Reconceptualizing literacy and disrupting Whiteness: Multiliteracies autobiographies in teacher education

Abstract

Dominant approaches to literacy education privilege White middle-class norms, creating urgent need to reconceptualize literacy and decentre Whiteness in teacher education. This study examines the role of three-part multiliteracies autobiographies in supporting teacher candidates (TCs) to reconceptualize literacy while considering possibilities for equity-oriented antiracist pedagogy. Conducted in a literacy methods course at a Canadian university, this critical action research study employs raciolinguistics, critical antiracism, and multiliteracies as theoretical lenses to investigate: How can multiliteracies autobiographies support TCs’ reconceptualization of literacy? How can these assignments contribute to TCs’ critical orientations towards antiracism, equity, and linguistic diversity? Analysis of multimodal autobiographies and critical reflections demonstrate TCs’ reimaginations of literacy in ways that denaturalize Whiteness, growing courage to critically engage with race, and development of concrete pedagogical ideas for more equitably supporting racialized multilinguals. Implications centre on heightening critical reflexivity and explicit engagement with race and identity in antiracist teacher education.