'Each and Every One of Us': A Comparative Case Study of Coalitional Literacy Praxis in Community Organizing and School Spaces
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| Title: | 'Each and Every One of Us': A Comparative Case Study of Coalitional Literacy Praxis in Community Organizing and School Spaces |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Alicia Rusoja (ORCID |
| Source: | Reading Research Quarterly. 2026 61(2). |
| Availability: | Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 19 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Literacy, Community Involvement, Community Cooperation, Ethnography, Praxis, Collaborative Writing, Reading Strategies, Community Problems, Problem Solving, Story Telling |
| DOI: | 10.1002/rrq.70118 |
| ISSN: | 0034-0553 1936-2722 |
| Abstract: | This qualitative, comparative case study draws on the concepts of "coalitional literacy," "organizing as critical pedagogy," "oppression as intermeshed," and "solidarity as pedagogical" to address this question: "How is solidarity built through literacy practice in two different educational spaces (one community-organizing based and one classroom-based) in a large, ethnically and racially diverse, urban context?" Through comparative analysis of ethnographic data, such as participant observations, fieldnotes, and open-ended interviews, this study found that across both spaces a specific set of coalitional literacy practices, coming together as "praxis," facilitated moves toward solidarity. What we term "coalitional literacy praxis" involved (a) problem posing the status quo on a particular community issue through shared reading and writing, (b) empathetic listening to critical testimonials, and (c) dialogic inquiry that surfaced systemic and internalized oppression. Study implications include that coalitional literacy praxis can be a tool--within and outside of schools--for unlearning internalized assumptions that uphold fused oppressions, and for learning/teaching toward solidarity. Implications also invite viewing community organizers as educators and educators as community organizers. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1503978 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| Abstract: | This qualitative, comparative case study draws on the concepts of "coalitional literacy," "organizing as critical pedagogy," "oppression as intermeshed," and "solidarity as pedagogical" to address this question: "How is solidarity built through literacy practice in two different educational spaces (one community-organizing based and one classroom-based) in a large, ethnically and racially diverse, urban context?" Through comparative analysis of ethnographic data, such as participant observations, fieldnotes, and open-ended interviews, this study found that across both spaces a specific set of coalitional literacy practices, coming together as "praxis," facilitated moves toward solidarity. What we term "coalitional literacy praxis" involved (a) problem posing the status quo on a particular community issue through shared reading and writing, (b) empathetic listening to critical testimonials, and (c) dialogic inquiry that surfaced systemic and internalized oppression. Study implications include that coalitional literacy praxis can be a tool--within and outside of schools--for unlearning internalized assumptions that uphold fused oppressions, and for learning/teaching toward solidarity. Implications also invite viewing community organizers as educators and educators as community organizers. |
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| ISSN: | 0034-0553 1936-2722 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/rrq.70118 |
