Learning How to Respond to Current Events: Partner Journals between U.S. Preservice Teachers and Children

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Teaching and Teacher Education

Volume

26

Issue

3

Publisher

Elsevier

Publication Date

2010

First Page

576

Last Page

582

Abstract

The representation of a variety of stakeholders' voices during the deliberation of public issues is vital for the proper functioning of a liberal democracy. This qualitative study examined an activity involving deliberation among children and preservice teachers in the United States. In the activity that we call partner journals, children were partnered with preservice teachers as pen pals to deliberate shared current events texts. Data included partner journals, written reflections from preservice teachers, and interviews with the children's teachers. All students gained perspective consciousness of someone with a different social positioning, a higher-order thinking skill vital to social justice and democratic education. The issues of teacher disclosure and power were particularly important to preservice teachers. Findings suggest implications for future research on partner journals with other partnerings of different social positionings.

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Originally published by Elsevier. Publisher's PDF and HTML fulltext available through remote link.

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