Conflicting Discourses: A First Grade Teacher's Perceptions of Teaching with a Scripted ELA Curriculum

Abstract

In this article, a case study is presented of an urban first grade teacher’s perceptions of teaching English language arts (ELA) within a district-mandated scripted curriculum. The teacher was observed during fifteen sessions of whole-class, 90-minute reading over two months and was interviewed four times. All curricular materials were analyzed, including the commercial ELA curriculum and the school district-supplied Common Core State Standards materials. Qualitative analyses revealed that the teacher possessed three discourses, or “distinctive ways of acting, interacting, valuing, feeling...thinking, and believing” (Gee, 2011, p. 177) which she accessed in order to talk about her experiences. The teacher’s three discourses were: (1) an academic discourse derived from her Master’s program; (2) a professional discourse that developed during her career; and (3) a personal discourse that came to be throughout her life. The teacher’s discourses remained compartmentalized and possible reasons are explored, with implications for administrators, policy makers, and teachers in similar situations.

Keywords

• Scripted curriculum
• ELA curriculum
• Common Core