Positive Social Identities
Click the EVIDENCE links for annotated bibliographies of supporting research.
Students develop language, as well as historical and cultural knowledge, that affirms and accurately describes their membership in multiple identity groups (such as identities related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, nationality, language, ability, religion, socioeconomic status, age, and geography). They recognize how peoples' multiple identities interact to create unique and complex individuals. Students express pride, confidence and healthy self-esteem without denying the value and dignity of other people, and they effectively negotiate differences between their home and community cultures and the dominant culture.
EVIDENCE shows that when curriculum, classroom relationships, and pedagogy directly address students' racial, ethnic, gender, and sexuality identities, students can learn to affirm and accurately describe their own membership in multiple identity groups, and recognize how peoples' multiple identities interact to create unique and complex individuals.
| How Pang Xiong approaches language identities in her third grade classroom | How fourth grade teacher Marisol Moreno develops positive social identities in her classroom |
EVIDENCE shows that students can learn to express pride, confidence and healthy self-esteem without denying the value and dignity of other people, through a curriculum, pedagogy and classroom relationships that affirm their ethnic, racial, gender, and other identities.
| How Pang Xiong's Hmong Club builds pride and confidence of Hmong students | How kindergarten teacher Angela Sandford affirms her students' curiosity and sense of ethnic identity |
JUMP to these additional Student Outcomes:
Positive academic identities
Respectful engagement with diverse people
Social justice consciousness
Social justice actionFIND additional resources on these pages:
Case Studies: Pedagogy in Action
FAQs on Multicultural Learning
TEDx Talks by NAME Members
Resources for Professional Development