The Illusion of Inclusion: A Critical Race Theory Textual Analysis of Race and Standards

Abstract

In this article, Julian Vasquez Heilig, Keffrelyn Brown, and Anthony Brown offer findings from a close textual analysis of how the Texas social studies standards address race, racism, and communities of color. Using the lens of critical race theory, the authors uncover the sometimes subtle ways that the standards can appear to adequately address race while at the same time marginalizing it—the “illusion of inclusion.” Their study offers insight into the mechanisms of marginalization in standards and a model of how to closely analyze such standards, which, the authors argue, is increasingly important as the standards and accountability movements continue to grow in influence.

Learning other people’s history: pre-service teachers’ developing African American historical knowledge

“…This approach of monumentalist heroes (Carlson, 2003) is of greater importance to notions of African-American history because students are both quantifiably and qualitatively deprived of a multifaceted narrative of African-American's historical experiences (Anderson & Metzger, 2011;Vasquez-Heilig et al, 2012;Journell, 2008;Sleeter, 2002). Therefore, students are at greater risk of learning decontextualized narratives that totally misinterpret historical characters' purpose, influence, and value.…”

“…Although they had varied levels of knowledge, the overall level of sophisticated knowledge was low. Their pre-interpretive knowledge resembled research that has explored how African-American history is constructed in the official curriculum Anderson & Metzger, 2011;Vasquez-Heilig et al, 2012;Journell, 2008). They internalized narratives of oppression about African-Americans.…”

“…What is largely seen in history curricula around the United States is simple content integration that does not alter the traditional history narrative (Anderson & Metzger, 2011;Banks, 2004;Journell, 2008). Critical multicultural education scholars have asked for a more nuanced and complicated narrative about African-Americans, which includes a history that moves past the decontexualization and herofication of great men and women of African descent, challenges the progressive trajectory of the meta narrative, and provides a nexus between racism of the past and present (King, 1992;Ladson-Billings, 2003;Vasquez-Heilig, Brown, & Brown, 2012).…”

The Role of Schools in Educating Black Citizens: From the 1800s to the Present

“…White supremacy is maintained in several aspects of schooling policy (Gillborn, 2014;Milner, 2008), formal curriculum (K. D. Heilig, Brown, & Brown, 2012;Lintner, 2004), instructional strategies (Delpit, 1988), and forms of assessment (Levinson, 2012). The tax base in the United States, which reflects income disparities along racial lines, still largely determines inequity in school funding, and Black families disproportionally live in neighborhoods with a high concentration of low-income families (Orfield & Frankenberg, 2013;Orfield & Lee, 2004;Vaught, 2009).…”

Picturing Ethnic Studies: Photovoice and Youth Literacies of Social Action

“…3). Given the racial inequity present in K-12 curricula and standards (Sleeter, 2005;Vasquez Heilig, Brown, & Brown, 2012) and the enduring racialized misreading of students of color (Sealey-Ruiz & Greene, 2015), educators must look toward ethnic studies to enhance humanizing literacy experiences for all students, or what Freire (1970) considered literacy experiences that honor students' full humanity.…”