Preservice Teacher Understanding of the School-to-Prison Nexus in a Young Adult Literature Book Club

• In Event: From “Micro” to “Macro”: Exploring Possibilities for Repair in Teacher Credentialing, Evaluation, and Curriculum Policymaking

Abstract

This paper examines whether and how seven secondary certification preservice teachers (PSTs) in the US Midwest deepen their understanding about the school-to-prison nexus in a book club centered around two young adult novels. The paper is jointly informed by critical literacy and mapping practices. Data analyzed include three recorded and transcribed book club sessions and participant-generated artifacts, including their map of the school-to-prison nexus and their individual abolitionist action plans. In contrast to research that found young adult texts may reify PST biases, findings in this paper point to new possibilities for utilizing young adult literature alongside scholarly texts, classroom discussion, and mapmaking to support building PST critical consciousness.

Author

• Mary McConnaha, Michigan State University