The Teacher I Am, The Classroom I Build: Exploring the Intersections of Identity, Equity, and Pedagogy in the Secondary Classroom

<p>This capstone explores the deeply personal and professional connections between teacher identity, equitable pedagogy, and classroom design in secondary education. Grounded in the frameworks of Critical Social Justice (CSJ), culturally responsive teaching, and reflection, this work investigates how an educators' lived experiences and positionalities shape the instructional choices they make and the learning environments they create. Through analysis of ethnographic artifacts, including classroom ecology, caregiver and administrator interviews, and student-centered reflections, this study highlights the powerful role of self-awareness in developing inclusive and justice-driven classrooms. Findings suggest that teachers who engage in sustained reflection and focus on building relationships are better equipped to design learning spaces that affirm students’ identities, cultivate trust, and challenge the subtractive deep structures of schooling. This capstone ultimately calls for a pedagogy rooted in authenticity, relational care, and critical consciousness, where my identity is not separate from my teaching, but central to it.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Education, MA

Level thesis:degree_level

Restricted to Claremont Colleges Master's Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Educational Studies

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Rivera, Cynthia Ann Yukiko

• Education
• Teacher Education and Professional Development

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1074

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-2105