Course Development

Course – Introduction to Race & Ethnicity 

 

Generally speaking, the cumulative disadvantage theory notes that those start at a disadvantage will continue to experience disadvantages throughout their lives. Disparities in educational outcomes among racial/ethnic minorities have been well documented in research. These minorities have lower high school graduation rates and are more likely to drop out of school when compared to their white counterparts. Factors such as residential segregation, family engagement and school resources have also impacted how well how youth perform in school. Graduating from high school or having a GED is a minimum requirement for most employers in the U.S. There is a history of racism in the educational that prevents many racial/ethnic minority youth from excelling. Understanding what these issues are can help educators tackle the issues and develop practices to help these youth excel and combat the disadvantages that impact them.

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the racism in the educational system by 1) introducing the concept of race and ethnicity, 2) highlighting the presence of racism in educational system and 3) describing methods to address this issue. The goal for this course to raise awareness and help K-12 educators develop targeted outreach, engagement and programming in their schools so that they can help racial/ethnic minority youth with their educational outcomes.