scholarly journals Are we teaching critical literacy? Reading practices in a township classroom

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Glynis Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Dominant Ideologies ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Feminist Poststructuralist ◽  
Gain Access

Despite improvements in educational provision in South Africa since 1994, the opportunities for learners from historically under-resourced schools to gain access to powerful English resources remain limited and unequal (Prinsloo 2012). In this article I will provide a detailed description of literacy practices in a township high school in Cape Town, specifically of the orientations to text that are made available to learners. I will draw on feminist poststructuralist theory, in which the subject is theorised as constructed and contested in language to construct difference. The analysis of classroom discourse and text-based tasks shows that the orientations to reading that were offered were characterised by a focus on the surface meaning of the texts and by an absence of critical engagement, despite the latter being required in the new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. The analysis reveals how the power dynamics of our racialised past and dominant ideologies about gender, class and race continue to define teaching in our classrooms in ways that limit access to the English resources that learners in under-resourced schools need for academic success.

scholarly journals Harry Potter and the Critical gaze: Autonomy pathways in literary response writing

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Glenn Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Harry Potter ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Literary Response ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
English Class ◽  
Literacy Learners

Critical literacy studies require both textual reading and a knowledge of power dynamics in context. To achieve in critical literacy, learners need to work with different kinds of knowledge and integrate them. In this paper, I analyse how learners connect representations of social injustice from a popular literary text to issues of social justice in their broader cultural context. I investigate how different forms of knowledge came together in their response to a writing task. The empirical data comes from a critical literary course taught to Grade 8 learners in an English class in the southeastern United States. I offer an analysis of an exemplary essay submitted by a learner. In the analysis, I use concepts from the Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) dimension of Autonomy to show how the essay brought together information from the literary texts and from beyond to support interpretations of the characters' stances on the rights of elves. The analysis highlights how integration of knowledge drawn from imaginary and real contexts meets both the implicit and explicit critical literacy goals of the task. The findings offer a means for understanding how autonomy pathways can support teachers and learners in recognising and realising connections between texts and broader cultural discourses in ways that align with disciplinary literacy practices.

The limits of resistant reading in critical literacy practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cori Ann McKenzie ◽  
Scott Jarvie
Keyword(s):  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Literature Instruction ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to draw from work in the field of English that questions the “limits of critique” (Felski, 2015) in order to consider the limits of critical literacy approaches to literature instruction. The study focuses on the relational and affective demands that resistant reading places on readers and texts. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from post-critical (Felski, 2015) and surface (Best and Marcus, 2009) reading practices in the field of English, the authors perform analyses of two recent articles that illustrate critical literacy approaches to literature instruction, drawing attention to the ways the resistant reading practices outlined in each article reflect Felski’s description of critique. Findings The authors’ readings of two frameworks of critical literacy approaches to literature instruction produce two key findings: first, in emphasizing resistant readings, critical literacy asks readers to take up a detective-like orientation to literature, treating texts as suspects; second, resistant reading practices promote a specific set of affective orientations toward a text, asking readers to cultivate skepticism and vigilance. Originality/value While the authors do not dismiss the importance of critical literacy approaches to literature instruction, the study makes room for other relational and affective orientations to literature, especially those that might encourage readers to listen to – and be surprised by – a text. By describing critical literacy through the lens of Felski’s work on critique, the authors aim to open up new possibilities for surprising encounters with literature.

scholarly journals Hybrid team based learning-personalised education for teaching epidemiology in public health degrees

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
T Ha ◽  
B Kemp ◽  
M Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Failure Rate ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
University Education ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Team Based Learning ◽  
The Subject

Abstract Background University education in Australia and internationally involves teaching diverse students: in terms of age, life experience, previous degrees completed, and level of English competency. In Australia the Bachelors of Public Health (BPH) at The University of Wollongong, epidemiology is a core subject. It aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to design, critique and interpret studies that investigate why different populations experience different health outcomes. A student-centred learning strategy; Hybrid Team Based Learning and Personalised Education teaching strategy (HTBL-PE) was created to maximise academic success. Each phase has a distinct purpose based on learning theories (e.g. TBL, Bloom's taxonomy and Vygotsky). HTBL-PE aims to systematically build students abilities; strengthen self-confidence and belief, by teaching the way students learn and harnessing the capabilities of the team to strengthen the individual. Objectives HTBL-PE was evaluated in spring 2019 in the BPH, where their experiences at the beginning and end of semester were measured. Results In total 73 out of 84 enrolled students provided data at both time-points (87%). At the end of the semester, the vast majority of students indicated their interest in epidemiology had increased (93%), critical thinking had improved (92%), and confidence as independent learners had increased (86%). Outcomes did not differ significantly by gender or across learning styles. More than two thirds of students had already applied learnings from this subject in other settings (67%). Students' final mark for this subject was significantly higher than their Weighted Average Mark (WAM) prior to the semester (+17.4, p < 0.001). Average scores for the subject were > 84/100 with a < 0.5% failure rate. Conclusions HTBL-PE has positive learning outcomes; low failure rates, increased confidence in learning and themselves, increased interest in epidemiology and high overall scores in the subject. Key messages An effective new innovative teaching strategy resulted in a subject average score > 84/100 and <0.5% failure rate. The vast majority of students reported increased confidence as independent lifelong learners, critical thinking, confidence in epidemiology (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) and themselves.

scholarly journals A leitura como prática de (re)socialização no Sistema Penitenciário Nacional

2017 ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Marcio José de Lima Winchuar ◽  
Diego Paiva Bahls
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Prison System ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
De Re ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
The Subject ◽  
System Mapping ◽  
Theses And Dissertations

Este trabalho tem como objetivo realizar um levantamento de pesquisas e de políticas que envolvem a leitura no sistema penitenciário nacional, mapeando dissertações e teses de programas de pós-graduação, que tiveram como tema projetos de leitura no cárcere nos últimos dez anos. Para isso, realizamos uma pesquisa no banco de dissertações e teses do Portal da Capes e na Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações. A partir do levantamento de dados, identificamos que trabalhos que envolvem a educação no sistema prisional ainda são poucos, principalmente, relacionados a práticas de leitura. Essa situação pode ser agravada, sobretudo, pela pseudoefetivação de políticas que regem esses contextos.Palavras-chave: Leitura. Sistema Prisional. Humanização.Reading as a practice of reintegration in the National Pententiary SystemABSTRACTThe objective of this study is to carry out a survey of research and policies that involve reading in the national penitentiary system, mapping of dissertations and postgraduate theses, which have had the subject of reading projects in the last ten years. For this, we conducted a research in the thesis bank of the Cover Portal and the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. From the data collection, we identified that work involving education in the prison system is still scarce, mainly, related to reading practices. This situation can be aggravated, above all, by the false effectiveness of policies that govern these contexts.Keywords: Reading. Prison System. Humanization;La lectura como práctica de (re)socialización en el Sistema Penitenciario NacionalRESUMENEste trabajo tiene como objetivo realizar un levantamiento de investigaciones y de políticas que involucran la lectura en el sistema penitenciario nacional, mapeando disertaciones y tesis de programas de postgrado, que tuvieron como tema proyectos de lectura en la cárcel en los últimos diez años. Para esto, realizamos una investigación en el banco de disertaciones y tesis del Portal da Capes y en la Biblioteca Digital Brasileña de Tesis y Disertaciones. A partir del levantamiento de datos, identificamos que trabajos que involucran la educación en el sistema penitenciario aún son pocos, principalmente, relacionados a prácticas de lectura. Esa situación puede agravarse, sobretodo, por la pseudoefectivación de políticas que rigen esos contextos.Palabras clave: Lectura. Sistema Penitencioario. Humanización.

“To Not be a Traitor of Black English”: Youth Perceptions of Language Rights in an Urban Context

2010 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-141
Author(s):  
Valerie Kinloch
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Black English ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
College Composition ◽  
Language Rights ◽  
Academic English ◽  
Youth Perceptions ◽  
College Composition And Communication

