Exploring young adult texts within the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework with preservice teachers

Abstract

While culturally responsive texts have become more common in teacher education, too often, preservice teachers (PTs) are not asked to examine how to use these books pedagogically. To address this issue, in a young adult (YA) literature course, the Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy (HRL) (Muhammad, 2000) Cultivating genius: An equity framework for culturally and historically responsive literacy, 2020; Scholastic) was used in conjunction with representative and inclusive YA trade books. Data analysis was conducted on PT's course work, including HRL unit plans, to determine whether PTs were able to implement Muhammad's (2020) framework using YA texts. The findings of this study show that PTs' understanding of the HRL tenets was at varying levels. While there were unit plans with learning goals that matched Muhammad's purpose and definition for each tenet and YA connections for every tenet, PTs showed a better understanding of the tenets of identity and intellect than skills and Criticality. Implications of these findings including exposing PTs to learning frameworks “written by people of color and designed for children of color” (Muhammad, 2020, p. 11) to create instruction that meets their future students' needs and does not just skim the surface of culturally responsive pedagogies.

“You have to start with what they know:” Cultivating genius and joy with multilingual adolescents

“…This genius, she argues, is already present in students, and teachers can harness it through an attention to literary pursuits of identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and joy (Muhammad, 2020a(Muhammad, , 2023. In practice, teachers foster identity by selecting culturally relevant texts for students to learn about themselves and about others (Pule, 2023), often layering print texts with nonprint texts like art, music, and video. Content is shared in intellectually stimulating ways, moving beyond a focus on basic skills to address broader concepts of the world.…”

“…Analysis began with a preliminary exploratory round, reading through each participant's data in their entirety to capture the essence of their responses (Saldaña, 2021). First-round coding used a priori codes (Saldaña, 2021), drawing from a list developed in previous studies using the HRL framework (Muhammad, 2020a(Muhammad, , 2020bPule, 2023), including "cultural competence" and the five pursuits ("intellect," "criticality," etc.) In second round coding, in vivo codes stemming from participant's own words were added.…”

Reflection and projection: Inclusive and diverse texts in the English Language Arts curriculum

“…Roberts describes this training as a transformative tool to equip teachers as they prepare to enter the classroom. Pule (2023) explores pairing the historically responsive literacy framework with culturally relevant young adult trade books to “dive deeper than simply reading diverse texts” (p. 87). It is not enough to simply train teachers before they enter the classroom.…”