World War II and Beyond: Middle School Inquiryand Critical Literacy

CarolJ. DelaneyrMS&& z6

he purpose of this research was to explorethe experiences of adolescents as they beganto develop critical literacy skills as part ofan inquiry project in an integrated socialstudies/language arts classroom. Critical

literacy, as I define it here, is about having the skillsand desire to critique society and the world, particularlyon issues of power (Wolk, 2003). Those who challengetraditional education argue that schools generally aspireto socialize children into the dominant beliefs of oursociety, rather than trying to transform society into amore socially just culture (McDaniel, 2004). Rooted inthe work of Freire (2000), critical literacy theory is not aset of teaching methods but a philosophy that calls for atransformation. Instead of the author holding the power,the use of critical literacy empowers the reader. A criticallyliterate person understands that the author writes from aparticular perspective but is also aware that the author'sperspective is not the only perspective (Molden, 2007).

This exploratory study is limited in scope because itwas meant to address the early stages of critical literacydevelopment in young adolescents. More specifically,the adolescents involved in this project were learningto evaluate textbook authors' values and goals and torecognize that all the voices are not heard in textbooks. Itis important to note that this project does not encompassa comprehensive list of possibilities for reading from acritical literacy stance.

Teaching Critical ConsciousnessTeaching students to be critically conscious is a matter ofproviding them with the conceptual tools to evaluate theinequalities and injustices of society (Kretovics, 1985).The critique generally revolves around issues of culture,race, class, gender, the environment, and media, with theview of creating a more just, humane, and' democraticworld (Wolk, 2003). By nature, middle school languagearts classes serve as excellent venues for teaching critical

literacy. In the language arts classroom, students aregiven the opportunity to think critically about literatureand to question authors' intents. Social studies, in turn,serves well for teaching critical literacy, since textbooksare generally biased and have traditionally been writtenfrom the perspectives of the victors, while often ignoringthe voices of minorities, the poor, and women (Loewen,1994; Zinn, 1995).

Teachers who strive to have students become criticallyliterate have a completely different vision from that ofteachers whose aim is to have students become technicallyliterate in basic skills of reading and writing. In order tomove toward a critical literacy perspective, teachers willhave to rethink their usual textbook practices and searchfor alternative resources (Wolk, 2003). One method thatallows for use of a wide variety of resources for informationgathering is inquiry, which also works well for explorationof controversial issues (Wolk, 1998).

Mrs. Benson's intention for the project was to employa style of pedagogy that would allow these seventh- andeighth-grade students to become empowered, thinkingindividuals, rather than passive receivers of factualtextbook knowledge. Her basic requirement was thatstudents investigate a self-selected historical event thatoccurred sometime between the advent of World WarII and the end of the Gulf War. Each student wouldexplore the event from a variety of sources, including theperspective of a living person who played a direct part inthe event or was indirectly affected by it. It is importantto note that when no living person was available, studentscould substitute an interview posted on the Internet orsome other source.

Studying a variety of perspectives provided studentswith evidence beyond the textbook, while studying asingular perspective provided insights into the "invisible"people who are seldom discussed in books. If criticalliteracy has been meant to empower, we cannot ignorethe implicit messages that occur through sources of

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information beyond traditional texts. With the adventof multimedia and its accompanying messages, criticalliteracy needs to respond to changes in the definitionof literacy itself (Lemke, 2006). That is, a text can bepresent in multiple genres of communication, includingvideos, film clips, and information literacy (Elmborg,2006). Without tools for critical multimedia literacy, inaddition to print texts, students cannot make value choicesabout their world. Therefore, the project began with anintroduction to critical media literacy skills but laterfocused on the contents of a textbook, as compared to aliving person's story.

My goal for this exploratory study was to describehow teaching through this type of inquiry resulted in morepowerful learning and heightened awareness of multipleviewpoints. Besides being instruction that disrupts thestereotypical vision of English and social studies as boringand removed from the students' worlds, inquiry is oneform of instruction that may cause students to view societyin different ways. I considered this project as only a singlestep in the process of educating for critical literacy.

Theoretical FrameworkAdvocates of adolescent literacy have called attention to thelimited scope of content literacy, which has traditionallyfocused on information transmitted from teachers andtextbooks (Behrman, 2003). Social studies, in particular,has often been taught as a set of uncontroversial historicalfacts to be memorized by students and then forgotten(Cuban, 1991). Pedagogy as such is often met withresistance on the part of students, who tend to avoidreading the text, which is often difficult and lacks relevanceto their lives.

