Seeing the everyday through new lenses: Pedagogies and practices of literacy educators with a critical stance
Abstract
This article explores the practices and pedagogies of six literacy teacher educators with a critical stance. In this qualitative research study, three semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant over a three-year period. They were able to negotiate a critical stance into their teacher education courses in several ways: using an expansive definition of literacy; helping student teachers shed deficit perspectives; and integrating popular culture and media in the curriculum. The LTEs conceptualizations of literacy transcended traditional notions such as literacy as a set of autonomous skills (e.g., reading, writing) to include expansive notions of literacy including out of school literacy practices such as home literacies and community literacies. The literacy teacher educators modeled valuing expansive conceptions of literacy by including a wide range of texts in their courses, includ- ing: videos, blogs, spoken word, spaces, theatre, and social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook). The teacher educators’ progressive views of literacy were negotiated into their classroom by creating invitations for student teachers to disrupt their assumptions of literacy. Implications for literacy teacher education courses include incorporating a range of texts and genres, which model expansive understandings of literacy, while modeling for student teachers how to effectively integrate them into literacy teaching. Implications for pre-service teacher education programs include building partnerships in the community including both traditional (e.g., schools) and non-traditional (e.g., community centers) learning spaces.
Reference
Dharamishi, P. (2018). Seeing the everyday through new lenses: Pedagogies and practices of literacy educators with a critical stance. Teacher Education Quarterly,Winter, 7-29.
Journal
Teacher Education Quarterly
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
- Grounded theory
- Qualitiative
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
- Multiple levels of certification across programs
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
Preservice Sample Size
0
Other Participant Data
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Interviews
- Syllabi from University courses
Data Analysis Tools
- coding (selective)
- Constant comparative analysis
- NVivo software
- Open coding
Researcher Positionality
Research Questions
1. What are the practices and pedagogies of LTEs with a critical stance?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
2. What learning opportunities do LTEs provide their student teachers to encourage the development of dispositions and skills needed to teach in today's classrooms?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes