Investigating Teachers’ Perceptions of Critical Literacy: A Case Study from Two South African Township Schools

Abstract

Researchers have described critical literacy as an important aspect of literacy in education and in the language classroom. However, this concept, including the notions that underlie it, has not been widely researched in English Second Language (ESL) contexts in Africa. This article reports on a qualitative study that investigated teachers’ perceptions of critical literacy. Interviews were conducted with Grade 8 and 9 teachers in two township schools in the City of Tshwane (Pretoria), South Africa. A thematic content analysis using emerging themes and pre-set questions was used to analyse the interview responses. The findings of the study showed that teachers had little understanding of critical literacy, did not use a critical-reading approach in their classrooms, and cited a range of factors that hampered their efforts to implement critical reading in their ESL classrooms.