“Only connect!”: Cross-cultural connections in the reading lives of preservice teachers and children. Journal of Literacy Research, 32(4), 533-569.
Abstract
In this research, we present case studies of three Anglo American preservice teachers - Clara, Luke, & Varla -as they worked with children of color and/or poverty -Sam, Reggie, and Lucinda - over the course of a semester.
In a university class entitled the Literacy/Social Studies Block, we asked the preservice teachers to look within to explore their own literary backgrounds in a reading autobiography assignment. And we encouraged them to look about as they read and discussed literature with diverse children in the Child as Teacher Project. Here we argue that the combination of autobiographical accounts with reflective field experiences helps preservice teachers reconsider their life stories in reading in order to build bridges of literacy to and with children.
Reference
Wolf, S. A., Ballentine, D., & Hill, L. A. (2000). “Only connect!”: Cross-cultural connections in the reading lives of preservice teachers and children. Journal of Literacy Research, 32(4), 533-569.
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
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- Community center
- Literacy/Social Studies Block
Preservice Participants
- Post bachs (university based program)
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
3
Other Participant Data
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Analytic papers
- assignments
- Autobiographies
- fieldnotes
- Interviews
Data Analysis Tools
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
"how the preservice teachers' preliminary understandings of what it means to be a teacher of literature might be transformed through the sharing of stories, including (a) their own reading autobiographies, (b) their children's stories of family and school, (c) research narratives of race, ethnicity, and class, (d) literary tales, as well as (e) the preservice teachers reflections on how to connect their prose with the passion of teaching and being taught by children." (p. 540)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes