Being and becoming critically imaginative : exploring critical literacy in the classroom

This dissertation was completed and submitted at Nipissing University, and is made freely accessible through the University of Toronto’s TSpace repositoryCritical literacy is not a matter of teaching and acquiring specific skills, but rather about constructing meaning through the process of learning. Rather than accepting and adopting traditional conceptualizations of literacy, this research conceptualizes critical literacy as an alternative educational paradigm. By recognizing the dual nature of critical literacy as both a theoretical framework and a pragmatic disposition or lens, the promise of critical literacy is explored.This ethnographic inquiry recounts the collective stories of 26 Grade 6 students and the indefatigable teacher with whom they worked. Using a polyvocal approach, participants’ voices will be heard both on their own and collectively through the use of classroom mosaics. The mosaics not only bring the classroom to life, but are also intertwined with the ways in which the participants became critically literate, and what I have now come to understand as, critically imaginative. Field texts and narrative descriptions highlight the lived experiences of participants as they learn to read and write both the word and world. Participant observation,field notes, formal and informal conversations, research journal, and student artifacts punctuate the writing and provide “thick description” (Geertz, 1973, p. 6) of this particular educational context.The study concludes by offering a framework that weaves together critical literacy theory and practice with a particular focus on teaching and learning implications. This inquiry adds to our understanding of how teachers can support students to become critically literate and critically imaginative, but, perhaps more importantly, why teachers should. Ultimately, this dissertation reveals the power and promise of a critical literacy imagination for teachers, learners, and all those involved in the education of our youth.Ph.D