Socio-Political Identity

The social groups that you belong to play a key role in the work you do in the classroom, and in the larger educational system. We are aware of some of the groups that we belong to, but are you aware of all of the social groups you are a part of? The influence these identities have on our work can be absolutely transformative, but we often don't think or talk about it. That changes right here. As you continue to explore your socio-political identity, refer to these resources to support this work.

Sociopolitical Identity Defined

Depending on the discipline exploring the concept, sociopolitical identity is sometimes also referred to as social identity. These resources help to further refine your understanding of sociolpolitical identity as defined by Elena Aguilar in Onward.

What is social identity?Social identity is what we see in ourselves that we have in common with others. Learn about social identity from this article.

Why Does It matter?

Exploring your social groupings and the values and beliefs that are attached to those groupings is ESSENTIAL to your ability to connect to and understand the students in your classroom. Read the articles below for more on the "why."

Social Identities and Systems of Oppression

Creating an Identity-Safe ClassroomIdentity-safe classrooms foster belonging and value for students of all backgrounds. Because social identity affects students' experiences, identity-safe teaching can help students become successful learners.

How can students teach educators about social identity? : Innovative Education in VTWhat does it look like when students teach educators about social identity? A trio of 6th graders led a workshop for educators on social identity and bias.

How Do I Explore My Socio-Political Identity?

There are a wide variety of ways to explore our sociopolitical identities. For our purposes, we are using the lens of both Onward and the work of Dr. Sharokky Hollie and his concept of the Rings of Culture.

Consider adding Dr. Hollie's book to your summer reading list. When we connect our students' cultures and home languages to the classroom, teaching and learning begins to be transformed.

Rings of Culture.pdf

In the exploration of identity, Dr. Hollie advocates that we look at ourselves in different layers, separating race from all of the cultures (or identities) that we are. He calls these layers the rings of cultures. The rings are age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, orientation, nationality, and religion. Race is removed from this examination because it does not determine human behavior. Culture, all the elements of culture, drive our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. There are many more cultural identities to explore, but these seven are the ones that have the most immediate impact on our day-to-day interactions with others, across cultures.

Copy of Exploring Identity Markers.pdf

Elena Aguilar also offers a practice for exploring your socio-political identities. Her activity is more detailed that Dr. Hollie's and looks at more than fifteen cultural identities. She includes some pretty powerful questions that help you dive deeper into these identities by looking at how they may come into play in your personal and professional lives. Self-reflection questions are also provided.

The links below will take you to two different online resources that contain lessons on identity that you could use in your own exploration or use in the classroom with your students. To create truly equitable classrooms, teachers and students need to be aware of their respective identities and how they impact teaching and learning.

Social Justice Standards | Unpacking IdentityThis professional development addresses identity.

Understanding IdentityStudents consider the question "Who am I?" and identify social and cultural factors that shape identity by reading a short story and creating personal identity charts.