Ethnic studies increases longer-run academic engagement and attainment.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021;
118:2026386118. [PMID:
34493663 PMCID:
PMC8449416 DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2026386118]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Anti-racist curricula and teaching methods are a potentially potent way for schools to better promote a just society and improve educational outcomes for low-income students and students of color. Ethnic studies (ES) courses in K–12 schools are an increasingly common and prominent example of such culturally relevant and critically engaged practice. Proponents tout the benefits of ES for increasing student engagement and academic outcomes, yet there is little causal evidence supporting these claims. In this study, we use a preregistered regression-discontinuity research design to identify the longer-term impacts on educational attainment and engagement of being assigned to an ES course in grade 9. We find that assignment to ES substantially increased high school graduation, attendance, and the probability of enrolling in college.
Increased interest in anti-racist education has motivated the rapidly growing but politically contentious adoption of ethnic studies (ES) courses in US public schools. A long-standing rationale for ES courses is that their emphasis on culturally relevant and critically engaged content (e.g., social justice, anti-racism, stereotypes, contemporary social movements) has potent effects on student engagement and outcomes. However, the quantitative evidence supporting this claim is limited. In this preregistered regression-discontinuity study, we examine the longer-run impact of a grade 9 ES course offered in the San Francisco Unified School District. Our key confirmatory finding is that assignment to this course significantly increased the probability of high school graduation among students near the grade 8 2.0 grade point average (GPA) threshold used for assigning students to the course. Our exploratory analyses also indicate that assignment increased measures of engagement throughout high school (e.g., attendance) as well as the probability of postsecondary matriculation.
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