Research in the Teaching of English Nov 2022

Literacy as a Race, Students as Machines: Conflicting Metaphors in a Remedial Reading Class

Jessica E. Masterson

Abstract

Literacy learning is an ideological proposition, one that privileges certain forms of language and those who speak them above others. This qualitative study utilizes critical metaphor analysis () to examine the literacy ideologies at work in a secondary remedial reading class. By analyzing the speech of Mr. Baker, a seasoned remedial reading teacher, and his ninth-grade student Angelica, three dominant metaphors in the corpus are explored: READING CLASS IS A RACE, LEARNING TO READ is a journey, and STUDENTS ARE MACHINES. Findings suggest both the limitations of the metaphors employed by participants as well as the utility of critical metaphor analysis in uncovering the ideological underpinnings of school-based literacy practices.

Journal
Research in the Teaching of English
Published
2022-11-15
DOI
10.58680/rte202232154
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research race and writing multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Neville et al. (2025)
    “[Writing]’s Like in a Hot Car Finally Opening the Window”: Humanizing Writing …
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  2. Autry et al. (2024)
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    Research in the Teaching of English

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  1. Everett (2018)
    “Untold Stories”: Cultivating Consequential Writing with a Black Male Student t…
    Research in the Teaching of English
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CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network →

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