ERIC Number: EJ906338
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Nov
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0034-527X
EISSN: N/A
Challenging Ethnocentric Literacy Practices: (Re)Positioning Home Literacies in a Head Start Classroom
Souto-Manning, Mariana
Research in the Teaching of English, v45 n2 p150-178 Nov 2010
In what ways can teachers incorporate young people's home and community literacy practices into classrooms when such practices vastly differ from the teachers' literacy experiences? How can teacher education curriculum and teaching influence teachers' pedagogical practices? How can children's roles be pedagogically reframed and become meaningful strengths in classrooms? Grounded in these interrelated research questions, this article documents some of the influences of Freirean culture circle as an approach to inservice teacher education on the ways in which two Head Start teachers and a teacher educator negotiated and navigated within and across home and school literacy practices, co-creating a curriculum based on generative themes and making early education meaningful to children from multiple backgrounds. Further, it proposes that conducting extensive ethnographic studies is not a prerequisite to creating pedagogical spaces that honor children's home literacy practices and cultural legacies. Findings indicate that as teachers seek to build on young children's language and literacy strengths, it is pedagogically beneficial to engage in documenting glimpses of home literacy practices within and across contexts while simultaneously challenging and (re)positioning ethnocentric definitions of literacy by engaging young children as authentic curriculum designers. (Contains 3 figures and 1 note.)
Descriptors: Disadvantaged Youth, Teacher Education Curriculum, Curriculum Development, Young Children, Emergent Literacy, Family School Relationship, Federal Programs, Early Childhood Education, Ethnography, Preschool Children, Inservice Teacher Education, Teacher Educators, Early Intervention, Ethnocentrism, Cultural Awareness
National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A