Lessons on Economic Inequality in the Language Arts Curriculum

• In Event: Roundtable Session 56
  In Roundtable Session: Teaching About Economic Inequality Across the High School Curriculum

Abstract

If one way to foster critical consciousness and engage students in sociopolitical issues is through critical literacy, then the English classroom is a natural space for students to read about, reflect on, and discuss issues related to economic inequality (Lewison, Flint, & Van Sluys, 2002). While social studies teachers are typically delegated the task of educating about civic and social responsibility, English teachers can nurture such knowledge and habits of mind through considered choice and use of literary works (Wolk, 2007). Having a wide array of texts and methods to draw on, English teachers are in a powerful and unique position to teach about social, economic, and political issues (Wolk, 2007).

This paper presents findings derived from two interrelated data sets, one set quantitative, the other qualitative, and both subsumed within the Inequality Project described elsewhere in this session proposal. The first data set was acquired by surveying 976 English teachers at representative U.S. and Canadian high schools, with questions aimed at ascertaining (1) whether a teacher addresses issues related to economic inequality, (2) how a teacher addresses issues related to economic inequality, and (3) why a teacher addresses (or ignores) issues related to economic inequality. A particular focus of the paper is teacher use of novels to introduce and explore relevant topics. The qualitative data set was acquired in interviews with 50 English teachers whose survey responses identified them as engaged in teaching about economic inequality, with interviews exploring links between teacher beliefs and attitudes (as revealed in survey responses) and teacher practices (as shared in interviews).

A preliminary analysis of the survey data reveals that in both the United States and Canada about 98% of English teachers reported having taught about economic inequality at least once during the semester, and 36% of Canadian English teachers and 38% of U.S. English teachers reported having taught about it at least once a week. Reading fiction and non-fiction with students where economic inequality is a theme was the strategy most frequently cited by both U.S. and Canadian teachers. The most common examples of novels named in both countries include classics like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. More contemporary examples include Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner in Canada, Barbara Ehrenreich’s non-fiction bestseller, Nickel and Dimed in the United States, and Sherman Alexie’s young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in both countries.

The significance of this study lies in its use of two unique data sets to (1) highlight differences and similarities in how U.S. and Canadian high school English teachers address economic inequality; (2) explore teacher practices related to planning and delivery of lessons on economic inequality; and (3) identify potential markers of difference distinguishing English teachers from teachers in other subject areas.

Authors

• Agata Soroko, University of Ottawa

• Matthew Brillinger, University of Ottawa