Inquiry, on the other hand, is designed to transferresponsibility of constructing knowledge to students(Lindfors, 1999; Wells, 1999), thereby making it moremeaningful and relevant (Meyerson & Secules, 2001).According to the National Research Council (NRC),inquiry keeps learners actively engaged in discovery ofphenomena and exploration of interesting issues (NRC,2000). The five essential features of inquiry are as follows:student-generated questions, planned investigations,collection and analysis of data, explanation of the findings,and sharing and justification of findings. Inquiry, as such,results in exploration of issues from more than one authoror informant; the result is that students are empowered tochallenge the singular perspective of a single 'text.

When students read from a critically literateperspective, they are encouraged to adopt a questioningstance toward a wide range of texts, including those thattranscend the traditional notion of text (McDaniel, 2004).The component of critical literacy that sets it apart fromcritical reading is the social action it is meant to foster.Transformation as a way of thinking about the world is theexpected outcomes of critical literacy (Freire, 2000). Onestudy of adolescent girls who used critical literacy through

a variety of textual practices was met with only partialsuccess (Lalik & Oliver, 2007). The limitations andproblems of implementing pedagogy that acknowledgesthe political nature ofliteracy confirms the need for moreresearch in this area.

MethodologyParticipantsFor this qualitative case study, I visited a middle school inMidwestern United States. One teacher, Barbara Benson(pseudonym), and her multi-age seventh and eighthgrade language arts/social studies class were observedand interviewed during the month-long unit. There were23 students in the class, and I opted to conduct more in-depth interviews with a group of key student informantswho were each representative of the various topic groups(Bogdan &Biklen, 1998).Data Collection and AnalysisObservations took place during regular school hours,particularly on days when Mrs. Benson was discussing theproject or allowing students to work during class time. Ialso observed and videotaped classroom dramatizations,at the same time taking note of audience reactions,comments, and questions.

Students were interviewed individually and alternatelyin groups of two or three. I began with three open-endedquestions, as follows:

1. How do you feel about doing this inquiry project,compared to your usual textbook reading?

2. What information were you able to gain fromreadings and interviews that you didn't alreadyknow about or that you have not read about in atextbook?

3. In what ways was the information different thanwhat you have read about in your textbook? Whydo you think so?

4. Why do you think his information would or wouldnot be in a textbook?

The teacher was interviewed individually, and interviewsbegan with open-ended questions. Over time, questioningevolved about instruction I had observed, studentbehaviors and productiVity, as well as her perspectives onthe learning that was taking place.

During data collection, a log of data transcriptionswas kept and initial analysis was ongoing and recursive.Data was analyzed using the constant comparison method,which means that analysis began, early in the study with asearch for trendi and themes in what informants said, did,and shared, compared across participants and situations(Glaser & Strauss, 1967).

ResultsThe project began with students viewing a 1942propaganda movie, "Menace of the Rising Sun," whichwas meant to incite Americans against the Japanese at theonset of WWII. As one student, Jazz, noted, the movie

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"showed horrible stuff." Mrs. Benson guided students tothink about the movie from a critical perspective. Throughopen discussion, students were asked to: 1) look at how theinformation was portrayed and for what purpose, 2) decidewhat facts were included or excluded, 3) and to examinethe specific elements that were meant to manipulate theviewers. Over the next few days, students read otherexamples of media and texts to search for hidden biasesand issues of power.

The next phase of the project was to have studentsself-select a topic or incident that occurred between theonset of WWII and the Gulf War. Mrs. Benson handedout a list of possible inquiry topics, which students couldexplore in the social studies textbook. Once topics werechosen, students worked in groups of peers to investigatea common interest. Some materials, such as biographies,reference books, and general non-fiction books, wereavailable in the classroom for student use; additionally,students could leave class to find further materials in thelibrary. For online exploration, Mrs. Benson providedlaptops from the computer lab. Volunteer teacher-aideswere often present in the classroom, because studentsoften needed help with locating information, informationprocessing (e.g., saving data, delayed printouts), andwriting and editing scripts.

Based on observations and interviews with Mrs.Benson and her class, student motivation for theWorldWarII and Beyond Project was high. Mrs. Benson remarkedthat "the students do complain, but the further they get,they're having fun." Most students seemed genuinelyengaged in the process of researching their topics, creatinginterview questions, and writing scripts for the final skit.I attributed this engagement to the fact that they wereable to self-select a topic, interview someone importantto them, and create their own presentations. Still, therewere a total of six students who needed prompting andsupport to complete each task in a timely and efficientmanner.

Most students selected a topic based on their heritageor a connection to an event. For example, two girls ofIndian heritage explored Indian independence from GreatBritain. Another student, Luke, had a Chinese grandfatherwho lived through horrors that occurred during the Sino-Japanese War. Still another interviewed a grandparent whohad been overseas during WWII and missed the birth ofhis child in the states.

