“I Didn’t Think About That Perspective”: Preservice Teachers’ (Dis)comfort in Applying Critical Literacy and Race-Visible Discourse

Abstract

ABSTRACT Our case study analyzed preservice teachers’ (PTs’) critical dispositions and alignment or resistance to critical literacies and race-visible discourse. In a virtual reading methods course at a large public university, a diverse cohort of twenty-two PTs recursively discussed self-selected multimodal texts utilizing synchronous and asynchronous critical multimodal collaborations. Using critical literacies and plurality of literacies as theoretical frameworks, findings indicated that via ongoing, purposeful groups PTs shared their experiences and acknowledged their previous shortcomings relative to race-visible discourse and dialogue. PTs exhibited a range of (dis)comfort in addressing critical social issues, including race and racism. This study expands on previous scholarship on how PTs and teacher preparation courses explored critical literacy perspectives and developed their critical stances for applying these habits as readers, as teachers, and in collaboration with their peers. It offers one case study of the application, challenges, flexibility, and resiliency demonstrated by PTs on their journey to be and become critically minded literacy educators.