Developing Sense of Self through Storytelling: How Educators Can Use Classroom Spaces to

Strengthen Students’ Cultural Identities

Emily Martin

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Abstract
This paper explores the topic of cultural identity in education. It discusses how educators can use

storytelling activities and literature to validate students’ unique stories in the classroom, and how

the exploration of culture can help students develop a stronger sense of self and academic

achievement. It also examines some of the potential difficulties and rewards in designing

culturally responsive learning environments.

Developing Sense of Self through Storytelling: How Educators Can Use Classroom Spaces to

Strengthen Students’ Cultural Identities

In the book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Beverly Tatum

(1999) described dominant cultural groups as ones that “set the parameters within which the

subordinates operate” (p.23). In the United States, the dominant group is white, Christian,

heterosexual, middle-class, and male. Tatum quoted feminist writer Audre Lorde who called this

typecast a “mythical norm” by which all who live in the same society are compared, but not all

match (p. 22). The “mythical norm” is broadcasted through messages on television, in

advertisements, magazines, and in textbooks, for receivers to internalize as a mirrored reflections

of themselves or, as Lorde said, to know within their hearts “that is not me” (p. 22). Dominant

culture becomes a problem in learning when students cannot find a truthful representation of

themselves in textbooks and other learning materials (as well as in media and other popular

cultural avenues) and are left to wonder if they are normal or even worthy of being mentioned.

As Tatum (1999) warned, “To the extent that the targeted [subordinate] group internalizes the

images that the dominant group reflects back to them, they may find it difficult to believe in their

own ability” (p. 23). Although dominant culture may be over-represented in many public school

curriculum, educators can help students of all backgrounds develop a strong sense of identity by

developing learning activities that include and encourage the exploration of students’ cultural

stories. The following paper explores ways in which educators can begin to understand students’

cultural identities, even as they change each year, and validate those identities through

storytelling activities, literature, and classroom discussion.

Knowing Students’ Culture

Geneva Gay (2002) shared a phrase she said most educators can agree on: “We can’t teach what

we don’t know” (p. 106). She said this statement is as true for subject matter as it is for subject;

in order to teach students effectively, we must understand who they are. Teachers may have an

idea of the cultural makeup of their classrooms by simply noticing the ethnic backgrounds listed

on school reporting documents, or by hearing students discuss their heritage or their home life.

Gay and other proponents of “culturally responsive teaching” have advocated knowing more

about students’ backgrounds through both respectful questioning and research (Compano, 2007;

Gay 2002; Saville-Troike, 1979).

For example, a teacher might know that 22 of her students are identified as “Hispanic” according

to school data, but this broad categorization is not enough to understand the unique spiritual,

familial, and other cultural traditions of students from Spain, Central and South America, and

other parts of the world that U.S. census records and other data simply refer to as “Hispanic.” To

understand students’ backgrounds, Saville-Troike (1979) recommends a teacher begins by

understanding his or her own biases, such as by asking, “What stereotypes do I already know

about this cultural group?” Identifying prejudices can help teachers move past the implicit and

often untrue knowledge they might have about cultural diversity and assist in building a

framework for deeper understanding of culture (Saville-Troike, 1979).

One way for teachers to know students is by respectful questioning. This means talking to

students about where they are from and what traditions are important to them. The teacher may

want to share his or her own stories of family life, familial roles while growing up (working,

cleaning, or watching children to support family, etc.), types of food enjoyed by the family,

spiritual or religious traditions, habits and rituals, and other aspects of life that we call culture

(Compano, 2007). This sharing may open communication among students. However, as Chan
(2007) has reminded, not all students want to publicly discuss where they are from or what their

family life is like. Teachers must observe students comfort level and react accordingly in order to

reach a deeper level of understanding in regard to each student’s cultural background. A

journaling activity in the first days of class could be one way for teachers to find out more about

the students in their classes.

Once teachers have begun to create a knowledge base and respect for students’ diverse cultures,

the next step to incorporating this understanding into the curriculum is to research facts about

cultural traditions that the teacher does not understand. For example, teachers may investigate

recurring cultural themes that appear in student conversations or journaling activities, such as

celebrations of the New Year, in order to appreciate the meaning of such events and perhaps see

the role students might play in them (Gay, 2002). Students can become researchers as well by

exploring the ways in which cultures around the world celebrate certain events. Derman-Sparks,

L., Edwards (2010) said it is important to avoid making cultural research activities such as this a

matter of “tourism” (p. 8). It is not enough to look at cultural diversity as a subject to be explored

from the outside; it should be brought into the curriculum and into the hearts of the teacher and

students as a way to understand and learn from each other more deeply.

