Attempting to Reconcile Disciplinary Literacy and Antiracism: Informational Texts and Middle-Grades English Language Arts

• In Event: Sign of the Times: Public Education in an Era for Racial Justice

Abstract

This paper presents analysis of teacher talk in four Community of Practice sessions with four middle-grades English Language Arts teachers in one school district. The study was to understand teachers’ use of informational text and to what extent those uses embody disciplinary literacy practices and anti-racist goals. Thematic analysis of session transcripts and interviews showed that teachers’ use of informational text was narrowed and fragmented by standards, district curriculum, an emphasis on standardized testing, and the current socio-political context. These factors influenced the purposes and practices associated with informational text instruction. Instruction focused primarily on basic reading skills. Teachers conceptualized equity as supporting students’ reading score improvement and persistence. Discussions of race were avoided.

Authors

• Chandra L. Alston, North Carolina State University

• Sarah Byrne Bausell, North Carolina State University