Instruction by © 2018 Leah Mortenson M.A., University of Kansas, 2015 B.A., Augustana College, 2011
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1 Integrating Social Justice Curricula into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Instruction By © 2018 Leah Mortenson M.A., University of Kansas, 2015 B.A., Augustana College, 2011 Submitted to the graduate degree program in Curriculum and Teaching and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chair: Hyesun Cho Dr. Heidi Hallman Dr. Bruce Frey Dr. Paul Markham Dr. John Rury Date Defended: 9 November 2018 2 The dissertation committee for Leah Mortenson certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Integrating Social Justice Curricula into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Instruction Co-Chair: Hyesun Cho Co-Chair: Heidi Hallman Date Approved: 13 November 2018 3 Abstract This study responds to a gap identified in the literature regarding the discussion of social justice issues including racism in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages or TESOL (Cho, 2016; Guerrettaz & Zahler, 2017; Kubota & Lin, 2006) and the ways in which ESOL instructors both conceive of Social Justice Pedagogy (SJP) and engage with topics such as the impact of discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, class, privilege, and language on individuals’ experiences and opportunities. This study followed three white university ESOL instructors in an EAP program in a major metropolitan area on the East Coast and sought to answer the following questions: How do these instructors conceive of Social Justice Pedagogy? In what ways does their “whiteness” enter into the classroom when discussing racial and social justice issues? What practical lessons that can be gleaned from these instructors’ practices for TESOL educators who seek to engage in SJP? This semester-long qualitative study employed classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with teachers and students, and document review of syllabi, assignments, and classroom resources. A holistic framework integrating DiAngelo’s (2018) concept of white fragility, Kelly’s (1986) orientations towards teacher neutrality, and Banks’ (2004a) conception of democratic education shed light on instructors’ positions towards SJP and their impact on the classroom interactions that occurred. Findings highlight that instructors’ assumptions about teacher neutrality and what comprises a democratic education influenced their teaching about and for social justice concerns. Implications for practice and research are discussed. Key Words: Social Justice Pedagogy, TESOL, EAP, Critical Pedagogy, Teacher Neutrality 4 This dissertation is dedicated to my father, who opened up the world to me when he inspired my love of reading from a young age, showed me how big the world is, and served as my first academic role model. Thank you for continually demonstrating to me what true courage looks like, and for sharing the title Dr. Mortenson with me. 5 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my parents for their unending support of me in all stages of life. You have always seen the good in me and have served as the best role models I could hope for, and have provided constant and necessary reminders of what loyalty, sincerity, and kindness look like. Your combined artistry, grace, and depth of humanity have made me who I am today. Thank you for loving me— your Leekster Beekster Bippety Bop. Thank you to my husband, who has supported me every step of this journey and never doubted for a moment that I would be able to complete this goal I set forth for myself. Your unwavering support, encouragement, and unconditional love has allowed me to reach heights I never dreamed of before meeting you. To my advisor, Hyesun Cho, thank you for guiding me from my very first semester at K.U. as a master’s student. I will never forget walking into your office for the first one-on-one meeting we had; talking to you about the state of education in the U.S. I felt nervous, inspired, and understood, and I knew right away based on your passion and drive that I wanted to work with you. You have opened up many doors for me, have pushed me past my own self- constructed limits, and have provided a critical eye to my academic work. Thank you. To my committee members, thank you for holding me and my work to a high standard. I am so grateful for the time you have taken out of your lives to meet with me one-on-one, to talk on the phone, to meet via Zoom, and to read multiple drafts along the way. Your support has made this possible. 6 Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 7 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .......................................................................................................................................... 7 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................................................................ 11 LIMITATIONS/DELIMITATIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 12 RESEARCHER POSITIONALITY ........................................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2: TEACHING CONTEXT ........................................................................................................ 16 BACKGROUND AND TEACHING CONTEXT AT U.S.A. UNIVERSITY ............................................................................................ 16 THE ELA PROGRAM AT U.S.A. UNIVERSITY....................................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................... 18 RACE AND NATIVE SPEAKERISM IN TESOL ........................................................................................................................ 18 SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION ........................................................................................................................................... 22 HIGHER EDUCATION AND ELLS ....................................................................................................................................... 26 TEACHER NEUTRALITY VS. TEACHING AS A POLITICAL ACT .................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 4: THEORETICAL FRAMING ................................................................................................. 32 CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION IN AN EAP SETTING ........................................................................................................... 32 CRITICAL RACE THEORY ................................................................................................................................................. 35 WHITE FRAGILITY ......................................................................................................................................................... 40 TEACHER AGENCY, IDENTITY, AND ORIENTATION ................................................................................................................ 45 KEY TERMS.................................................................................................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH DESIGN ............................................................................................................ 51 STUDY OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................................ 51 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 51 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................................... 52 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................................ 56 CHAPTER 6: TEACHER PROFILES .......................................................................................................... 59 HELEN ........................................................................................................................................................................ 60 JANA .......................................................................................................................................................................... 63 BEN ........................................................................................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER 7: THEMES ............................................................................................................................... 66 INFLUENCE OF BACKGROUND ON TEACHER AS AGENT ......................................................................................................... 67 STRATEGIES FOR CREATING CONTEXT ............................................................................................................................... 86 PRIVILEGE, POWER, AND “HANDLING GREY” ..................................................................................................................