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ITS NOT ABOUT HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD FROM PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS EXPERIENCES TO CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE LITERACY PRACTICES Susan V Bennett, University of Mississippi AnnMarie Alberton Gunn, University of South Florida St Petersburg Mary Lou Morton, Walden University Literacy Research Association Conference, 2013, Dallas, TX

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CULTURAL DIVERSITY Cultural Diversity increasing in United States Teachers often underprepared for diversity Religious diversity often ignored (Irvine, 2003; Ladson-Billings, 2000; Santamaria,2009) Banks ReligionLanguageRaceEthnicityGender Sexual Orientati on SES

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Critical Multiculturalism (Tisdell, 2006) Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (Gay, 1994, 2000) Identity Theory (Hogg, Terry, & White, 1995; Stets & Burke, 2000)

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CRITICAL MULTICULTURALISM The teachers culture, including religious beliefs, has power in the classroom Teachers unconscious beliefs about diverse populations affects their teaching practices (Berlak, 2008)

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CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY Applying multicultural translations to teaching Teaching styles accept different cultural learning styles Child-centered planning Culturally pluralistic lessons (Gay, 1994, 2000)

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IDENTITY THEORY Individual becomes a member of a social group Individual relates to similar identities in a group based on categories Self- Identity and group identity can change according to context Many individuals choose their group identity based on their spiritual and religious (Hogg, Terry, & White, 1995; Stets & Burke, 2000)

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METHODS & TECHNIQUES Case Study : to describe, explain, and understand (Tellis, 1997) Participants: Purposive sample Asked students to participate N=4, two preservice teachers and two inservice teachers Self-identified with these religious cultural groups: Latter Day Saint, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish Age ranged from 21 to 40

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DATA SOURCES Semi-structured Interviews Reflexive Journals Follow-up interviews via email

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DATA ANALYSIS Transcribed interviews shared with participants for check for accuracy, member checking Constant comparison to discover emerging themes Within case analysis Established inter-rater reliability at 92% (Strauss & Corbin,1990: Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2007, Miles & Huberman, 1994 )

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FINDINGS All had experienced discomfort in mainstream Christian classroom culture Lynn and Fatim experienced Christian prayer in school and work functions Dana felt isolated due to Christmas discussions in school

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FINDINGS, CONT. Lara contacted an instructor that course content was not sensitive to her beliefs Fatim uncomfortable with classmate conversations of alcohol and sexual relations Subedi (2006) stated that because schools are rooted in American and Christian epistemologies, students with religious beliefs outside mainstream Christianity face difficulties in negotiating everyday school practices.

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FOUR EMERGING THEMES 1. Separation of Church and State Participants beliefs of whether church and state should be separate Lara: I love the fact that church and state are like separated.Id say it [religion] influences how I teach Dana: I do approve there isnt as much [religious study] allowed in schools.

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FOUR EMERGING THEMES 2. Important to Teach for Student Equity Teaching as a way to make a difference, not just an academic curriculum Lynn: I think most teachers think its okay to teach about Christmas, because its the majorityI do Christmas, Kwanza, and Hanukah- and any other religion that is celebrated in my class. If someone doesnt do religion, I just dont do it- I dont want that child to be ostracized- its just not worth it.

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FOUR EMERGING THEMES 3. Respect and Recognition of Religious Diversity Respect of students rights, making a student comfortable in the classroom, knowing your students, and not objecting to others religious/spirituality within different contexts. Fatim: You have to know your students.Also to contribute to society that was very important also like I just didnt want to be just about me, me, me.. I also want to give back and contribute in some way. Fatim: I am not going to walk around and pretend that ImIlook normal

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FOUR EMERGING THEMES 4. Personal Beliefs Connects issues that conflicted or made some impact, such as discomfort, on the participants personal beliefs. Fatim: .I try to be proactive when I can.You can tell I am Muslim from a mile away, but for the most part, I wouldnt be able to differentiate [what religion other people own]Id just assume people are Christian. I know thats not a good thing, but like its always the default.

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IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING: WHAT TO TALK ABOUT? Teachers need to identify students religious diversity (Literacy Autobiographies) Listen to students voices, ask for their viewpoints Create a safe environment for sharing of differences Discuss religion as a subject, without bias (Ayers & Reid, 2005; Douglass, 2000)

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IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING: CHILDRENS LITERATURE Use multicultural childrens literature extensively, not just in December, a month that represents a Christian Privilege perspective. Au states Many teachers and publishers seem to believe that the reason for introducing children to multicultural literature is to teach them that people are more alike than different. They do not seem to understand that celebrating and maintaining differences many be equally, if not more important to students of diverse backgrounds.

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IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING: EVALUATING CHILDRENS LITERATURE Teachers evaluate multicultural literature that features religious diversity considering these questions: Do the components (theme, plot, setting, characters) of the book exhibit the characteristics of a well-written piece of childrens literature? Does the theme of the book have the potential, through a teacher lead discussion, to advance the readers understanding of the religion portrayed in the book? Does the book include accurate information or facts embedded within the story about the religion portrayed in the story? Does the book avoid bias and stereotypes? Does the book have components that are relevant to the readers own life and have the power to positively shape his or her cultural consciousness? (Gunn, Bennett, & Morton, 2012)

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Gunn, A. A., Bennett, S.V., & Morton, M. L. (2012/2013). Culturally responsive literacy pedagogy: Using childrens literature to discuss topics of religious diversity. Florida Reading Journal, 49(1), 17-24.

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Finding Resources Example. Research Awards http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ FL Holocaust Museum FL, NJ, CA, NY, IL

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CONTACT INFORMATION Susan V. Bennett, Ph.D., University of Mississippi sbennett@olemiss.edu AnnMarie Alberton Gunn, Ph.D., University of South Florida-St. Petersburg gunn@usfsp.edu Mary Lou Morton, Ph.D., Walden University Marylou.morton@waldenu.edu