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Full-Text Articles in Education

Reading The Word, Not The World: A Critical Analysis Of Close Reading, Jessica E. Masterson Nov 2022

Reading The Word, Not The World: A Critical Analysis Of Close Reading, Jessica E. Masterson

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article critically analyzes a Common Core-aligned English Language Arts curriculum with particular attention paid to the ways in which it constructs docile subjects in and through literate practices. Through a critical reading and content analysis of this textbook--one that the author was required to teach to her eighth grade students--this paper argues that under the guise of “college and career readiness,” the curriculum contained within the textbook represents a neoliberal approach to literary criticism, one whose ideology is evident through the material practices of “close reading” and in the disciplinary methods it employs in teaching students the “correct” way …


Confessions Of A Media Literacy Scholar-Practitioner: Job Market Advantages, Research Agenda Challenges, And Theory-Driven Production, Christopher Boulton Jun 2016

Confessions Of A Media Literacy Scholar-Practitioner: Job Market Advantages, Research Agenda Challenges, And Theory-Driven Production, Christopher Boulton

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This essay explores how higher education’s move away from the liberal arts tradition of learning by thinking and towards more vocational “experiential” approaches has implications for media literacy educators’ career options, scholarly identities, and teaching strategies. Specifically, I consider my own negotiation of increasing administrative and student demands for “hands-on” production courses by confessing both my advantages on the job market and my post-hire challenges in articulating a clear research agenda. I then conclude with a case study of how I repurposed my scholar-practitioner identity and used critical theory to drive production by bringing film students into a cultural studies …


In Our Own Backyard: Critical Theory And The Development Of The San Jacinto Center For Environmental Education, Susanna Hamilton, Darleen Stoner, Randall Wright May 2006

In Our Own Backyard: Critical Theory And The Development Of The San Jacinto Center For Environmental Education, Susanna Hamilton, Darleen Stoner, Randall Wright

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This research addresses the topic of nature centers from a critical theory perspective. This research assumed in part, the question: what are the characteristics of a functional and successful nature center that includes environmental education goals and programs? Nature center administrators from across the United States were surveyed and asked to share their opinions on this topic. Six overall characteristics pertaining to management and vision were identified through an exploratory mixed‑method design. Other components of these characteristics were discovered during the analysis of the data, and include factors such as approaches to education. Recommendations for improving nature centers and their …


From Critical Theory To Action Research Or Why This Feels Empowering, Randall Wright, Carolyn Marquez May 2006

From Critical Theory To Action Research Or Why This Feels Empowering, Randall Wright, Carolyn Marquez

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This essay reflects the attempts of the first author of this paper to teach the sociological foundations of education from a critical theory perspective and discusses a surprising outcome—some students feel disempowered by the approach. It suggests that action research offers teachers the opportunity to consider their roles as social agents. One teacher’s story is shared to illustrate how her local efforts play a significant role in transforming the classroom into a more inviting, less alienating locale—addressing the “homelessness” that characterizes the modern school. Her story illustrates how action research, grounded as it is in specific, local concerns and personalities, …