Hybridity, Collaboration, and Resistance in Literacy Education: When Policy Meets Practice in an Urban Elementary Classroom

In the current educational political climate overshadowed by No Child Left Behind, high-stakes testing, and scripted curriculum, elementary teachers are inundated with mandates. The findings from the study discussed in this book suggest that teachers are not failing to interpret and enact policy as intended by policy makers; rather, they are constantly interpreting mandates and strategically resisting and hybridizing their practice with imposed theories of best practice. What appears to be teachers' misunderstanding of reforms may actually be conscious, politically laden pedagogy informed by educators' rich knowledge and experiences to best meet the needs and interests of their students. Findings further challenge the frequent requirement of collaboration as an element of education reform and suggest that the culture of the school and the culture of teaching are far more complex than curriculum developers and educational policy makers assume or suggest through mandates. The questions posed and addressed throughout this book offer implications for educational policy makers, literacy curriculum developers, teacher education programs, and practicing teachers and principals.