Graduation Term

Summer 2026

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of English

Committee Chair

Danielle Lillge

Committee Member

Maggie Morris Davis

Abstract

This teacher-research study explores how inequitable systems of schooling influence one English Language Arts teacher’s decisions around teaching reading. The study explores how the teacher’s experiences as a student, teacher, and teacher-researcher within inequitable systems of schooling influenced the design and implementation of a unit of study in their 8th grade classroom. Building on scholarship that highlights the persistence of educational inequities, this study uncovers how the teacher navigates the tensions of teaching reading as a set of disciplinary skills while honoring students’ lived experiences as meaningful entry points for interpretation and discussion. Using qualitative teacher-research methods, the study analyzed classroom interactions, students’ engagement with reading skills through literary study, and novel-based discussions that centered students’ lived experiences as resources for meaning making. Through continual reflection and analysis, this teacher-researcher identified ways they had unknowingly reproduced inequitable practices and examined how returning to classroom events and prior personal student experiences created new understandings of teaching and learning. The process of returning to and reexamining their practice enabled them to critically examine their own educational experiences within inequitable systems, recognize gaps in their understanding of reading instruction, and identify new resources for disrupting inequitable practices. This study demonstrates how teacher-research can support educators in reexamining their beliefs and practices, fostering more equitable literacy instruction, and teaching toward liberation for all students.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

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