Slowly shifting out of neutral: Using young adult literature to discuss PSTs’ beliefs about racial injustice and police brutality
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: to explore how preservice teachers in a young adult literature course critically conceptualize discussions in school spaces about race and police/community relations; and to understand the constraints and affordances of using the young adult (YA) novel, All American Boys, as a critical literacy tool for discussing race and police/community relations.
Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative exploratory case study (Stake, 1995) investigated 24 pre-service teachers in two university YA literature courses as they read and discussed All American Boys. Thematic analysis consisted of open coding through the theoretical lenses of critical literacy and critical race theory.
Findings – Pre-service English language arts teachers largely thought that while race and police relations was important and the YA book was powerful, it was too political. Their fears about what might happen lead to privileging the role of neutrality as the desired goal for teachers when tackling difficult conversations about racial injustice in America. Although students made some shifts in terms of moving from neutral to more critical stances, three sub-themes of neutrality were predominant: a need for both sides of the story, the view that all beliefs are valid and the belief that we are all humans therefore all lives matter equally.
Originality/value – A search at the time of this study yielded few research tackling racial injustice and community/police relations through YA literature in the classroom. This study is important as stories of police brutality and racism are all too common and adolescents are too often the victims.
Reference
Falter, M. M., & Kerkhoff, S. N. (2018). Slowly shifting out of neutral: Using young adult literature to discuss PSTs’ beliefs about racial injustice and police brutality.
English Teaching: Practice & Critique,
17(3), 257–276.
https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-05-2017-0057
Journal
English Teaching: Practice and Critique
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
- Southeastern United States
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- young adult literature course
Preservice Participants
- Graduate Students
- Inservice
- undergraduate preservice teachers
Preservice Sample Size
24
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Classroom Discussion
- Interviews
- reflections
- Survey
Data Analysis Tools
- Constant comparative analysis
- Open coding
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to explore how preservice teachers in a young adult
literature course critically conceptualize discussions in school spaces about race and police/community
relations; and to understand the constraints and affordances of using the young adult (YA) novel, All
American Boys, as a critical literacy tool for discussing race and police/community relations.
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes