PLAYING FIELD: EDUCATORS’ PERSPECTIVES ON EARLY CHILDHOOD LITERACY EDUCATION FOR BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

Traditional literacy, defined as one’s ability to read and write proficiently, has historically been employed as a tool of measurement for social adequacy and intelligence of groups of people in the Western world (de Castell & Luke, 1983). For centuries, literacy has been systemically wielded to justify the poor treatment of Black people and people of color in the United States, from enslavement to government-influenced barriers to imposed poverty (Clark & Haderlie; Du Bois, W. E. B., 1935; Guinier, 2004).Traditional literacy has continually excluded practices that hold the potential to broaden the interpretation of aptitudes of certain peoples, including those who identify as Black and Brown. Yet, the ideologically-conscious model (Street, 2006) has already offered clear, substantive understandings that could be incorporated into foundational practices in support of populations that have been vastly underserved. Thus, the underutilization of such concepts related to effectively teaching Black and Brown students made it apparent that this issue needs further examination. Using thematic analysis, this research gathers data through the conduction of semi structured interviews to interpret the perspectives of educators in the metropolitan D.C. area so as to explore how teachers perceive the effectiveness of the currently wide-spread early childhood literacy education practices, as well as the overall conceptualization of literacy, on the learning experiences of Black and Brown scholars. Analysis of the data led to the identification of the following themes: Student Engagement and Connectedness to Literacy; Systemic and Structural Motivations within Literacy Instruction; and Teacher Autonomy and Preparation with Literacy Instruction. Findings from this study culminate to the design of the Continuum of Adherence, which is intended to expound upon the ways that perspectives and reasonings align with the autonomous (traditional) and the ideologically-conscious models of literacy. Further recommendations include actionable steps and avenues for subsequent research.