“We sort of broke out of that…”: Negotiating Time, Space, and Praxis through Critical Literacy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Narratives of Identity, Resistance, and Reflective Practice

Abstract

This study explores how a fourth-grade teacher exercised professional agency to resist mandated literacy practices and reimagine them through critical literacy. While critical literacy is well theorized, less is known about how teachers create the conditions for its practice. Drawing on transformative teaching, Marx’s theory of praxis, and narrative inquiry, the study frames teacher narrative as action that reshapes curriculum. Findings focus on three interrelated themes—time, space, and praxis—that supported meaningful, socially engaged instruction. The study introduces a new framework positioning the interplay of these elements as central to fostering critical literacy and argues that teacher narratives can serve as powerful blueprints for transformative educational change.

Author

• Wen-Chiang Chen, University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse