The Transformative Potential of Humanizing Pedagogy: Addressing the Diverse Needs of Chicano/Mexicano Students

TLDR

The article builds on a larger study that examines how school structures and teacher mindsets affect students’ ability to meet high‑school graduation requirements. It argues for identifying factors that support or constrain Chicana/o students’ academic identity development and resilience in high school. Drawing on five years of ethnographic research in a Colorado high school, the authors develop a conceptual framework highlighting four key elements—respecto, confianza, consejos, and buen ejemplos—that foster academic resilience. The study finds that teachers who employ a humanizing pedagogy promote healthy educational orientations, thereby enhancing Chicana/o adolescents’ academic resilience.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present an argument for understanding the factors that support or constrain the development of Chicana/o students' academic identities and consequently, their academic resiliency in high school. The article draws on a larger study investigating ways that schooling structures and teacher mind-sets can sustain students' ability to complete high school requirements. A subset of findings from a five-year ethnographic study in a high school in Colorado serves as the basis for a conceptual framework that honors what Chicana/o students identify as critical to their ability to succeed. Using observational data, interviews and an ethnographic perspective the article examines participating adolescents' understandings of key elements that fostered their academic resilience. These key elements are respeto (respect), confianza (mutual trust), consejos (verbal teachings) and buen ejemplos (exemplary models). Findings suggest that teachers who practice a humanizing pedagogy are instrumental in fostering healthy educational orientations among Chicana/o adolescents, which in turn results in their academic resiliency against all odds.