“Banned” Together: Teaching Using Literature in an Age of Educational Gag Orders—An Exploratory Phenomenology

• In Event: Engaging With Critical Race Theory, Bans, and Positive Racial Identities

Abstract

The recent spate of legislation controlling educator agency, the curricula taught in schools, and the permissible materials with which to do so is escalating. Momentum is gaining in higher education, particularly teacher education programs, to enact similarly restrictive legislation. This puts both teacher educators and P-12 educators in a potentially precarious position as they attempt to best meet the needs of their respective students while also discerning when and how or if they will comply with educational gag orders and other restrictive, marginalizing legislation. This study seeks to explore what students enrolled in one education program know, understand, and believe about these laws, the legislative impact on them, and how they may affect students’ attitudes and aspirations.

Authors

• Karyn A. Allee, Mercer University

• Vicki Luther, Mercer University

• Annemarie B. Kaczmarczyk, Mercer University

• Lucy Bush, Mercer University

• Kimberly H. Sampson, DeKalb County School System