‘Well, they do have a good point’: contextualising the Colin Kaepernick protest using counternarratives with U.S. elementary students

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research has shown that classroom instruction can be precarious when addressing potentially ‘controversial’ issues. Yet, students can benefit from examining the narratives of those who have questioned the merits of United States democratic citizenship. By employing critical childhood studies and windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors as theoretical frameworks and critical hermeneutic phenomenology as its methodology, this study elicits the perspectives of ten first- and second-grade Black male students via interviews and classroom discussions regarding the Colin Kaepernick protest. The findings indicated that counternarratives can be an effective instructional tool for student engagement, authentic expression, and analysis of social phenomenon.