Developing Culturally and Historically Sensitive Teacher Education
Global Lessons from a Literacy Education Program
Published on 17. September 2020
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-350-14743-0 (ISBN)
Description
Shortlisted for the UK Literacy Association's Academic Book Award 2021
This volume explores the literacy education master's degree program developed at Universidad de Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, with the aim of addressing the nation's emerging social, economic, technological, and political needs. Developing the program required taking into account the cultural diversity, historical economic disparities, indigenous and colonial cultures, and power inequities of the Mexican nation. These conditions have produced economic structures that maintain the status quo that concentrates wealth and opportunity in the hands of the very few, creating challenges for the education and economic life for the majority of the population. The program advocates providing tools for youth to critique and change their surroundings, while also learning the codes of power that provide them a repertoire of navigational means for producing satisfying lives.
Rather than arguing that the program can be replicated or taken to scale in different contexts, the editors focus on how their process of looking inward to consider Mexican cultures enabled them to develop an appropriate educational program to address Mexico's historically low literacy rates. They show that if all teaching and learning is context-dependent, then focusing on the process of program development, rather than on the outcomes that may or may not be easily applied to other settings, is appropriate for global educators seeking to provide literacy teacher education grounded in national concerns and challenges. The volume provides a process model for developing an organic program designed to address needs in a national context, especially one grounded in both colonial and heritage cultures and one in which literacy is understood as a tool for social critique, redress, advancement, and equity.
This volume explores the literacy education master's degree program developed at Universidad de Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, with the aim of addressing the nation's emerging social, economic, technological, and political needs. Developing the program required taking into account the cultural diversity, historical economic disparities, indigenous and colonial cultures, and power inequities of the Mexican nation. These conditions have produced economic structures that maintain the status quo that concentrates wealth and opportunity in the hands of the very few, creating challenges for the education and economic life for the majority of the population. The program advocates providing tools for youth to critique and change their surroundings, while also learning the codes of power that provide them a repertoire of navigational means for producing satisfying lives.
Rather than arguing that the program can be replicated or taken to scale in different contexts, the editors focus on how their process of looking inward to consider Mexican cultures enabled them to develop an appropriate educational program to address Mexico's historically low literacy rates. They show that if all teaching and learning is context-dependent, then focusing on the process of program development, rather than on the outcomes that may or may not be easily applied to other settings, is appropriate for global educators seeking to provide literacy teacher education grounded in national concerns and challenges. The volume provides a process model for developing an organic program designed to address needs in a national context, especially one grounded in both colonial and heritage cultures and one in which literacy is understood as a tool for social critique, redress, advancement, and equity.
Reviews / Votes
This book reveals literacy education as grounded in individual psychological development and simultaneously in the history, cultures, languages, economics, technologies, and politics of society-with the potential of transforming both individuals and societies. The expansive, visionary program Letras para Volar sets an inspiring model for educational reform everywhere. * Charles Bazerman, Distinguished Professor of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA * In this collection, we are introduced to how a master's program in Literacy Education renews literacy knowledge and practices, by prioritizing the population descending from its original peoples, with a view to achieving the dream of a "New Mexico", free from injustice. It is an inspiration for the Global South countries. * Guilherme V. Rios, previously Professor at the University of Brasilia, Brazil and researcher at the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research of the Brazilian Government * This soaring vision of literacy education is a sober reminder of the destructive effects of coloniality, inequality, and oppressive relations of power. Alongside reclaiming the languages and multi-semiotic literacies of original peoples, it also stresses access to dominant literacies and technologies such that communities can harness them for their own purposes. * Hilary Janks, Professor Emerita, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
20 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
667 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-14743-0 (9781350147430)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Yolanda Gayol Ramirez | Patricia Rosas Chavez | Peter Smagorinsky
Developing Culturally and Historically Sensitive Teacher Education
Global Lessons from a Literacy Education Program
E-Book
09/2020
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€35.49
Available for download
Persons
Yolanda Gayol Ramirez is a Fellow at Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, USA, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
Patricia Rosas Chavez is Professor and Director of Innovation and Undergraduate Studies at the Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
Peter Smagorinsky is Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education in the College of Education at the University of Georgia, USA, and serves as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Patricia Rosas Chavez is Professor and Director of Innovation and Undergraduate Studies at the Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
Peter Smagorinsky is Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education in the College of Education at the University of Georgia, USA, and serves as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Content
Introduction: Reinventing Teacher Education for the Mexican Context, Peter Smagorinsky (University of Georgia, USA)
Part I: The Historical Context of the Initiative
1. Literacy to Soar: The Dream of a New Mexico, Patricia Rosas Chavez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
2. Innovation from the Bottom Up: From Street Reading to a Graduate Degree Program in Literacy Studies, Yolanda Gayol Ramirez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
3. Mexico: Reading Our Times, Patricia Rosas Chavez & Yolanda Gayol Ramirez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
4. International Cooperation in the Development of Local Teacher Education Programs, Gerald Campano (University of Pennsylvania, USA) & Maria Paulo Ghiso (Teachers College, Columbia University, USA)
Part II: Social and Cognitive Issues in Literacy Education
5. Some Linguistic Considerations for Literacy Studies, Patricia Cordova Abundis (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
6. Literacy and Everyday Life, Patricia Cisneros (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
7. The Challenge of Literacy and Inclusion, Jose Luis Iturrioz (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
8. How the Mind Engages in Literacy Development and Practice, Rodrigo Ramos (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
Part III: Literacy and Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics) Education
9. How Technology Contributes to Literacy Education and Practice, Luis Alberto Gutierrez Diaz de Leon (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
10. Building a STEM Infrastructure for Mexico's Future Needs, Cesar Lozano (Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico)
Part IV: Research and Evaluation
11. Action Research in Critical Literacy Initiatives, Cesar Correa (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
12. Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives for Researching Literacy Practices, Martha Vergara Fregoso & Jose Antonio Mendez Sanz (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico & Universidad de Oviedo, Spain)
Part V: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
13. Literacy as a Human Right in Mexican Education, Rita Alejandra Gracian Flores & Ericka Graciela Staufert Reyes (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico & University of Pennsylvania, USA)
14. Conclusion: Networking Letras para Volar into the Future, Peter Smagorinsky (University of Georgia, USA) and Yolanda Gayol Ramirez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
Bibliography
Index
Part I: The Historical Context of the Initiative
1. Literacy to Soar: The Dream of a New Mexico, Patricia Rosas Chavez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
2. Innovation from the Bottom Up: From Street Reading to a Graduate Degree Program in Literacy Studies, Yolanda Gayol Ramirez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
3. Mexico: Reading Our Times, Patricia Rosas Chavez & Yolanda Gayol Ramirez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
4. International Cooperation in the Development of Local Teacher Education Programs, Gerald Campano (University of Pennsylvania, USA) & Maria Paulo Ghiso (Teachers College, Columbia University, USA)
Part II: Social and Cognitive Issues in Literacy Education
5. Some Linguistic Considerations for Literacy Studies, Patricia Cordova Abundis (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
6. Literacy and Everyday Life, Patricia Cisneros (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
7. The Challenge of Literacy and Inclusion, Jose Luis Iturrioz (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
8. How the Mind Engages in Literacy Development and Practice, Rodrigo Ramos (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
Part III: Literacy and Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics) Education
9. How Technology Contributes to Literacy Education and Practice, Luis Alberto Gutierrez Diaz de Leon (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
10. Building a STEM Infrastructure for Mexico's Future Needs, Cesar Lozano (Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico)
Part IV: Research and Evaluation
11. Action Research in Critical Literacy Initiatives, Cesar Correa (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
12. Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives for Researching Literacy Practices, Martha Vergara Fregoso & Jose Antonio Mendez Sanz (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico & Universidad de Oviedo, Spain)
Part V: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
13. Literacy as a Human Right in Mexican Education, Rita Alejandra Gracian Flores & Ericka Graciela Staufert Reyes (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico & University of Pennsylvania, USA)
14. Conclusion: Networking Letras para Volar into the Future, Peter Smagorinsky (University of Georgia, USA) and Yolanda Gayol Ramirez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
Bibliography
Index