ERIC Number: EJ950004
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1047-6210
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Inhabiting the "Tragic Gap": Pre-Service Teachers Practicing Racial Literacy
Mosley, Melissa; Rogers, Rebecca
Teaching Education, v22 n3 p303-324 2011
Set in the context of a teacher education program, this study examined how three White pre-service teachers participate in book club discussions of children's literature. We asked: When White pre-service teachers are in a context that enables talk about race, racism and anti-racism, what do they talk about? What conceptual and discursive tools do they use? We were guided by these questions, along with theoretical perspectives of racial literacy, multicultural discourses and a form of critical discourse analysis referred to as "positive discourse analysis" or "reconstructive discourse analysis". Our analysis illustrates that the participants held two questions, what constitutes racism and what makes a person a White ally, without firm resolution in the form and function of their talk. Their discourses illustrate that racial literacy involves what teachers say and also a willingness to stand in the space of indeterminacy, which may create space for new social positions. We argue for a continued theorization of critical discourse analysis alongside of racial literacy and multicultural discourses. (Contains 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Preservice Teacher Education, Childrens Literature, Race, Teacher Education Programs, Discourse Analysis, Racial Bias, Literacy, Teacher Education, Teacher Educators, Preschool Teachers, Whites, Reading Strategies, Books, Clubs, Epistemology, Interviews, Social Justice, Racial Factors
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A