In order to assess students' emerging understandingof the author's power within a text, the following sectionsdescribe how students made sense of new information andcompared it to information in their textbooks.

Desert StormWhen asked how the project may have changed theirprevious views of the event studied, several studentsreported that they learned new information that they hadnever read or known about previously. Steve, the student

whose topic was Desert Storm, talked about how hisgrandfather had to watch a soldier die. "He [grandfather]said that one of the hardest things to do was to get soldiersto board the plane for war, because they were so afraidto die. Once they got to Saudi Arabia, there were moreproblems like 'How'm I gonna' find room for 600 peopleto sleep?"' He also found it difficult to take soldiers intobattle, because if they never came back, he felt it was hisfault.

Steve said that his grandfather was probably notimportant enough to be in a textbook, even though he'dreceived a purple heart. He added, "Textbooks don't carewhat people thought. They just say the facts." While Stevebelieved that textbooks do state facts, he seemed to implythat authors can choose which facts to emphasize, de-emphasize, or eliminate.

Sino-Japanese WarsLuke's group found most of their information about theSecond Sino-Japanese war through interviews and theInternet. He said, "We found out that there were wholebunch of killings and wrong things done to innocentwomen." Luke felt that eyewitnesses tell the story betterand with more details than any textbook did. He addedthat the information helped him understand the plightof innocent victims during wartime, which was often de-emphasized in textbooks.

Hitler Youth MovementLacey, a student who researched the Hitler YouthMovement, reported on her experience with the project."It's weird, because we have to play Hitler and he was abad person. He took over all the Jews and made them dowork and stuff and killed all the children. The Holocaustwas a bad thing but I still like to learn about it." In answerto the question about the how facts are described intextbooks, she replied that "it's just opinions about whatthey think happened. Texts only have certain things andcertain things aren't written in the text." Lacey's mentionof "opinions" seems to indicate some awareness that factsare only someone's opinion.

Women's Philanthropic Group during VietnamAllison and her group researched an organization ofwomen who sent letters overseas during Vietnam. Theyanswered the textbook question, saying, "The textbookdidn't mention the women because they weren't publiclyknown. It wasn't that big of an organization. They met atdifferent places and sent packages overseas at Christmas."Also, these women summarized the newspaper for thesoldiers and tried to tell them only happy news to keeptheir morale up. Sometimes the soldiers wrote back toindividual women. The mother of another student inAllison's group had been a member of that organizationand was able to be interviewed. Like Steve, Allison basedexclusion by the author on lack of importance.

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Kamikazi PilotsAna studied Kamikazi pilots, otherwise known as DivineWind. She was unable to conduct an interview, but hergroup found much of their information on theInternet. Sheadded, "I think it's a cool way to learn what has happened."Ana thought of these facts as interesting and much,betterthan textbook reading. She talked about how these mendid not really want to die but felt it was their duty andhonor to die and that it pleased the family. They often metwith other pilots before boarding the planes to preparefor death and to calm their fears so they wouldn't turnback. Much of the information that her group found wasexplained from the Japanese point of view. According toAna, the textbook did not include this type of informationabout Kamikazi pilots. Because the Internet reports werewritten from ajapanese perspective, the students were ableto read from a different point of view than the textbook.

Pearl Harbor-Black NursesTamara was one of the girls who studied the roles ofblack nurses after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She said,"Textbooks were probably written by white men, andwhite men do not write about black nurses. The text isabout presidents and men like that - not women. Tamarawas interviewed with two other girls from her group, andthe others agreed with this perspective, demonstratingtheir awareness of inequities involving race and gender.Jazz added, "They do not write aboutwomen. I think theymentioned something about the wife of FDR once." Priorto the project, none of these girls had been aware thatblack nurses existed in Pearl Harbor. The girls discoveredthat of 50,000 nueses in Pearl Harbor only 579 were blackand were only allowed to care for black men. The girls inthis group were clearly aware of textbook inequities basedon race and gender.

InsightsSeveral students expressed a common insight abouttextbooks, as when Jared said, "...people's experiencesmight not seem interesting or important to people whowrite textbooks." This comment echoed Steve's perspective- that "important" people and facts are included, whileless important ones are not. Another well-pondered ideaemerged from Mike, who postulated 'that "Textbookwriters might think some things are be too scary for kidsto hear about- like the Holocaust. Some parents might noteven like having their kids hear about that." Mike's viewaligned well with that of Wollman-Bonilla (1998), whowrote about censorship of reading material by parents andteachers who attempt to protect children from troublingrealities. Yet, while parents and educators only mean toprotect, such restrictions are limiting to learning.

