Abstract of

Differences and Tensions in Implementing a Pedagogy of Critical Literacy With Adolescent Girls

Rosary Lalik, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Kimberly L. Oliver, New Mexico State University

This study examined a pedagogy of critical literacy that the authors planned jointly. One worked directly with four girls as they used a variety of textual practices pertaining to messages girls receive about the female body and culminating in an inquiry project that involved the girls in designing and analyzing a survey. The authors examined what happened when a researcher, with a keen interest in social justice, worked to support critical literacy among adolescent girls. Using transcribed audiotapes of each session, field notes, debriefing/planning notes, and student- and teacher-made artifacts as data, the researchers identified six differences that created tensions between the girls and the researcher (one of the authors): (a) differences in topic preferences, (b) differences in breadth of topic consideration, (c) differences in commitment to resisting heteronormativity, (d) differences in knowledge about inquiry processes and teen language, (e) differences in commitment to transformative processes, and (f) differences in preferences for participation. The analysis suggests that although the researcher was able to assist the girls in learning about inquiry processes, she often struggled between following her agenda and following the girls' leads. Findings of this study are consistent with the poststructural critique that shatters claims of theory.

Abstract from Lalik, R., & Oliver, K.L. (2007, January/February/March). Differences and Tensions in Implementing a Pedagogy of Critical Literacy With Adolescent Girls. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(1), 46–70. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.42.1.2