Religion, Family, and Justice: A Narrative Study of Adults Learning to Teach for Social Justice in the Deep South

Authors

  • Christen Victoria Warrington-Broxton Trident Literacy Association
  • Audrey M. Dentith Appalachian State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55370/dsj.v3i1.732

Keywords:

Social Justice, Adult Learning, Transformative Learning, Self-efficacy, Deep South

Abstract

The Deep South is a distinctive, complex sociogeographic region of the U.S. whose history and politics have been marred by societal inequities and injustices. This research considered theories of social justice education and transformative learning to understand the processes by which adults learn to teach for social justice in the Deep Southern context. The study included from adult students enrolled in a doctoral-level class in education at a large, urban university in the Deep South. Narrative inquiry and Voice-Centered Relational Method were used in the process of data collection and analysis. Among the participants, familial and cultural religious narratives pervaded, deeply affecting a continual process of negotiation among the participants’ understanding of teaching for social justice and their own socially constructed identities. The religious backgrounds and family ethos fostered new notions of social justice and contributed to the participants’ perceptions of confidence to teach for social justice.

Author Biographies

Christen Victoria Warrington-Broxton, Trident Literacy Association

Christen V. Warrington-Broxton is Instructor, Transition Specialist, and Manager of Trident Literacy Association in Downtown Charleston, South Carolina. She teaches advanced math, science, reading, study skills, and test preparation. Her research interests include adult learning and social justice education.

Audrey M. Dentith, Appalachian State University

Audrey M. Dentith is Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. She teaches classes in research methods, ecological and curriculum theory. Her research interests include feminisms and the history of women in education and ecojustice theory and initiatives in education.

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Published

2018-11-08

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Articles

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