Background/Context Although progress has been made since members of the Conference on College Composition and Communication passed the Students’ Right to Their Own Language resolution (1974), there still remains a demand to examine youth perceptions of language. Such examinations can help teachers and researchers improve curricular choices, honor the lived experiences of students in classrooms, and address a systemic problem within a larger sociopolitical context: the continued failure of American public schooling to adequately educate Black students and other students of color. Purpose/Objective/Research Questions/Focus of Study The primary purpose of this article is to detail how youth perceive language rights in their academic and community lives, particularly in relation to what they name “Black English” and “Academic English.” To understand youth language perceptions, this article is guided by the following inquiry: Given the historically dichotomous relationship between Black English and Academic English, how do youth perceive language in their struggle to acquire academic success? Setting Data for this ethnographic project, which derive from a larger ongoing multiyear study on youth representations of community and literacy, were collected from two African American teenage males who reside in or near New York City's Harlem community and who graduated from the Harlem High School of New York City and currently attend local colleges in the area. Research Design The article uses a case study design to examine youth perceptions of language in their struggle to acquire academic success. Data for this study were collected from the following sources: researcher field notes, classroom observations, audio- and videotaped “rap” sessions, formal and informal interview meetings, participants’ written responses to and verbal conversations on a series of 10 questions that we collaboratively designed over a 3-month period, and data member checking sessions. Conclusions/Recommendations The findings presented in this article highlight the potential for additional research on youth perceptions of language in relation to success and survival. Given current debates in educational research on student achievement, multiple perspectives, and the intersections of students’ lived experiences with pedagogical practices and teacher training, teachers and researchers should continue to identify the ways in which student voices, writings, and experiences are oftentimes excluded from schools. Students’ Right to Their Own Language is an important policy statement that questions U.S. mono-lingualism in multicultural, multilingual contexts. “It's who we are. It's like telling me I gotta take off my culture and identity when I leave my hood and go to a place that don't care about me. Like schools. How can I leave me and my Black English home? I'm nobody's traitor.” —Phillip, youth participant 2007 “We affirm the students’ right to their own patterns and varieties of language—the dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects in which they find their own identity and style. Language scholars long ago denied that the myth of a standard American dialect has any validity. The claim that any one dialect is unacceptable amounts to an attempt of one social group to exert its dominance over another. Such a claim leads to false advice for speakers and writers, and immoral advice for humans. A nation proud of its diverse heritage and its cultural and racial variety will preserve its heritage of dialects. We affirm strongly that teachers must have the experiences and training that will enable them to respect diversity and uphold the right of students to their own language.” —Passed by the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Fall 19741

Black Youth Poetry of 2020 and Reimagined Literacies

2021 ◽  
pp. 1086296X2110522
Author(s):  
Katie Sciurba
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Black Children ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Black Arts ◽  
Literacy Initiatives ◽  
The World

In response to anti-Black policing in 2020 that led to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Black children and teens turned to poetry as a means to channel their self-described terror, rage, pain, horror, tiredness, and need for change. Reminiscent of the poetry of the Black Arts Movement and works published in The Black Panther newspaper, these poems, many of which call for a “revolution,” are reflective of young people’s critical engagements with the world and the word. With critical literacy as a framework, I engage in critical discourse analysis to determine how the young poets reimagine literacy as they protest anti-Black policing and racism. By focusing on young people’s own grassroots literacy initiatives, which call for the reimagination of blackness and whiteness, and demand truth, justice, and reimagined futures, I demonstrate how educators can reimagine literacy practices to center students’ criticalities and prioritize racial justice.

Supporting Content and Disciplinary Literacy Success for Adolescents With LLD: A Blended and Contextualized Morphological Awareness Strategy Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Julie A. Wolter ◽  
Laura Green
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Disciplinary Literacy ◽  
Academic Science ◽  
General Strategy ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Academic Curriculum

Purpose: As adolescents progress through the upper grades, reading and writing demands become increasingly challenging for students with and without a language and literacy deficit (LLD). The literacy education community recommends that reading and writing instruction be infused in the academic curriculum and emphasizes disciplinary literacy practices. Disciplinary literacy may be too advanced for adolescents with LLD who have not yet mastered foundational written language skills. Method: A discussion is provided for how general strategy instruction, also referred to as a content area or a content literacy approach, might be integrated with disciplinary literacy practices for adolescents with and without LLD. We specifically present how morphological awareness intervention, with an explicit focus on meaning structure and related language analysis of words, can be linked to learning academic vocabulary. Our blended approach includes both content and disciplinary literacy strategies in the context of the academic science curriculum. Conclusions: Adolescents with and without LLD require ongoing support of their literacy development well beyond the elementary school years. It is important that this support include not only mastery of foundational general strategies to access complex text content in a proficient manner but also active and explicit reflection on the social complexities of text as it relates to specific disciplines. Together, such instruction and intervention, when directly applied to the academic curriculum, can help older students of all abilities achieve the optimal comprehension and learning required for academic success.

Creating Spaces for Critical Literacy for Bilingual Learners

2018 ◽  
pp. 28-46
Author(s):  
So Jung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Korean Language ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Audio Video

With heightened emphasis on critical literacy pedagogies, attention to critical literacy for young children (CLYC) has rapidly increased. Yet, there is a paucity of studies examining CLYC in bilingual settings, particularly in Pre-K contexts. Utilizing a qualitative case study design, the current study examined how early critical literacy can be implemented as a medium to help young bilinguals critique texts and develop critical perspectives about race and gender. The study was conducted in a kindergarten classroom at the Korean Language School in a Midwestern city in the US. The data were collected over a semester using multiple collection sources including audio/video recordings, observational field notes, interviews, and children's artifacts. Findings suggest the potential of early critical literacy practices in bilingual contexts to open critical conversations about race and gender with young children. The study also provides teachers with tips on how to create supportive literary environments for young bilingual children.

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