Critical content knowledges in the English language arts classroom: examining practicing teachers' nuanced perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT Manifest in research, national policy, and instructional standards, the United States has a long-documented interest in teachers as ‘content experts.’ Yet, research offers limited empirical examinations of teachers’ discipline-specific critical content knowledges—their curricular agility in noticing and disrupting power and oppression, and working to promote empowerment, joy, and liberation. Accordingly, this study asks: what critical content knowledges are most prominent among social justice-oriented secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers, and how do teachers understand and describe these knowledges? Using collective case study methodologies, this study investigates interview data from five ELA teachers to understand participants’ critical content knowledges and their descriptions of these knowledges. Data were interpreted through deductive and inductive coding and analysis. Findings reveal that teachers’ most prominent critical content knowledges include a) knowledge of disciplinary critique; b) knowledge of marginalized identities; and c) knowledge of supplementary content. Limitations to teachers’ critical content knowledges include a narrow race and gender foci, and discursive avoidance of explicitly naming marginalized identities. Implications for future research aimed at better understanding, supporting, and expanding teachers’ critical content knowledges are discussed.