Document Type
Preprint
Publication Date
Fall 10-3-2023
Keywords
racial literacy, Critical Whiteness Studies, The Hate U Give, anti-racist literature instruction
Abstract
Purpose - This study explores the perceived barriers that a Secondary English teacher faced when attempting to discuss racial injustice through young adult literature in Mississippi.
Design/methodology/approach- The authors rely on Critical Whiteness Studies and qualitative methods to explore the following research question: What are the barriers that a White ELA teacher perceives when teaching about racial injustice through The Hate U Give?
Findings- The authors found that there were several perceived barriers to discussing modern racial injustice in the Mississippi ELA classroom. The participating teacher indicated the following barriers: a lack of racial literacy, fears of discomfort, and an urge to avoid politics. Originality/value- Much has been written about the urgent need for antiracist teaching practices in Secondary English classes. This article explores the barriers a White ELA teacher perceived when attempting to discuss modern racial injustice through literature instruction in a white context of the "four pandemics" (Ladson-Billings, 2021).
Keywords- Racial literacy, Critical Whiteness Studies, The Hate U Give, Anti-racist Literature Instruction Paper type- Research Paper
Citation
Ellis, S. E., & Goering, C. (2023). "I'm really just scared of the White parents": A teacher's perceptions of barriers to discussing racial injustice. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 22 (4) https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-05-2022-0067
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
