Contradictions in Teaching: A Collective Case Study of Middle and Secondary Teachers' Social Justice Literacies

• In Event: 66.048 - Social Justice on the Ground: Strategies for Culturally Responsive School Environments

Abstract

This qualitative collective case study explores the pedagogical practice of middle and secondary English Language Arts teachers committed to social justice. The researcher examines each teacher’s interpretation and implementation of social justice, her social justice literacies, and how she struggled to enact those literacies. Data gathered included classroom observations, interviews, and document collection. Analysis involved open and deductive coding as well as discourse analysis. The researcher found a series of contradictions in each teacher’s social justice literacies, wherein the teacher’s strength in a particular area was often diluted by her pedagogical practice or contextual limitations. Recommendations offered for pre-service teacher preparation are to centralize teacher biography, target working with colleagues, and focus instruction on cultivating students as change agents.

Author

• Ashley Summer Boyd, Washington State University - Pullman