In this dissertation, I draw on the experiential knowledge of students in a high school ethnic studies classroom at Eastside High School in Los Angeles to distill concrete lessons for educators to bring humanizing teaching approaches the classroom, teacher-student relationships, and their students’ lives. Using a methodological approach grounded in testimonios , pláticas , and encuentros , and drawing on my seventeen years of ethnic studies-informed classroom teaching experience, I argue that the humanizing pedagogical project is an ongoing process—one that is at times contested and contradictory and one that is fundamentally grounded in reciprocity, relationality, and vulnerability. Building on the narrative and experiential data and theorizations of my former students, I conceptualize humanizing pedagogy in an ethnic studies classroom as a project that sits on three critical pillars: trust, dialogue, and literacy. By building and maintaining trust, engaging in meaningful dialogue, and pushing students to be critical readers of the world around them, teachers can obliterate the confines of the classroom and build an intimate learning space made up of students, their lives, their families, and the worlds that matter most to them.
","abstract_html":"<p>In this dissertation, I draw on the experiential knowledge of students in a high school ethnic studies classroom at Eastside High School in Los Angeles to distill concrete lessons for educators to bring humanizing teaching approaches the classroom, teacher-student relationships, and their students’ lives. Using a methodological approach grounded in testimonios , pláticas , and encuentros , and drawing on my seventeen years of ethnic studies-informed classroom teaching experience, I argue that the humanizing pedagogical project is an ongoing process—one that is at times contested and contradictory and one that is fundamentally grounded in reciprocity, relationality, and vulnerability. Building on the narrative and experiential data and theorizations of my former students, I conceptualize humanizing pedagogy in an ethnic studies classroom as a project that sits on three critical pillars: trust, dialogue, and literacy. By building and maintaining trust, engaging in meaningful dialogue, and pushing students to be critical readers of the world around them, teachers can obliterate the confines of the classroom and build an intimate learning space made up of students, their lives, their families, and the worlds that matter most to them.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["López, Jorge Alberto"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Education, PhD","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"School of Educational Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Antonia Darder","William Perez"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:28Z","subjects":["Critical Literacy","Ethnic Studies","High School Teaching Curriculum","Humanizing Pedagogy","Latinx Chicanx","Testimonio","Secondary Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/690","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Antonia Darder","William Perez"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["López, Jorge Alberto"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Educational Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Education, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Critical Literacy","Ethnic Studies","High School Teaching Curriculum","Humanizing Pedagogy","Latinx Chicanx","Testimonio","Secondary Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/690"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this dissertation, I draw on the experiential knowledge of students in a high school ethnic studies classroom at Eastside High School in Los Angeles to distill concrete lessons for educators to bring humanizing teaching approaches the classroom, teacher-student relationships, and their students’ lives. Using a methodological approach grounded in testimonios , pláticas , and encuentros , and drawing on my seventeen years of ethnic studies-informed classroom teaching experience, I argue that the humanizing pedagogical project is an ongoing process—one that is at times contested and contradictory and one that is fundamentally grounded in reciprocity, relationality, and vulnerability. Building on the narrative and experiential data and theorizations of my former students, I conceptualize humanizing pedagogy in an ethnic studies classroom as a project that sits on three critical pillars: trust, dialogue, and literacy. By building and maintaining trust, engaging in meaningful dialogue, and pushing students to be critical readers of the world around them, teachers can obliterate the confines of the classroom and build an intimate learning space made up of students, their lives, their families, and the worlds that matter most to them.
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"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/690"],"dc:subject":["Critical Literacy","Ethnic Studies","High School Teaching Curriculum","Humanizing Pedagogy","Latinx Chicanx","Testimonio","Secondary Education"],"dc:title":["A Humanizing Pedagogy and Curriculum: Lessons from Chicanx/Latinx Student Testimonios in A High School Ethnic Studies Classroom"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Educational Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Education, PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:28Z"}