Enacting Justice in the Age of the Common Core: Approaches to Praxis in Secondary English Language Arts

• In Event: 75.037 - Literacy and Silences: Diversity, Social Justice, and Student Voice

Abstract

Recent revisions to the NCTE-NCATE standards for the preparation of English language arts teachers require teacher educators to evaluate candidates’ social justice orientations and skillsets. This change invites teacher educators to re-vision our work as preparing candidates to advance justice through their content-area curriculum and pedagogy. In this paper, I examine how 24 ELA teachers used justice-oriented curriculum to address the priorities of the Common Core College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language. My findings underscore the efficacy of justice-oriented teaching as a strategy for addressing the critical and higher-order thinking skills prioritized in the Common Core. This paper concludes with implications for teacher educators, including applications of this work in pre-service classrooms.

Author

• Alison G Dover, California State University - Fullerton