Analyzing Existing Curriculum for Cultural Bias

Gay (2002) has suggested teachers go through current textbooks and classroom materials and

look for evidence of cultural bias, such as a romanticized view of early European experiences in

North America and the absence of perspectives other than those from European-Americans. Gay

further advised teachers to either recreate culturally biased materials, look for replacement

materials, or perhaps do both while keeping the biased materials for classroom discussion. Gay
and other scholars of multicultural education have suggested that avoiding topics of bias,

discrimination, and other often unspoken acts of cultural repression in and out of the classroom

lead to the continuation of such acts (Derman-Sparks et al, 2010; Gay, 2002; Tatum, 1990;

Saville-Troike, 1979). Bringing biased material into classroom discussions not only

acknowledges that it exists, it also helps students see their own culture and their classmates’ as

something worth preserving. Students can learn how to identify prejudice and see their own

stories as valid additions to the curriculum.

Identifying bias is not only a matter of finding it in textbooks, said Gay (2002), but also a matter

of identifying the “symbolic curriculum” in the classroom space (p. 108). Decorations, bulletin

boards, awards, class mottos, and other symbols should be reviewed to determine who is being

represented. For example, are class mottos built around traditionally European-American values

of independence, or do mottos represent other values, such as communal living, as well? Are

leaders represented on class posters mostly white American males, or are a variety of world

leaders displayed? What or who is absent from the symbolic curriculum is just as important as

what or who is present (Gay, 2002).

Using Storytelling Activities that Validate Cultural Identities

It is important for teachers to know as much as they can about students’ cultures – both through

research and conversation – but it simply isn’t possible to know every student’s story

completely. One way to draw these experiences into the curriculum is by using learning activities

that encourage students to write from a first-person perspective. Compano (2007) has advocated

the use of narrative writing as a way to gauge what students already know about curricular

material and to understand what concepts or examples students might find more meaningful. He
said some teachers tend to think narrative writing brings about only lower-level thinking, and

thus should not be relied upon to bring students to a higher achievements, but Compano has

argued against this. He said in his article Honoring Student Stories, “Student narratives are far

more significant than that. They are vehicles for linking subjective experience to more complete

knowledge about our shared worlds, especially for individuals who speak and write from buried

or misrepresented histories or don’t hear the echo of their own experiences in the traditional

school curriculum” (p. 48). Narratives can at least begin to fill in the gaps where students’

cultural histories are missing in curriculum and give voice to students who may otherwise be

misrepresented or forgotten in many aspects of the dominant U.S. culture.

Compano (2007) shared a story of a 5th grade Hmong girl who was beginning to do poorly in

school and was often targeted for instructional interventions. In these interventions she would be

given writing prompts that asked her to describe things, such as her favorite snack. Her answers

often did not meet standards set forth by the district or herself. But when she decided to write a

story that told of her family’s immigration, her abilities seemed to soar. She shared memories of

her time in a refugee camp and talked about what it was like to be lonely and without friends

who spoke the same language or had the same customs. She talked about the Hmong’s artistic

traditions of textile making and various roles she played as a young girl in her family. Compano

said she began to play the role of “global citizen,” sharing with her classmates her own culture

while at the same time starting class discussions on immigration and human rights. Campano

noted that “preparing students for global citizenship” is an idea present in many school mission

statements and that this is all the more reason for narratives to have a place in a multicultural

classroom (p. 49).

Storytelling can also bring to the classroom an array of traditions from other classmates.

Campano (2007) pointed to quilting stories often put together by refugees in regions of Southern

Asia and Afghanistan that tell of migrations, as well as conversational Hawaiian anecdotes other

oral storytelling traditions from around the world. Not only can sharing stories help students see

the similarities and distinctions within the human experience, this practice can also help establish

a replacement for the “mythical norm,” where students begin to see their own family histories as

normal parts of the curriculum and meaningful parts of the world (Campano, 2007).

