers limited examinations of the experiences of ethnic studies educators. This dissertation addresses this gap by examining the lives, experiences, and insights of four critical teachers of color who teach a ninth-grade ethnic studies program at an East Los Angeles high school. Through individual and focus group interviews, this study explores how these four teachers learned and developed their ethnic studies teaching practice. In particular, this study explores (1) the individual life and educational trajectories of these educators; (2) the ways in which they drew upon individual and shared experiences as a pedagogy-focused collective; and (3) the ways that these educators envision ethnic studies as an inclusive, healing-centered, and restorative justice teaching practice. The study yields two overarching understandings. First, ethnic studies teacher development is a process of becoming—a process that is recursive and reflexive as educators link their own lives with their praxis. Second, the professional learning that these educators engage in is instrumental to their praxis, to the extent that critical professional development (CPD) with an ethnic studies ethos is humanizing and transformative. This dissertation argues that this type of ethnic studies-centered CPD space offers three pedagogical interventions into mainstream K–12 professional development: first, CPD holds space for reflection, vulnerability, and collaboration that cultivate a humanizing pedagogy; second, it cultivates teaching practices that center healing and restorative justice; and third, it encourages a counter-storytelling practice that helps educators reimagine pedagogical possibilities. In mapping out these findings, this study offers tangible ways for educators to build community, share knowledge, and heal together in the pursuit of empowering and transforming both themselves and their students.