“When Can We Make Paper Cranes?”: Examining Pre-Service Teachers’ Resistance to Critical Readings of Historical Fiction
Abstract
There has been much recent scholarship on the importance of engaging students of all ages in the critical readings of texts. This study explores a group of pre-service teachers' responses to a set of experiences designed to encourage them to respond critically to several picture book versions of the American-Japanese conflict in World War II, focusing particular attention on Sadako by Eleanor Coerr (1993). Although a presentation by a visiting scholar from Japan highlighted the “constructedness” of the Sadako myth and outlined the historical and cultural inaccuracies of Coerr's telling of the story, the pre-service teachers in the study chose to believe the truth of the story and based their choices about teaching this literature to children on their pre-existing assumptions. The study examines reasons the pre-service teachers may have responded as they did and challenges teacher educators to develop more effective methods to support pre-service teachers as they select literature and develop their own pedagogical strategies to promote thoughtful critical conversations.
Reference
Apol, L., Sakuma, A., Reynolds, T. M., & Rop, S. K. (2002). “When Can We Make Paper Cranes?”: Examining Pre-Service Teachers’ Resistance to Critical Readings of Historical Fiction. Journal of Literacy Research, 34(4), 429–464. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15548430jlr3404_3
Journal
Journal of Literacy Research
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
- early childhood
- Elementary
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- Children's Literature Course
Preservice Participants
Preservice Sample Size
28
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
Data Analysis Tools
- coding to a prior categories
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
"...explores a group of pre-service teachers’ responses to a set of experiences designed to en-courage them to respond critically to several picture book versions of the American-Japanese conflict in World War II, focusing particular attention on Sadako by Eleanor Coerr (1993)." (p. 429)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? No
"...examines reasons the pre-service teachers may have responded as they did and challenges teacher educators to develop more effective methods to support pre-service teachers as they select literature and develop their own pedagogical strategies to promote thoughtful critical conversations." (p.429)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? No