White Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions and their Development of Culturally Relevant Literacy Practices

Existent literature purports that providing White teacher candidates with increased exposure to urban schools in order to create culturally competent educators has failed. These findings reflect the notion that teacher ideologies and overall perspectives about working with diverse student groups must be harnessed in a genuine ethic of care and intentionality for students of color. However, few studies have taken the approach of examining the development of culturally relevant pedagogy through context-specific field experiences using content-specific courses. This study examines the perspectives of twenty-five White pre-service teachers from a predominately White, private university regarding their initial perceptions and gained conceptual understanding of culturally relevant pedagogy while teaching reading at an urban middle school. Findings were consistent with previous literature that White pre-service teachers are more interested and comfortable teaching in suburban and private schools and held implicit about teaching in urban schools. However, through the course and urban field experience, pre-service teachers were able to develop teaching behaviors that were deemed culturally relevant(Ladson-Billings, 1995) for teaching reading, and were better prepared to work with students from diverse backgrounds

Strengthening the Reader Self-Efficacies of Reluctant and Struggling Readers Through Literature Circles

Although a subskills approach to reading instruction is merited in improving the reading skills of struggling readers, struggling readers also benefit from balanced literacy instruction. An overemphasis on reading subskills arguably minimizes students’ enjoyment of reading and motivation to read and may inevitably result in the formation of reluctant or struggling readers. In turn, this may diminish the self-efficacies of reluctant or struggling readers. I designed an embedded multiple case study framed by social cognitive theory to explore the potential influence of literature circles, a balanced literacy instructional strategy, on the reader self-efficacies of reluctant and struggling readers in Grades 4–6. In terms of reader self-efficacy, reluctant and struggling readers appeared to benefit more from participating in literature circles than their classmates (i.e., students with initially higher reader self-efficacies). This study is significant in providing support for a more balanced approach to reading instruction, particularly for reluctant and struggling readers

Separate is never equal: Utilizing question-answer relationships to foster elementary students’ reading comprehension

This chapter presents lessons for the English language arts and reading classroom using the Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) strategy with the book Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family\u27s Fight for Desegregation. Both the book and the lessons presented center on historical and contemporary issues surrounding school segregation, desegregation, and resegregation. Thus, the lessons presented in this chapter are also appropriate for the social studies classroom and may be used to address curriculum standards set forth by the National Council for the Social Studies. Through its use of both explicit and implicit questioning, the Question­Answer Relationships strategy can be utilized to help students prepare for the types of questions that they may encounter on standardized examinations. Separate Is Never Equal and the lessons that follow celebrate the accomplishments of people of color and linguistically diverse peoples in enacting societal change within the United States

Melding Critical Literacy and Christianity: A Three-Layered Response to the Murder of George Floyd

In this critical autoethnography, I share my three-layered response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department in May of 2020. This three-layered response stems from my situated identities (Gee, 1999) as a mother, Christian, and academic. I was not only appalled by the dehumanization of George Floyd by public servants but also by the responses of self-professed Christians to his murder as well as the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests. Such responses, I argue, are rooted in Christian nationalism (Davis & Perry, 2020) and the White supremacy that has long plagued the American church (Douglass, 1845). I recommend the application of critical literacy (Freire, 2014) to Scripture to uncover biblical teachings related to oppression, dehumanization, and social justice. Moreover, I recommend the application of critical literacy within education to enact a praxis—a process of reflection and action—amongst students that seeks to transform society

“We listened to each other:” Social-emotional growth in literature circles

Literature circles undoubtedly foster literacy. Yet successful participation in literature circles requires social and emotional competence of students. This article presents findings from a study of a fifth-grade student who demonstrated social-emotional growth while participating in literature circles. Specifically, growth in intrapersonal and interpersonal skills such as self-management, social awareness, social metacognition, and empathy were evident. These findings suggest that literature circles not only foster literacy but also social-emotional learning

Second Reaction: Consumed by Mystery in the Mammoth Cave (review)

Jennifer Bradbury’s River Runs Deep is a pre–Civil War mystery that envelopes the reader in the story of Elias Harrigan, a twelve-year-old boy who is ill with consumption (tuberculosis). Unfortunately for Elias, he lives in an era that predates modern medicine. In a last-ditch effort to save his life, Elias is sent to Kentucky to be treated by Dr. John Croghan. Though Dr. Croghan employs several unusual treatments, he primarily believes that the Mammoth Cave, in which his practice is housed, will prove beneficial for his patients. Elias is the youngest of Dr. Croghan’s patients and soon becomes restless and perhaps even a little stir-crazy as he begins to believe that someone is speaking to him from outside his hut. Luckily for Elias, the doctor prescribes some exercise, and he is allowed to venture around the Mammoth Cave with a few of the doctor’s most trusted slaves. Yet Elias’s association with the slaves begins to draw suspicion. Ultimately, Elias’s health, trustworthiness, and loyalty are tested as the novel unfolds

Second Reaction: Ability Over Stigma

Upon first glance, Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah seems to be a book about a young African bicyclist. A closer examination of the cover, however, reveals that the main character, Emmanuel, is miraculously using only one leg to ride his bicycle in this biographical tale

White Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions and their Development of Culturally Relevant Literacy Practices

Existent literature purports that providing White teacher candidates with increased exposure to urban schools in order to create culturally competent educators has failed. These findings reflect the notion that teacher ideologies and overall perspectives about working with diverse student groups must be harnessed in a genuine ethic of care and intentionality for students of color. However, few studies have taken the approach of examining the development of culturally relevant pedagogy through context-specific field experiences using content-specific courses. This study examines the perspectives of twenty-five White pre-service teachers from a predominately White, private university regarding their initial perceptions and gained conceptual understanding of culturally relevant pedagogy while teaching reading at an urban middle school. Findings were consistent with previous literature that White pre-service teachers are more interested and comfortable teaching in suburban and private schools and held implicit about teaching in urban schools. However, through the course and urban field experience, pre-service teachers were able to develop teaching behaviors that were deemed culturally relevant(Ladson-Billings, 1995) for teaching reading, and were better prepared to work with students from diverse backgrounds