Antiracist Critical Literacy in Rural Appalachia: Practices and Possibilities (Poster 29)

• In Event: Excellence in Education Research: Early Career Scholars and Their Work

Abstract

"The contextual nature of antiracist instruction necessitates this study, which aims to explore how language arts and social studies teachers in rural Appalachia enact antiracist critical literacy pedagogies during short units of study (3–5 lessons). Using critical ethnographic observations, teacher interviews, and rigorous self-reflection of how her own Whiteness and non-rural background influence interpretation of classroom interactions, the researcher will examine the practices and possibilities of rural antiracist instruction.

Preliminary results for Case 1 revealed the first-grade teacher participant’s demonstrable commitment to inclusive pedagogies. She fostered a welcoming classroom community in which her typically-abled students embraced and celebrated the unique contributions of their classmate with autism. In her lessons about diversity and difference, she leveraged this inclusive environment to bring about similar understandings with regard to racial and ethnic differences. However, aware that some members of the larger community regularly espoused overtly racist views, the teacher felt constrained in going beyond a surface-level examination of racial difference. Further, there existed an underlying tension between her personal belief in the need for antiracist instruction and her limited autonomy to plan and execute these types of lessons given the district’s requirement that teachers adhere strictly to a time-consuming scripted curriculum.

Cross-case analysis of units taught by seven additional teachers spanning all grade levels (K–12) in different Appalachian communities will yield understandings about teaching rural students to reject racism and build empathy with people of all races/ethnicities amidst political rhetoric aimed at maintaining an education system that reveres and rewards Whiteness."

Author

• Rachelle Kuehl, Virginia Tech
  Presenting Author