“Promoting Acceptance” or “Preparing Warrior Scholars”: Variance in Teaching for Social Justice Vision and Praxis

Abstract

A growing body of research explores theoretical models of teaching for social justice in P-12 classrooms and in teacher education. However, many of these models fail to account for the relationship between teachers’ social justice frameworks and their classroom practices. In this article, I use vignettes drawn from a recent study of secondary English Language Arts teachers to illustrate how differences in social location and sociopolitical emphasis affect teachers’ approaches to justice-oriented curriculum, pedagogy, and social action. This article concludes with implications for teaching and teacher education, including strategies for using these findings in preservice classrooms.