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Ethnic Studies Course

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Intervention Details

Subject

History & Social Studies

Academic Program

General Education

Duration

Full school year

Grade

9

Personnel

General Education Teacher

Intervention Summary

The ninth-grade Ethnic Studies (ES) curriculum in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is a year-long course that targets students at risk of dropping out of high school, particularly those with an eighth-grade GPA below 2.0. The ES curriculum focuses on the experiences, perspectives, and histories of traditionally underrepresented ethnic or racial groups, with units on themes of social justice, discrimination, stereotypes, and social movements from U.S. history. The course also encourages students to explore their individual identity, family history, and community history, and requires students to design and implement service-learning projects based on their study of their local community. The designers of this curriculum hope that these lessons and projects will increase students' commitment to social justice and improve self-esteem.

Statistical Finding Summary

Positive effect on student attendance

Positive effect on cumulative ninth-grade GPA

Positive effect on credits earned

Source

Emily, P. & Thomas, D. (2016). The Causal Effects of Cultural Relevance: Evidence from an Ethnic Studies Curriculum. CEPA Working Paper No. 16-01 (ED580355). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED580355.pdf.

Data Sample by Population

These charts show the characteristics of the student populations studied. When assessing programs, you may want to prioritize interventions that yielded success in a similar demographic environment as your school or district.