Running head: SOCIOCULTURAL IDENTITY ESSAY

Sociocultural Identity Essay

LBS 310
Jessica Andrade
Cal State Dominguez Hills
Sociocultural Identity Essay
2/27/16

Title

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Running head: SOCIOCULTURAL IDENTITY ESSAY
What is a sociocultural identity and how do we develop such a fundamental perception of
self-overtime? For many, sociocultural identity is a feeling of belonging to a particular group, an
image of an individuals self-perception constructed upon the political, economic status, race,
class, beliefs, religion and/or social group views. We develop our identities as a child through
experiences, observations, likes and dislikes and most commonly through covert messages that
are indirect and overt messages that are explicit messages communicated since childhood in the
classroom, community or family. Because of the political identities I continually experienced as
a child, it took many years for me to define my own self-perception. I am a Mexica-American
woman who has been oppressed due to my race, language and gender however, because of the
anti-bias education that I have learned in college, I started redefining a more confident identity. It
is important to note that childrens construction of personal and social identity that is created in
the classroom can make a huge negative or positive impact in the child. To be an effective antibias teacher, one needs to examine and acknowledge ones sociocultural identity, teach an antibiased education based on positive experiences that have been learned, and implement a group
reference identity approach to help cultivate positive identities for all children.
To begin with, there are many social identities I have been exposed through over the
years such as appearance, economic status, and race. Young women need to have a slimming
body, blonde hair and blue eyes in order to be considered attractive (appearance), age groups 2130 years old must have an established career, accredited education from a prestigious university
and not yet married (economic status). All three listed social identities have negatively impacted
me for several years. Societal invisibility has led me to believe I am not important because of the
negative messages broadcasted through movies, television etc due to my race and gender. In
order for not only women but also men, people in the age group of 21-30 should have a decent

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Running head: SOCIOCULTURAL IDENTITY ESSAY
career, graduated college and not yet married otherwise, one has failed and is not successful
according to social norms. I have also felt discriminated due to these social identities because
Latino women are underrepresented. We are known as inferior and recessive individuals who are
unsuccessful due to our race or at least that is what I recall as a child. I remember in fourth grade,
my teacher asked me to only speak in English because I had advanced to an English only
classroom since I was place in a Spanish only class prior to fourth grade. I recall for the first time
in my life being accepted and I was thrilled that I had finally been recognized as someone better
that the little girl who spoke Spanish. I wanted to be accepted by my teacher and friends so I can
be part of something that was worth more than a Spanish speaker because I interpret Spanish as a
negative characteristic. What I did not know was that as Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) in,
Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves, explains that young children try to make
sense of their world by organizing what they observe and experience into theories. Everyone
around me spoke English and the books that were in my class did not represent my social
identity therefore I made a negative association between my race and my language. At the time, I
was a child who did not know what it felt like to be oppressed but when I was finally granted
access to acceptance, it felt incredible. However, over the years, I have done critical
examination of and reflection on self as Mariana Souto-Manning describes in, Multicultural
teaching in the early childhood classroom: Approaches, strategies, and tools (2010) and finally
accept that I am privileged. I am documented which gives me the right to an education and
employment.
Next, my sociocultural identity has been positively shaped due my college educational
experience. I have learned to set aside some of the negative social identities that I previously
formed and focus on the reshaping positive identities. Anti-bias education is the foundation of a

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Running head: SOCIOCULTURAL IDENTITY ESSAY
healthy development of for all children where they feel safe to learn without feeling superior to
others understanding and liking ones own personal and social identities open up the
possibilities of building caring connections with others (Derman-Sparks and Edwards 17). It is
important for teachers to understand that everything the children hear and see in the classroom is
forming their identity. I have learned to accept very culture,
Lastly, I expect to teach and demonstrate in my future class is group reference identity
and the four core goals of an anti-bias education. According to Derman-Sparks and Edwards
(2010) the goals demonstrate self-awareness, child expresses comfort and joy with human
diversity, recognize unfairness, and demonstrate empowerment. The goals strengthened an antibias classroom because it provides a safe learning environment for the students in the classroom
where each goal builds on the previous. Also, it benefits all students of all backgrounds it
provides students with the right tools to resist and fight against oppression. It is important for
educators to teach respect and compassion for others in an anti-bias classroom. It takes a lot of
practice in the classroom as well as time to become an effective anti-bias educators. Children
learn about social identities through covert an overt messages learned from their teacher,
classroom and family. A covert message is an indirect message that is otherwise portrayed in real
life. For instance, my teachers in early years would tell us that we are all the same yet, I felt
different due to my native language so I was not the same as everyone else. Kids quickly learn
the power dynamics in the society from those messages that may have not been said or done
purposely. If teachers perpetuate stereotypes, children begin to pick it up and start doing the
same. They start stereotyping others based on biases and cultures. As a result, children learn what
internalized oppression and internalized privilege are.. Many of the past experiences teachers
have had, has help them make changes according to the anti-bias education goals. No teacher is

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Running head: SOCIOCULTURAL IDENTITY ESSAY
perfect and makes mistakes but one learns from them. All the stumbles that teachers come across
will help them grow in the classroom and be able to impact students. Identifying a support
system from colleagues helps teachers learn of different perspectives in an anti-bias classroom.
Overall, the importance of sharing successes amongst colleagues in the classroom and
implementing both the four anti-bias goals and teaching adapting to a group reference identity, is
vital in an early education classroom.
To conclude, to be an effective anti-bias educator, I have to reevaluate my sociocultural
identity leaving aside all negative biases, teach an anti-biased education based my learning in
college and early school years and implement a group reference identity method to foster help
positive identities in my classroom. Students are learn from their teachers and are listening to
everything they are saying and doing so it is imperative to leave prejudices outside the
classroom. To successfully teach a classroom with confident and respectful children, I must
demonstrate and practice the four goals of an anti-bias education ion the classroom. Also, it is
essential to share my success and failures with fellow educators, family and community so we
can all learn from each other and adapt strategies that have worked for others. Most importantly,
supporting and nourishing childrens cognitive learning in a safe environment is the key to a
foundational sociocultural identity.

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References:
Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.
Washington. D.C: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Souto-Manning, M. (2013). Multicultural teaching in the early childhood classroom:
Approaches, strategies, and tools. New York: Teacher College Press.