The Black Code: Black Educators Leverage Critical Language Awareness to Interrogate Literary Minstrelese

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Abstract

The study examined authentic curricular opportunities to lesson plan critical language study instruction to improve Black educators’ language instructional practices. Using a critical language awareness framework, a mixed methods approach was applied to measure any changes that participants reported how Black educators planned instruction to teach Black American English (BAE) when featured in a curricular text.

The findings demonstrated that although Black educators communicated changes in perceptions and knowledge about BAE, they had difficulty planning for explicit critical language study instruction. Some recommendations include providing historical context of BAE for teachers and students’ knowledge, including more student-centered authentic language study opportunities in the curriculum, and providing educators professional learning opportunities to inform inclusive ELA planning and instruction.

Author

• Sharice Lane, District of Columbia Public Schools