Critical literacy educators at work: Examining dispositions, discursive resources and repertoires of practice

Abstract

Teaching democratically in increasingly undemocratic and globalizing times is seriously challenging work. What are the ethical commitments, professional knowledges and pedagogical repertoires that fuel teachers' practices? In this chapter I consider the dispositions, discursive resources and practices of teachers who take a critical literacy standpoint. I discuss different approaches to critical language awareness, analysis and action through studies of practical critical educators at work in literacy classrooms through drawing variously on my own observations, their writings and other professional artifacts. I argue that a key move in fostering critical literacy in educational institutions is democratizing research and knowledge producing practices. © 2006 Springer.