“We Had No Issues with this Book”: Affordances and Challenges in Critically Discussing Justice-Oriented Picturebooks

• In Event: Selecting and Teaching with Diverse Books in Challenging Times: Learning from Research with Pre-Service Teachers, Teachers, and Teacher Educators

Abstract

This study explores how 27 pre-service teachers (PSTs) engaged in critical discussions of social justice-themed picturebooks in an undergraduate children’s literature course. Using transcripts from classroom discussions and student post-discussion video reflections, the analysis revealed three patterns: reluctance to disagree, emotional responses to historical injustice, and difficulties connecting to and surfacing present-day injustices displayed in texts. Silence and surface-level participation often functioned to preserve dominant norms and limit transformative dialogue. This study highlights the importance of fostering critical literacy early in teacher preparation, emphasizing that discomfort and disagreement can be generative. It calls for intentional practice with critical conversations that challenge complicity and encourage deeper engagement with sociopolitical realities.

Authors

• Erin K. Hogan, University of Louisville

• James S. Chisholm, University of Louisville

• Amy Eisenback, University of Louisville