Running head: RACE, ETHNICITY AND THE SELF

Race, Ethnicity and the Construction of the Self

Lena M. Rodriguez Coln
The George Washington University

RACE, ETHNICITY AND THE SELF

Race and ethnicity go hand in hand. So much so, that I often find myself confusing both
from time to time. I dont tend to use them interchangeably, but I do confuse their defining traits.
As educators, it is crucial that we understand the difference between race and ethnicity, as well as
how each impacts individuals understanding of who they are, what they can and cannot do, and
what is often expected of them. Because we are educators in a nation built by immigrants, and
where the number of immigrants continues to increase, we will likely be exposed to a
multiplicity of individuals in our classrooms, and an essential part of both our formation and
theirs is knowing how to appropriately address ethnic differences (and cultural differences in
general) and incorporate this subject into our curriculum.
Race is defined through physical traits while ethnicity is defined by socio-historical
factors (Nakkula & Toshalis, 2006, p. 152). Language, religion, history, traditions, music and
dietary elements are some of these socio-historical factors. How others interpret these traits and
their projections can lead to conceptions and misconceptions of who a person is, what they are
capable of and where they are headed in life. Within groups, individuals stereotype each other.
Individuals introject these conceptions and misconceptions as part of their own understanding of
self, influencing how they construct their identity and their overall performance. This, then, leads
to individuals progress or lack thereof. For this reason, it is crucial our curriculum incorporate
ideas of hidden curriculums so that students break conceptions and misconceptions of ethnic and
racial identities.
An example of how ethnicity impacts classrooms and students is the case of Asian
American students. The two persistent stereotypes of Asian Americans are those of the foreigner
and the model minority (Lee, 2008, p. 75). The former refers to the conception that no matter
how long they have been in the U.S., they are still an other. The latter refers to the conception

RACE, ETHNICITY AND THE SELF

that all Asian Americans are hard-working, intelligent and successful. However, these are
stereotypes that we as educators need to break, both for ourselves and our students. We need to
be aware that students might fall under some of the defining characteristics that perpetuate these
stereotypes, but we must also be aware that human variation refers to the diversity of all students
that belong to all social groups. While there may be an Asian American student who exceeds
expectations and performs outstandingly, there may also be an Asian American student who
struggles and needs extra help to achieve his or her maximum performance.
The repercussions of holding these misconceptions as truth have dire consequences.
Students who do not meet the social expectations that are based on misconceptions and
underperform can begin to feel a sense of inadequacy, and this could cause them to shut down.
That is, instead of attempting to improve their performance, they retrogress. This could
eventually lead to the student dropping out of school or simply never feeling like they are
capable of fulfilling societal expectations and not trying. For this reason, as mentioned earlier,
we must incorporate strategies in our teaching techniques that question and break stereotypical
conceptions. It is important students see and understand that these are socially constructed
images that do not adequately convey the multicultural and diverse variations present in society.
This, in turn, could impact their having a positive self-concept.
It is important to note that not all individuals consider their ethnicity relevant to their
identity, or have a clear understanding of its impact. Their positive self-concept is often affected
by this. Phinney developed a three-stage progression model that considers how individuals
perceive and progress through their understanding of their ethnicity. The first is unexamined
(Nakkula & Toshalis, p. 165). This refers to individuals complete ignorance, or lack of interest,
of their ethnicity. Second is moratorium. This refers to individuals engaged interest and

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understanding of its importance. Last is achieved, which alludes to an acceptance, understanding

and appreciation of ethnic influences. It is when they reach the achieved stage that their selfconcept may be most positively influenced.
Understanding where we come from and how it influences us may not be easy, but it is
definitely necessary to fully understand how and why we are who we are. Our history impacts us
in even the most miniscule way. For this reason, we must consider how race and ethnicity
construct societal conceptions and misconceptions, how those impact us (and our students), and
how we break and reconstruct them to positively influence our own understandings.

References

RACE, ETHNICITY AND THE SELF

Nakkula, M., & Toshalis, E. (2006). Understanding youth: Adolescents development for
educators. (Handout) Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Lee, S.J. (2008). Model minorities and perpetual foreigners: The impact of stereotyping on Asian
American students. In M. Sadowski (Ed.), Adolescents at school: Perspectives on youth,
identity and education (pp. 75-83). Cambridge, MA: Harvard