University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2017 Educating critically : challenging the familiar contours of literacy teacher education. Bianca Nightengale-Lee University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons Recommended Citation Nightengale-Lee, Bianca, "Educating critically : challenging the familiar contours of literacy teacher education." (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2824. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2824 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ! ! ! ! EDUCATING!CRITICALLY:!CHALLENGING!THE!FAMILIAR!CONTOURS!OF!LITERACY! TEACHER!EDUCATION! ! ! By! Bianca!Nightengale?Lee! B.S.,!Eastern!Michigan!University,!2004! M.Ed.,!University!of!Louisville,!2012! ! A!Dissertation!! Submitted!to!the!Faculty!of!the! The!College!of!Education!and!Human!Development! in!Partial!Fulfillment!of!the!Requirements!of!the!University!of!Louisville! for!the!Degree!of!! ! Doctor!of!Philosophy! in!Curriculum!&!Instruction! ! ! Department!of!Curriculum!&!Instruction! University!of!Louisville! Louisville,!Kentucky! ! ! December,!2017! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Copyright!2017!by!Bianca!Nightengale?Lee! All!Rights!Reserved ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! EDUCATING!CRITICALLY:!CHALLENGING!THE!FAMILIAR!CONTOURS!OF!LITERACY! TEACHER!EDUCATION! ! ! By! ! ! Bianca!Nightengale?Lee! B.S.,!Eastern!Michigan!University,!2003! M.Ed.,!University!of!Louisville,!2012! ! A!Dissertation!Submitted!on! ! ! November!10,!2017! ! ! ! to!the!following!Dissertation!Committee:! ! ! _____________________________________________! Lori!Norton?Meier!Co?Chair! ! ____________________________________________! Mikkaka!Overstreet!Co?Chair! ! ____________________________________________! Shelley!Thomas! ! ____________________________________________! Meera!Alagaraja! ! ____________________________________________! Ray!Haynes! ! __________________________________________! James!Chisholm! ii!! ! DEDICATION! This!work!is!dedicated!to!Brielle,!Clinc!and!Mom.!Thank!you!for!all!you!are!and!all! you!do.!I!love!you!each!with!my!whole!heart.!! ! ! !iii! ! ! ! ! ! ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS! ! ! ! I!would!like!to!thank!my!dissertation!co?chairs!Drs.!Lori!Norton?Meier,!and! Mikkaka!Overstreet,!for!their!relentless!support,!and!patience!as!I!advanced!on!this! journey.!Secondly,!I!must!thank!my!committed!dissertation!committee,!for!their! continued!support.!I!strategically!chose!each!individual!on!the!committee!because!of! their!humanizing!approach!to!leadership,!that!predicates!on!mutual!respect,!and! collegiality.!I!truly!appreciate!each!of!you!for!the!unique!perspectives!and! contributions!that!you!have!applied!to!my!work.!! ! Outside!of!my!committee,!I’d!like!to!thank!those!professors!who!were!not! obligated!to!support!me,!but!took!a!vested!interest!my!success.!Therefore!I!extend!a! thank!you!to!Drs.!Id?Deen,!Washington,!Laman,!Carter,!Ingle,!Immekus,!Jean?Marie,! Dumas,!Kumi,!Compton,!Gattis,!Jett,!Finch,!Brown,!Johnson,!Rowland,!Foster,!and! Jean!Wolph.!I!also!must!recognize!and!thank!the!very!supportive!and!humble!staff!of! the!College!of!Education!who!have!been!a!constant!light!during!this!process,! especially,!Wanda,!Paula,!Melody,!Christine,!Steve,!Desrie,!and!Alice.! ! I!of!course!could!not!have!made!it!through!this!process!without!the!support! of!my!colleagues!and!friends!therefore!I!would!especially!like!to!thank,!Simone,! Nyree,!Tara,!Lisa,!Tytianna,!Emily,!Ashley,!Irina,!Kimberly,!Kobena,!Picandra,! Brandon,!Portia!and!Jarrod.!! ! ! i!v! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ABSTRACT! ! EDUCATING!CRITICALLY:!CHALLENGING!THE!FAMILIAR!CONTOURS!OF!LITERACY! TEACHER!EDUCATION! ! Bianca!Nightengale?Lee! ! November!10,!2017! The shifting cultural ecologies of U.S. classrooms emphasize acknowledging difference, accepting diversity, and sustaining both cultural and linguistic plurality (Banks & Banks, 2009; hooks, 1994; Paris 2014). Teacher education programs play an integral role in preparing Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) with skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessitated by a growing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) student population (Cruz, Ellerbrock, Vasquez & Howes, 2014). To enact equitable teaching practices reflective of 21st century students, PSTs need to demonstrate a level of cultural awareness that acknowledges the racially, socially, and politically charged societal structures that shape education for CLD students (Hall & Carlson, 2016). However, for Teacher Preparation Programs (TPPs), this task is complicated by the racial, cultural, and linguistic divide amid CLD students and their White teacher counterparts (Ball & Forzani, 2009). Research suggests cultural dissonance can result in a lack of knowledge and understanding about diverse students and how socio-historical oppression can affect their achievement (Brock, Case, & Taylor, 2013; Grossman & McDonald, 2008; Lazar, 2007). Thus, if White PSTs are expected to cultivate equitable classrooms, responsive of !v! the socio-cultural, linguistic, and educational needs of CLD students, then TPPs need radical alterations in curriculum and instructional design to not only deliver practical applications of classroom practice, while also providing critical understanding of literacy as “a cultural resource that can be used to challenge systems of domination” (Janks, p. 35, 2000). This idea is amplified through the current study, when exploring three strands of curricular inquiry: critical pedagogy, literacy education, and intersectional positionality. Specifically, the researcher examines how teacher candidates conceptualize curriculum that blends elementary literacy methods content and critical perspectives that critique, resist, and re-design traditional literacy practices. Utilizing a qualitative case study, multiple forms of data analysis reveal that critically oriented instruction must be taught explicitly and in multiple formats to support teachers in taking anti-hegemonic stances. vi!! ! TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix RETAINED LABELED & TRACKED .............................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 4 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 5 Study Overview ............................................................................................................... 8 Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 9 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................... 9 Methodology & Research Design ................................................................................. 12 Significance of Study .................................................................................................... 13 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 14 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................................... 15 Critical Theory ............................................................................................................... 16 Critical Literacy ............................................................................................................. 17 Criticality in Teacher Education .................................................................................... 21 Pre-Service Teachers & Cultural Dissonance ............................................................... 24 Multicultural Frameworks ............................................................................................. 27 Intersectional Positionality .................................................................................................... Summary ............................................................................................................................ 31 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 33 vii! ! ! Study Overview ............................................................................................................