Examining the curricular and pedagogical challenges and possibilities of post-colonial young adult literature: a narrative inquiry of book clubs with pre-service teachers

Negotiating teacher positionality: Preservice teachers confront assumptions through collaborative book clubs in a social studies methods course

“…Book clubs may be the opportune context to offer teacher candidates the reflective space that is necessary for them to be able to engage with these multiple voices while (re)negotiating their own positionalities. Book club participants pool together their knowledge to form a collective learning environment (Durand, 2012), and since individuals’ prior experiences are unique, no two people will have the same exact interpretation of a text. The discussions about these varying interpretations contribute to the social learning of the group as each teacher is exposed to other teachers’ individual and varied visions and ways of thinking.…”

“…Existing book club literature primarily focuses on either literacy and English teachers in book clubs reading young adult books (e.g., Blanton, 2014; Durand, 2012; Flood & Lapp, 1994; Flood, Lapp, Ranck-Buhr, & Moore, 1995; Hall, 2009; Kooy, 2006), or cross-disciplinary groups of teachers reading professional texts that focus on issues of inequality or multiculturalism (e.g., Burbank, Kauchak, & Bates, 2010; Hoard, 2017; Klinker, Watson, Furgerson, Halsey, & Janisch, 2010; Thomas, 2017). However, there has been little research conducted with social studies teacher book clubs.…”

“…In the present case study, the researchers explored how one teacher preparation program used tools such as collaborative word sorts and book clubs surrounding the topic of educational inequities to influence pre-service teacher positionality. The study draws upon existing literature that demonstrates the effectiveness of dialogue as a means of navigating prior assumptions, beliefs, and understandings (e.g., Kooy, 2006), as well as the use of collaborative spaces (e.g., Durand, 2012) for teachers to engage in collegial discussions about socio-political themes and their educational implications. Allowing PSTs this opportunity to navigate and re-navigate their positionalities reveals a space for them to learn and co-construct meaning through dialoguing with one another.…”