Kuwento as Multicultural Pedagogy in High School Ethnic Studies

Abstract

In this ethnographic study, situated in a high school's Filipino Heritage Studies in northern California, the author conceptualises kuwento (story) as a cultural and sociolinguistic practice assisting the learning of curricular material and defining participants' membership in class. Explicit in kuwento are discussions about ethnicity and culture that offer insight into relevant pedagogical strategies in multicultural classrooms. The author sheds light on the very construction of kuwento as part of larger discourses about Filipina/o American history. Included are uses of kuwento during a unit on post-Spanish-American War.