Adolescents as Agents of Change

Authors

  • Anne Burke University of Ontario Institute of Technology
  • Janette Hughes University of Ontario
  • Shawnee Hardware Memorial University
  • Stephanie Thompson University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Abstract

 

This article chronicles a research study in two middle schools in Canada where teachers and learners were engaged to create and integrate digital texts representative of social justice issues into the school curriculum. The article illustrates through samples of digital texts the tacit skills of students that are not readily seen in schools. Centred within a multiliteracies pedagogy (New London Group, 1996; Cope & Kalantzis, 2000), young adolescents were exposed to global issues through critical readings of children’s social justice picture books and young adult novels (Freire & Macedo, 1987, Christenson, 2000) . The adolescents’ critical reading and writing of digital and print texts raised understanding of the nexus between socio-political and economic injustice, hence showing them as critical agents of change within their school communities.

Author Biography

Anne Burke, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Associate Professor

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Published

2013-09-10

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2013)

Section

Articles

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