Literacy, viewed as a social and transactional practice, has the capability to raise awareness of culturally dominant systems of meaning, thus making difference visible and questioning why certain groups have been “othered” in historical and current times. Critical literacy seeks to interrogate issues of equity present in texts and society, for individuals to make applications to their own lives, and for individuals to take action towards social justice. The purpose of this case study was to explore and describe the teaching methods used to present critical lenses to sixth-grade English and Language Arts students in order to examine and interpret texts, specifically focused on issues of racism, gender bias, exclusion, and equity. Additionally, student participants of the Literacy Research Club, utilized as co-researchers both inside and outside the English and Language Arts classroom, aided the process of curriculum construction. Ethnographic methods were used to provide thick description of the teaching methods as well as to capture student perspectives in the classroom. Data were collected over a 9-month period and included observations of classroom activities and Literacy Research Club meetings, student work samples, and transcripts of Literacy Research Club meetings and classroom literature circle discussion groups.
Data analysis included inductive analysis to explore themes, patterns, and issues emerging from the data. The goal of the data analysis was to develop a grounded theory of enacting a critical literacy curriculum in a sixth grade English and Language Arts classroom, and to explore the development of student awareness of critical perspectives and positions. Analysis revealed that written and oral language use illuminated positive or negative reactions to critical literacy including resistance to critical literacy, acceptance of critical literacy, critiquing the “norm,” power relationships, cultural production, and cultural reproduction. Student resistance was often manifested through silence and incomplete class work.
The findings of the study demonstrated that while students will participate in teacher-developed critical literacy activities, the deeply ingrained cultural beliefs and attitudes are difficult to deconstruct. As students and teachers engage in co-constructing the curriculum, the thinking and learning that occurs suggests a developmental taxonomy moving individuals from identifying inequities towards productive social action. Teachers who wish to enact a critical literacy curriculum need to work alongside their students to interrogate hegemonic beliefs, providing space to explore, question, challenge, and reframe sociocultural assumptions. Engagement in critical literacy activities has the potential to increase students’ sense of agency over their own lives and opportunities for independent transfer and transformation across all areas of life.