Becoming a Teacher of Literacy: The struggle between authoritative discourses
Abstract
This study describes and analyzes the influence of an ideological conflict between a teacher educa- tion program and a school district upon one pre-service teacher’s emerging identity as a teacher of literacy. Using poststructural feminism as the theoretical framework and a single case study analy- sis, the study illustrates how the discourse of the school district’s scripted reading program and the discourse of the university’s comprehensive literacy positions Claire, the pre-service teacher. The data analysis demonstrates how being positioned between these two competing and authoritative discourses conflicts with her understanding of reading and reading instruction. Reflecting upon the data, the research becomes a self-study of the teacher educator/researchers. Four unresolved tensions seek to create spaces of resistance and change.
Reference
Legard Larson, M., & Kalmbach Phillips, D. (2005). Becoming a teacher of literacy: The struggle between authoritative discourses. Teaching Education, 16(4), 311-323.
Journal
Teaching Education
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- University-district partnership elementary after-school program
Preservice Participants
Preservice Sample Size
1
Other Participant Data
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Audiotaped and transcribed meetings
- email correspondence
- Observations
- Reflective journals
Data Analysis Tools
Researcher Positionality
- Inside (studying their own practices)
- Inside (studying their own programs)
Research Questions
How do authoritative discourses of a district's scripted reading programs that clash with university discourses of comprehensive literacy impact student teachers in an after school literacy program?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? No
How might teacher educators reframe practices to create spaces of resistance within teacher education?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Combination