Campano (2007) said teachers should get familiar with literature that speaks from an

immigrant or “outsider’s” perspective, and include it in the curriculum. Students who have been

misrepresented or underrepresented in “standardized” U.S. curriculum, he said, could relate more

profoundly to these stories. Immigration stories might also serve as a starting point for students

to discuss their own historical family journeys to the United States. Hope (2008) said teachers

have many reasons to use immigrant and refugee literature in class. One, as Campano (2007) had

also suggested, is to show students they belong. “Readers need to see themselves represented in

books to affirm their place in the world” (Hope, 2008, p. 298). In other words, if we do not see

our own stories in the symbolic world around us, we do not feel a sense of belonging to it. We

feel isolated, ignored, and abnormal. Immigrant and refugee literature not only validate students

from countries outside of the United States, said Hope. These stories can take readers to places

around the world where they have never been and show them histories they may never have

known. Ultimately, literature told from an “outsider’s” perspective can help students make sense

of their own cultural identity by showing that they are as much a part of humanity as any other

human on Earth.
Campano (2007) has argued, too, that classic stories from Shakespeare, Aristotle, and other

writers of Western culture who have timelessly described the human condition – filled with pain

and injustice, love and fortitude, nation and self – can be used to help students see their own

stories as a valid part of a world-wide narrative. Compano quotes Nobel Laureate poet Derek

Walcott who said, “The English language is nobody’s special property. It is the property of the

imagination” (p. 53). Encouraging students to tell their own stories through retellings of

traditional Western literature can bring the English language into the writer’s world. It can allow

students – those who speak English as a second language and those who do not feel particularly

attached to the culture from which the writing emerged – to make meaningful connections

between universal truths, the words of other people, and the student’s own beliefs. Making these

connections is not about assimilating students to a culture, but showing the power and boundless

nature of language. It’s a way for students to find their own voice among other voices, regardless

of culture.

Hope (2008) has warned, however, that literature alone does not necessarily lead students toward

developing a healthy sense of self, nor does it erase the prejudices students might bring into

reading. She discussed research by Zimet (1976) that showed literature having an insignificant

effect onnchanging bias. Zimet’s study found that readers usually interpret text from their current

perspectives, rather than changing their perceptions about the world to fit the text. If literature

does not change a reader’s opinion of others, then perhaps Zimet would say it could not change a

reader’s sense of self either. Hope did counter Zimet’s argument with another body of research

that suggests students become more accepting of “difference” after reading stories told from

perspectives other than their own. Hope also anecdotally related the impact of reading on a

student’s life might not appear right away or be easily assessed in the classroom. Overall, Hope
argued for the inclusion of literature told from the viewpoints of people unlike the student

population as a way to build into the curriculum diversity, respect for others, and respect for self.

Conclusion

Acknowledging and validating students’ cultural identities through classroom activities like

storytelling is something educators should do to promote learning. Students who have

immigrated to the United States often find an education system rushing to assimilate them. The

same could be said for students belonging to U.S. cultures that do not fit the white middle-class,

“mythical norm.” As Gay (2002) said of students in many U.S. public schools, “[They] have

been expected to divorce themselves from their cultures and learn according to European

American cultural norms. This places them in double jeopardy – having to master the academic

tasks while functioning under cultural conditions unnatural (and often unfamiliar) to them.

Removing this second burden is a significant contribution to their academic achievement” (p.

114). By encouraging the exploration of students’ cultural stories, educators can help learners

feel a sense of belonging that not only strengthens their idea of self-worth, but also confirms

their voice and position in the classroom, and in life. Storytelling is not the only way that

educators can create environments where students can find achievement in who they are, but it is

a good place to start.

References
Campano, G. (2007). Honoring Student Stories. Educational Leadership, 65(2), 48-54.

Chan, E. (2007). Student Experiences of a Culturally-Sensitive Curriculum: Ethnic Identity

Development amid Conflicting Stories to Live by. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 39(2), 177-

194.

Derman-Sparks, L., Edwards, J. O., & National Association for the Education of Young

Children. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC:

National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Fitts, S., & Gross, L. A. (2010). I am from Delicious Lasagna: Exploring Cultural Identity with

Digital Storytelling. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 23(1), 8-10.

Gay, Geneva. (2002). Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching. Journal of Teacher

Education, 53(2), 106-116.

Hope, J. (2008). "One Day We Had to Run": The Development of the Refugee Identity in

Children's Literature and Its Function in Education. Children's Literature in Education, 39(4),

295-304.

Saville-Troike, M. (1978). A Guide to Culture in the Classroom. Retrieved from:

http://www.ncela.us/files/rcd/BE000443/Culture.pdf

Tatum, Beverly. (1999). “Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?” And other

conversations about race. New York: Basic Books.

Wortham, S. (2003). Curriculum as a Resource for the Development of Social Identity.

Sociology of Education, 76(3), 228-46.

Zimet, S. G., & Hoffman, M. (1976). Print and prejudice. London: Hodder and Stoughton in

association with the United Kingdom Reading Association.