| dc.description.abstract |
Using fiction in the classroom enhances literacy and critical proficiencies. Fiction illuminates "imagined-worlds," and socially constructed perspectives of identity and culture. This guides readers into critiquing portrayals of self and others; minimizing the caricaturing of the "Other." However, efforts at integrating fiction across content areas might be less evident in Caribbean classrooms. Further, teachers and teacher educators integrating fiction, and particularly local fiction, risk being perceived as not having such expertise, and as being less scholarly or less rigorous in their commitment to content mastery. Four professors of differing cultural backgrounds across two subject areas explore the rationale and strategies for integrating Caribbean and other fiction within diverse programme courses. The co-researchers synthesize their experiences, artifacts, and lessons learned using self-study/auto-ethnography/narrative inquiry to frame their research. Four guiding questions directed the development of their narratives: 1) What are our stories as teacher educators using "integrated fiction"? 2) What specific strategies do we consider most effective? 3) What are our challenges? And 4) What recommendations do we have for improving our teaching? Emerging results indicate that using diverse fiction, particularly local/indigenous material, can inform students and educators while fostering cultural sensitivity, community connectedness, meaningfulness to curricula, and critical praxis |
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