In answering the question of how this type of learningcompared to reading a textbook, more than 'half thestudents mentioned that their discoveries through inquirywere much more interesting than facts in a textbook.

Luke, for example, felt that eyewitnesses were far morevaluable to learn from. He added, "We can definitely learnmore about other countries and what they did to otherpeople for no reason." He added that he enjoyed hands-on learning. Allison, who explored the women's groupduring Vietnam, said that "...you never realize how it feelsto be overseas and get a letter. You won't read that in atextbook. Textbooks don't tell about feelings." Lacey, also,enjoyed researching the Hitler Youth Movement because"it's the kind of information you learn the wayyou wanna'learn."Besides the fact that students could select a topic ofparticular interest to them, they indicated that the projectinvolved a variety of skills beyond traditional readingand writing. For Jazz, the reason was a simple one. Sheexplained, "We usually read the chapter and do outlines. Idon't like outlines."

Only five students explicitly preferred textbookreading, mainly because it was a familiar activity andwas far less time consuming. Surprisingly, while Stevenbrought in a wealth of information about Desert Storm,he was one of the few who preferred textbook reading andoutlines to inquiry. His reasoning was that it was "a lotta'work. Projects take super long and if you get an F you getan F." This reaction did not surprise Mrs. Benson, becauseshe affirmed that he was not very fond of work and it tooka lot of prompting to get him to carry out the various stepsof the project.

For the culminating activity, each student sharedfindings'with the rest of the class through skits that hadto be memorized and timed. Groups could ask otherclassmates to play a role in their skit if more actors wereneeded. Mrs. Benson did deduct points if students failedto remember their lines, and actors were additionally ratedby their peers through a check sheet. Besides helpingthem learn the subject matter, Mrs. Benson believed thatcreation of skits gave students the chance to express howthey perceived their chosen topics. Student skits provedto be very creative, as when Hiroshima was bombed bya toy airplane that dropped a golf ball onto a village ofLego blocks. Anotherwas presented on the Sino-JapaneseWar, where Luke, dressed as an old Mao Tse-Tung, sat ina rocking chair and told stories of his life, humiliationsby the Japanese, and his war triumphs. As he spoke,actors would come on stage to act out his memories. Atsome points, Luke would retreat backstage and emergeas a young Chinese Mao Tse-Tung. Among the studentswho performed a skit on'the Hitler Youth Movementwas Joshua, who dressed like Hitler with a mustache andhelmet and spoke with a German accent for the skit.

Skits seemed to have the most empowering effect onthese middle school students. It gave them voice to expresstheir interpretations of the media, texts, and Internetinformation they accessed.

ConclusionSince inquiry involves wondering and questioning, it

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naturally involves the critical thinking skills of evaluation,synthesis, application, and inference (Short, Harste,& Burke, 1996). In this instance, inquiry also had thepotential to expand students' knowledge beyond thetextbook. It caused them to question "factual information"and seek answers that cannot be found in textbooks alone.It helped them to see the world through different eyes.As a result of this project, students' literacy developmentwas enhanced, in the sense that they had begun to thinkcritically about what they read, but only to a limiteddegree; they developed a deeper conceptual understandingof chosen topics. While they were able to identify elementsthat were missing or biased in texts, these students wereonly at the brink of becoming critically literate individuals.Their reasoning was sometimes limited to their ownexperience.

The outcome of this study serves as an exemplar toteachers, preservice teachers, curriculum writers, andanyone involved in the education of adolescents. If it istrue that qualitative studies do not have conclusions butonly serve to create more questions (Wolcott, 2001), thencontinued study is warranted. A potential strand of futureresearch would be to further explore the acquisition ofcritical literacy skills in different contexts and/or throughdifferent forms of pedagogy. Socratic seminars, literaturecircles, and pre-and post-reading activities would serve asexcellent forums for such exploration.

The significance ofthis research lies in the active natureof a learning experience that allowed for empowermentin two ways: 1) From a critical literacy stance, readerswere encouraged to question the status quo, 2) Throughinquiry, students were challenged to explore and constructtheir own knowledge about the world. Results hold strongimplications for becoming more responsible and informedcitizens. Moje (2000) suggested that, besides the needfor content knowledge, literacy strategies, and writing,students at the middle and secondary levels need apurposefor engaging in literacy activities. More specifically, theyneed to learn how to use literacy as a tool for achievingdifferent goals. For this inquiry-based project, the goalwas to discover the answers to one's questions and tobecome more cognizant of the inequalities that pervadeour world.

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TITLE: World War II and Beyond: Middle School Inquiry andCritical Literacy

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