Being and Becoming American: Triangulating Habitus, Field, and Literacy Instruction in a Multilingual Classroom

Authors

  • Lara Handsfield Illinois State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/G24S45

Abstract

This case study research documents how one teacher’s personal language and literacy practices and the sociopolitical structures of her profession intersect in her literacy instruction for her multilingual third grade students. Centering my analysis on Graff’s (1987) notion of the “literacy myth,” I discuss how the dialectic between Bourdieu’s habitus and field unfolds in the performative space of the classroom, challenging this discourse in small but significant ways. Complimenting research exploring students’ out-of-school language and literacy practices, this paper addresses how a teacher’s literate life history is performed in the classroom and who stands to benefit from these discursive performances.

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Published

2006-03-01

How to Cite

Handsfield, L. (2006). Being and Becoming American: Triangulating Habitus, Field, and Literacy Instruction in a Multilingual Classroom. Language and Literacy, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.20360/G24S45

Issue

Vol:8 No.2 (2006)

Section

Article

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