Expanding Notions of Literacy: Engaging Black Women's Literacies in Teacher Education Programs

• In Event: 15.022 - Black and Latinx Issues in Teacher Retention

Abstract

In this conceptual paper, we argue that engaging Black women’s literacies within TEPs is essential to the wellbeing of Black women professors, preservice teachers, and the Black women and Black girls they teach. Moreover, we posit that honoring the literacies and identities of Black women within TEPs requires educators to adopt an inclusive understanding of literacy which honors the literacy practices of not only Black women, but other racial and cultural groups whose literacies have historically been marginalized in U.S. schools through pedagogical practice. The ultimate goal of this paper is to highlight the many ways Black women use their literacies to survive and thrive, and to imagine the ways TEPs can better assist Black women preservice teachers in this effort.

Authors

• Olivia Ann Furman, Michigan State University

• Tashal Brown, Michigan State University