CRITICAL LITERACY PRACTICES, SOCIAL ACTION PROJECTS, AND THE READER WHO STRUGGLES IN SCHOOL Courtney Marie Bauer, B.F.A., M.Ed. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2011 APPROVED: Carol Wickstrom, Major Professor Mariela Nuñez-Janes, Minor Professor Leslie Patterson, Committee Member Nancy Anderson, Committee Member Nancy Nelson, Chair of the Department of Teacher Education and Administration James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Bauer, Courtney Marie. Critical Literacy Practices, Social Action Projects, and the Reader Who Struggles in School. Doctor of Philosophy (Reading), December 2011, 310 pp., 31 tables, 3 illustrations, references, 84 titles. This study, conducted at an urban public school, explored the engagements of five, fourth grade, African American students who struggled with reading in school as they participated in critical literacy practices and social action projects with the assumption that critical analysis of written texts and concrete social actions were necessary for student empowerment. Using Discourse Analysis within a microethnographic framework, participants’ responses were analyzed. Early in the study, participants were hesitant to join in critical conversations about race. Over time, as participants deepened their critical literacy engagements, they divulged lived racism both in their private and public worlds. Specifically, the participants described the tensions and transgressions they experienced as minorities from civil rights curriculum, teachers and other students. The findings revealed instead of text based analyses, critical literacy practices transformed into the participants’ critical analysis of racism they experienced in their various worlds (home, school, and the larger, outside world) through language (not text). Similarly, the pre-conceived idea of social action projects changed from the creation of concrete products or actions into discussions in which mainstream discourse was interrupted. Tacit and overt understandings about race, identity and power suggested that the participants assumed multiple and contradictory identities (such as “victim of racism” and “racially prejudiced”) that both empowered and oppressed others in the social action group. Implications for critical literacy practices include that empowering and liberating pedagogy through ‘risky conversations’ is difficult, transitory and radical within the context of school. Copyright 2011 by Courtney Marie Bauer ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people to thank for all their support, love, and guidance throughout this journey. First, I am deeply grateful to my husband and children, Matthew Crummey, Zoey Crummey and Siobhan Crummey, without whom I would have never started or completed this program. Your patience and support allowed me to spend countless hours studying, writing, and attending classes. I also am indebted to my committee, Dr. Carol Wickstrom, Dr. Leslie Patterson, Dr. Nancy Anderson and Dr. Mariela Nunez-Janes. I appreciate all your time, support and wisdom as I have gone through this process. To all my many friends and extended family who helped me finish the dissertation, I’m sure I would not have completed my ‘big book report project’ if you hadn’t sacrificed your time and expertise. This includes my parents, my sister Megan Bauer, and my good friends and cheerleaders, Tamica McClarty, Dana Brooks, and Charlene Kalinski Lastly, I am deeply grateful to all my participants, Selma, Hannah, Florence, Stephen and Ian. Thank you for your honesty and your trust in me to share your stories. You have forever changed me as a teacher and researcher and I hope that this study inspires other students and teachers to have the courage to engage in risky and radical conversations. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xv CHAPTER 1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................. 6 Significance of the Study ........................................................................... 6 Framework and Research Questions ........................................................ 9 Evolution of the Research Question ................................................ 9 Definition of Terms ................................................................................... 10 Summary ................................................................................................. 14 Organization of the Research Report ...................................................... 14 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................. 16 Sociocultural Theory of Literacy ............................................................... 18 Critical Pedagogy, the Critical Pedagogue, and Research ...................... 23 Critical Sociocultural Theory .................................................................... 25 The Role of Identity ....................................................................... 26 The Role of Power ........................................................................ 27 Critical Race Theory ................................................................................ 28 Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Language Awareness ................ 30 Critical Literacy ........................................................................................ 33 iv Review of Critical Literacy Research in the Classroom............................ 37 Increased Student Interaction ....................................................... 38 Critical Analysis of Language Increased ....................................... 41 Critical Thinking Skills Increased ................................................... 42 A Call to Action.............................................................................. 43 Misinterpretations of Critical Literacy ............................................ 45 Summary ................................................................................................. 48 3. CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ........................................................................... 50 Introduction .............................................................................................. 50 Background of the Study.......................................................................... 50 Readers who Struggle in School ................................................... 51 Discovering Critical Literacy .......................................................... 52 Complexity of Critical Literacy: Race and Resistance in the Classroom .......................................................................... 53 Purposeful Sampling of Participants ........................................................ 54 Importance of Selecting ‘Readers who Struggle’ in School ........... 54 Criteria for and Selection of ‘Readers who Struggle ...................... 55 Identifying Racial Affiliation ........................................................... 58 Participants .............................................................................................. 59 Hannah ......................................................................................... 59 Academic Performance ...................................................... 59 Personal Background and Teacher Observations .............. 60 v Florence ........................................................................................ 62 Academic Performance ...................................................... 62 Personal Background and Teacher Observations .............. 63 Stephen ......................................................................................... 65 Academic Performance ...................................................... 65 Personal Background and Teacher Observations .............. 66 Selma ........................................................................................... 66 Academic Performance ...................................................... 67 Personal Background and Teacher Observations .............. 67 Ian ................................................................................................. 69 Academic Performance ...................................................... 69 Personal Background and Teacher Observations .............. 70 White Teacher ............................................................................... 71 Childhood ........................................................................... 73 Peace Corps ....................................................................... 74 Teacher .............................................................................. 76 Graduate School ................................................................ 77 Teacher as Researcher ...................................................... 77 Summary of Participants .......................................................................... 78 Context of the Study ...............................................................................