Masters Thesis

Malasakit: the unexamined pedagogical practices and emotional care work of Pin@y educators

Compared to other racial/ethnic adolescents, Pin@ys (Pinoy/Pinay) are at risk for various mental health issues. For adolescents, teachers play important roles in promoting academic outcomes, providing a sense of hope, and supporting the holistic well-being of students at-risk for mental health issues. This thesis explores how educators of Pin@y descent provide care and support to Pin@y students. This study asks the following questions: How do Pin@y educators provide support to Pin@y adolescents who experience mental health issues? Do cultural connections and cultural responsiveness play a role in the ways that they provide support? Ten educators in the state of California were interviewed. The findings of this study indicate the following themes around their approach to care and teaching including: building a classroom with trust and vulnerability, using cultural connections as an entry point, reflecting and acting towards socioeconomic accountability in curriculum, and mentoring, boundary making, and understanding limitations as an educator. Findings also include themes around how educators practice emotion work including: preventive care work, embodied knowledge and emotional labor, collaboration with the Pin@y family, and unconditional positive regard. Implications of this research illustrate how educators are often “first-responders” to the mental health concerns of their students. Future research should examine the role of educators in ethnic communities, and how they can serve as conveyors of needed information, such as the dissemination of culturally responsive mental health education programs for youth.

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