Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the ways in which attention to programmatic vision and coherence -- rather than foci on individual courses -- might advance the work of justice-oriented, critical English education in important ways. The authors propose that consciously attending to the work of English education on the…

There is a substantial international literature around the impact of different types of grouping by attainment on the academic and personal outcomes of students. This literature, however, is sparse in student voices, especially in relation to mixed-attainment practices. Research has indicated that students of different attainment levels might have…

This paper explores how two teacher candidates in an equity-focused preparation program negotiated among multiple perspectives about teaching the English Language Arts in linguistically and culturally diverse teaching contexts. We present cases of two preservice teachers (PTs) who experienced tensions in their development as a result of…

Current state standards set an ambitious vision for English language arts (ELA) and demand much of teachers: They are expected to engage students in close readings of complex, grade-level texts, which in turn requires students to comprehend texts, follow authors' development of ideas, interpret words and phrases, and analyze structure. Yet most…

The present study used an established model of feedback (Hattie & Timperley, 2007) as a framework to explore which types and levels of feedback are most common in the upper primary classroom. Results demonstrate that feedback was predominantly directed toward the task level and that feed forward, information about the next steps for learning,…

This dissertation comprises a set of three connected articles framed by a narrative inquiry methodology, which explores the literacy practices of a teacher and her students in an English Language Arts middle school classroom at a midwestern urban public school. Part one investigates teacher practices and discourses that led to creating an…

This article focuses on Mr. Kurt, a white, first-year English teacher in an all-white context who has chosen to teach his students about whiteness, white supremacy, white privilege, and the many ways institutionalized racism is enacted in daily life. I center this article on classroom scenarios that highlight the challenges embedded in dealing…

The unique challenges (and promises) teachers encounter today can be informed by the past. What literacy and language education mean for Mary Stewart, assistant professor of bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) education at Texas Woman's University, is a product of what it has meant for educators like her grandmother and mother. In…

The public discourse surrounding English Language Arts (ELA) education in the United States imitates the ongoing debate over state standards and high-stakes testing (Anagnostopoulos, 2003). Since the inception of No Child Left Behind and the subsequent integration of the Common Core State Standards, a paradigm shift toward accountability and the…

The space between the two epigraphs presented at the beginning of this article marks the difference between an insider and an outsider. Ms Barbieri, from "Voices from the Middle," made the first comments as an expression of what reflective practice -- observing and critiquing video tapes of hers and others' teaching -- could mean to her…

Generation Z (Gen Z) represents something of a quintessence for the broken promises that now seem to make up the promise of higher education. But if despair indicates the dark side of generational malaise around things like civic engagement, community, and student learning, the dark humor that has emerged out of these generations points to modes…

Having students read news articles or novels, watch television snippets, engage in class discussions, essay-writing, emailing, and drafting letters are excellent ways to broach any number of society's systemic and oppressive social maladies. Engaging in these activities in the English language arts classroom can serve as a catalyst to encourage…

Problem: Much research on shared leadership shows that it could be beneficial in the high school classroom but shifting to that type of classroom can be difficult. During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were looking for best practice strategies to move their curriculum online and to hybrid. This worldwide crisis provides a moment in time to…

This essay expresses a profoundly ambivalent response to the legacy of Dartmouth, particularly Dixon's "Growth" Model of English. English educators owe a debt to Dixon in terms of innovative pedagogical methods that are part of the daily shapes of tertiary and high school English classes, including the way drama and performance invoke…

Beginning in 1984 as an annual conference event, Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED)--a nonprofit organization based on forging new connections among technology, entertainment, and design--started as an invitation-only affair and then grew to have an online presence in the 2000s. At that time TED.com launched an audio and video podcast…