Search

Rooted in critical pedagogy and situated learning theory, this collaborative self-study examined how six teacher educators from different institutions worked to improve their culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) and activism practice. Data sources included participants' weekly journals, critical friends' feedback, and field notes and audio-video recordings of virtual meetings. Through constant-comparative analysis, three major themes emerged: we engaged in recursive cycles of (re)conceptualizations of CSP and activism, our evolving conceptualizations (re)shaped our practice, and we built a communal responsibility-a deep seated commitment to the success of all group members. This study suggests collaborative critical reflection on CSP and activism is beneficial to practitioners, including teacher educators.

Activism is a term used frequently within and beyond educational settings, but the term is not always clearly defined. Using content analysis of over 150 picturebooks depicting activism, we strive to provide specificity to what activism is and make it tangible for readers and teachers. Through content analysis, we investigate key themes, characters, and actions in these books. From this analysis, we present a framework of head, heart, and world books. This framework illuminates the nuances of what activism can be from every day to transformative actions in making communities, local and global, a more equitable place. The article emphasizes the importance of using a variety of picturebooks on activism in classrooms to empower teachers and children to think critically about texts and be changemakers in the world.

This paper delves into the responses of two preservice teachers (PTs) in a book club on children's literature depicting activism and critical social issues. Through multiple sessions of reading, reflecting on, and discussing activism in various picturebooks, the PTs grappled with their own beliefs and connections to activism. Employing Bahktin's theory of authoritative discourse(s) and a lens of #CurriculumSoWhite, we examine how the two PTs navigated the discourses of neutrality and apolitical teaching with an imposing discourse around activism in education. These frames together highlight the pervasiveness of whiteness in education. Findings indicate how the PTs engaged in the zone of conflict and created their own discourse of being a "good" teacher in both these spaces. While trying to save face in the imposing discourse of activism, the study amplifies the pervasive presence of whiteness in teaching and teacher education, unveiling how PTs navigate or appeal to these discourses in their reflections. The significance of this research lies in highlighting the complex negotiation of authoritative discourses and the implications for fostering transformative pedagogies centered around activism and critical social issues in the classroom. It underscores the need for longitudinal work in fostering communities of teachers prepared to challenge authoritative discourses of whiteness and embrace justice-oriented pedagogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activism is a term used frequently within and beyond educational settings, but the term is not always clearly defined. Using content analysis of over 150 picturebooks depicting activism, we strive to provide specificity to what activism is and make it tangible for readers and teachers. Through content analysis, we investigate key themes, characters, and actions in these books. From this analysis, we present a framework of head, heart, and world books. This framework illuminates the nuances of what activism can be from every day to transformative actions in making communities, local and global, a more equitable place. The article emphasizes the importance of using a variety of picturebooks on activism in classrooms to empower teachers and children to think critically about texts and be changemakers in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rooted in critical pedagogy and situated learning theory, this collaborative self-study examined how six teacher educators from different institutions worked to improve their culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) and activism practice. Data sources included participants' weekly journals, critical friends' feedback, and field notes and audio-video recordings of virtual meetings. Through constant-comparative analysis, three major themes emerged: we engaged in recursive cycles of (re)conceptualizations of CSP and activism, our evolving conceptualizations (re)shaped our practice, and we built a communal responsibility-a deep seated commitment to the success of all group members. This study suggests collaborative critical reflection on CSP and activism is beneficial to practitioners, including teacher educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]