Teaching About and For Social Justice

Exploring the Implementation of Equity Literature Circles with Pre-Service Teachers

Authors

  • Dr. Joanne Robertson University of the Fraser Valley
  • Dr. Awneet Sivia University of the Fraser Valley

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29687

Keywords:

Equity Literature Circles, Literacy as Social Practices, social justice education, intersectionality, Diversity, young adult novel, Critical Literacy/Pedagogy, language arts classroom, preservice teacher education

Abstract

Teaching for social justice is an explicit goal of most teacher education programs. However, this mandate has been criticized by scholars who claim that social justice is an undertheorized and vague concept that is often disconnected from methods courses that focus on content-specific pedagogies. This study seeks to address this disconnect by exploring how an Equity Literature Circles (ELC) framework within a literacy methods course can enhance teacher candidates’ (TCs’) understanding of the relationship between literacy instruction, diversity, and social justice. Drawing on the perceptions of ten TCs enrolled in a teacher education program in western Canada, data for the study was generated from classroom artifacts, an individual survey, and a focus group interview. Upon analysis of the data, the findings suggest that an ELC framework is an effective instructional strategy for enhancing TCs’ understanding of intersecting aspects of diversity, equity-focused literacy instruction, and teaching about and for social justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching for social justice is an explicit goal of most teacher education programs. However, this mandate has been criticized by scholars who claim that social justice is an undertheorized and vague concept that is often disconnected from methods courses that focus on content-specific pedagogies. This study seeks to address this disconnect by exploring how an Equity Literature Circles (ELC) framework within a literacy methods course can enhance teacher candidates’ (TCs’) understanding of the relationship between literacy instruction, diversity, and social justice. Drawing on the perceptions of ten TCs enrolled in a teacher education program in western Canada, data for the study was generated from classroom artifacts, an individual survey, and a focus group interview. Upon analysis of the data, the findings suggest that an ELC framework is an effective instructional strategy for enhancing TCs’ understanding of intersecting aspects of diversity, equity-focused literacy instruction, and teaching about and for social justice.

Author Biographies

Dr. Joanne Robertson, University of the Fraser Valley

Joanne Robertson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, where she teaches language and literacy methodology courses to BEd students and serves as Chair of the MEd program in Educational Leadership and Mentorship. Joanne’s scholarly and teaching interests include critical literacies/pedagogies, bilingual/multilingual language education, identity language ideologies, language education technologies, reading instruction, children’s literature, and teacher education. Joanne actively promotes innovative pedagogies that enhance teacher candidates’ understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion and inspire them to teach for and about social justice through the power of story. As a former classroom teacher and school district leader, Joanne continues to provide professional development to teachers and educational leaders in the areas of language and literacy instruction. Joanne was recently awarded the 2024 Robert Roy Award in recognition of her significant contributions to the advancement of language education.

Dr. Awneet Sivia, University of the Fraser Valley

Awneet Sivia is currently the Associate Vice President of Teaching and Learning, and has been an Associate Professor, Director, and Chair of programs in the School of Education at UFV. She is a passionate educator and researcher in social justice/antiracist pedagogy, science education, teacher identity, faculty development, and educational leadership. Awneet’s academic publications can be found in Studying Teacher Education, In Education, Canadian Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Journal of Education, and in books published by Brill, Sense, and Lexington. Her current research interests include decolonizing methodologies, rehumanizing science education, narratives of racism/antiracism in teacher education, leadership in online education, and early career faculty experiences. Awneet leads numerous institutional initiatives, including the Institutional Learning Outcomes, the AI Task Force, the Learning Management System Project, Changemaker Education, Indigenizing new faculty development, and policy revisions. She has been a speaker at TEDx Abbotsford and has been honoured with several provincial and national teaching awards, including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship.

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Published

2025-01-14

How to Cite

Robertson, J., & Sivia, A. (2025). Teaching About and For Social Justice: Exploring the Implementation of Equity Literature Circles with Pre-Service Teachers. Language and Literacy, 27(1), 69–90. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29687

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 1 (2025): Regular Issue

Section

Articles

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