“We Could Change Lives”: Teacher Candidates Use Literature Circles to Talk About Social Justice Issues

• In Event: Roundtable Session 73
  In Roundtable Session: Race, Racism, and Teaching for Social Justice

Abstract

This paper documents the ongoing efforts of the professors in the secondary content reading methods courses to embed discussions of race into the curriculum, primarily through the use of literature discussion circles. Data collection included recording, transcribing and analyzing discussions of teacher candidates that read books targeted to address social justice issues in US public high schools. Initial results indicate a range of themes, including an increased understanding of diversity in classrooms; resistance through challenging texts purporting the degree of institutional racism in US schools; and an indication that with the right support, literature circles are a positive way to support teacher candidates’ learning about social justice.

Authors

• Marga Madhuri, University of La Verne

• Nancy T. Walker, University of La Verne

• Erica Landmann-Johnsey, University of La Verne