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Ei Smith, Phillips Academy, United StatesAbstract
Identity is defined as a set of experiences and beliefs that make-up a sense of personhood. Markers of identity, such as gender, race and class are socially constructed and intersectional. They are influenced by self-curation, aspirations and how others perceive us. This interplay between the cultural identity of the students and hegemonic structures provides a tension that can and will play a role in classroom culture (Krzesni, 2015). I have chosen to focus on the importance of an educational program that advocates for the exploration of identity within the K-12 life stage because it is essential for young people’s heritage and histories to be valued and represented. While they are growing intellectually and emotionally, this form of validation provides innumerable benefits both academically and socially. Methodologically, I have created two social science modules, at the elementary, middle and high school levels, to demonstrate how these values can be put into practice. This paper will contribute to the growing study of identity-conscious education and how to cultivate a respectful community in an institutional setting. It will detail the facets of this curriculum and showcase how students (n = 45) engaged with the scholarship, produced work and applied a critical lens at their respective developmental stages. The responsive classroom appreciates the distinctions that cosmopolitanism provides and the study of the leaders within activist movements for racial and indigenous justice, gender equality and ability rights will allow for the intentional and deliberate study of issues of power negotiation and systemic issues.
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Conference: ACE2025Stream: Curriculum Design & Development
This paper is part of the ACE2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Smith E. (2026) The Role of Identity-Based Curriculum in Social-Emotional Learning ISSN: 2186-5892 – The Asian Conference on Education 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 925-937) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2026.71
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2026.71
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