What does it mean to be literate here? : the bounded nature of teaching and learning in an urban first grade classroom
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Beginning around the turn of the 21st century, a large number of American public school classrooms were required to implement decontextualized, skills-based literacy programs. These classrooms were primarily located in impoverished communities populated by children of color. Touted as largely "teacher-proof, " the curricula shaping Language Arts instruction was generally so rigid that they included a script for the teacher as well as examples of acceptable student responses. At the same time, the educational community was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that legitimate language need not conform to the academic model and that students who are non-native speakers of academic English have distinct intellectual needs. Using the guiding question, "What does it mean to be literate here?" this study attempted to determine the type of learning and language development that resulted from the privileging of standardized language instruction in an environment that acknowledged a diversity of language forms and structures. Using teacher-research and ethnographic methods, this teacher research study took place in a first grade classroom. Three central findings emerged. The first related to the conflation of compliance and learning. It became clear that actual instructional and curricular goals were directed at behavioral rather than academic outcomes. Building on this focus on compliance, a second finding pointed to the establishment of boundaries of acceptable academic participation. While pushing boundaries often signaled engaged participation, such boundary pushing was rarely cultivated. Finally, it became apparent that the challenging of boundaries was required for innovation and was evidence of one's ownership over work.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2012 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Akin, Rebecca |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, School of Education. |
| Primary advisor | Ball, Arnetha F, 1950- |
| Thesis advisor | Ball, Arnetha F, 1950- |
| Thesis advisor | Aukerman, Maren (Maren Songmy) |
| Thesis advisor | Carter, Prudence L |
| Thesis advisor | Lytle, Susan |
| Advisor | Aukerman, Maren (Maren Songmy) |
| Advisor | Carter, Prudence L |
| Advisor | Lytle, Susan |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Rebecca Akin. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the School of Education. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2012. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2012 by Rebecca Akin
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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