Texts are a central component of U.S. high school (HS) English curricula and instruction, and selecting texts to be included in the curriculum is considered one of teachers' most important instructional decisions (Northrop et al., 2019). Therefore, text selection holds the potential to impact reading engagement, interest, motivation, and overall reading performance (Tan & Mante- Estacio, 2021), and the choice of diverse and multicultural texts is vital to creating culturally inclusive and responsive literacy curricula (Author, 2024). However, little impact has been made on secondary teacher multicultural text selection in the U.S. within the last hundred years despite increasing student diversity and scholarly support for diversification: texts by and about White, straight, cisgender, able-bodied, middle-class people continue to dominate English curricula (Watkins & Ostenson, 2015). This study builds upon previous investigations of curricular text selection (Applebee, 1989), uniquely highlighting the student perspective on these texts.

This study employs a mixed-methods research design to survey 500 undergraduate students from two large universities in the midwestern U.S. to ascertain what book-length texts are included in HS English curricula and the extent to which these texts are diverse or multicultural. This study examines student responses to curricular text selection, including what texts they read, their motivations for reading or not, and what they wish had been different about their high school readings. The following research questions guide this study: 1) What current book-length texts are included in HS English curricula? 2) What is the range of student responses to the texts in their HS English curricula? Quantitative results indicate the texts assigned to participants in their HS English classes were predominantly traditional and lacked diversity in authorship and protagonists. Emergent qualitative themes noted that compliance, enjoyment, and accessibility impacted students’ engagement with and reading curricular texts.

Despite the increasing emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) principles in higher educational institutions (Scott, 2020), there remains a gap in consistent staff engagement with EDI initiatives and with related literature, which is essential for the goal of many universities of “creating inclusive environments” (Universities UK).
This study investigates the potential of interdisciplinary reading groups as a tool for enhancing staff engagement with EDI literature and practice within academic settings. It explores the implementation and impact of interdisciplinary reading groups across various departments within a university setting, aiming to cultivate a deeper understanding of EDI concepts and their practical applications.
Drawing on the framework of social justice reading groups previously employed in library settings (Harrington, et al, 2020) and amongst graduate students (Mahmood et al, 2021), the study looks at broader interdisciplinary contexts, addressing the unique challenges and opportunities that arise. The methodology includes a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys to measure engagement levels and qualitative interviews to gather insights on the perceived value and challenges of the reading groups.
Existing literature and anecdotal evidence suggest that such reading groups have the potential not only to enhance individual staff members' engagement with EDI topics but also to foster a collaborative culture that supports ongoing professional development in this critical area. The study offers practical recommendations for the implementation of similar initiatives in other educational settings and highlights the potential of interdisciplinary approaches to EDI education.
This research contributes to the broader discourse on how institutions can effectively engage staff with EDI initiatives, aiming to create more inclusive and equitable academic environments.

References:

https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2020.1754879

https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/topics/equality-diversity-and-inclusion

https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2020.1772176

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00407J

This study aims to use May Sarton's 1961 novel "The Small Room "to delve into how the "discipline first" logic of higher education training disciplines teachers and students, causing them to ignore “the life of mind" and bear the "the price of excellence," providing insights for finding a more resonate and open teacher-student relationship in teacher education. This article applies literature research and utilizes the social critical theory of the Frankfurt School and Dewey's philosophical thinking on "experience" to deeply analyze how the progressive logic of "step-by-step improvement" makes teachers and students view the uncontrollability and uncertainty of mindl growth as an "unnatural state", thereby exacerbating emotional dislocation between teachers and students, and between students' internal and external expressions, ultimately leading to an imbalance or even rupture of the triangular relationship between "teachers, students, and subjects". On this basis, this article advocates that teacher educators and their students should present an open and resonant state, so that teachers and students can recognize each other's existence as "whole people" with a more authentic and blended attitude in dynamic and balanced interaction, restore each other's self-efficacy and spiritual resilience as life subjects, and provide a thinking perspective for Equity and inclusion in teacher education from the perspective of teacher-student relationship.

A variety of models have attempted to encapsulate the multifaceted processes involved in reading, ranging from Scarbrough’s reading rope (2001) to the Active View of Reading (Duke & Cartwright, 2021). Our work builds upon the foundation laid by Scarbrough (2001) to more comprehensively capture the strategic, adaptive, and integrative nature of developing literacy. Our approach conceptualizes reading as a transaction that necessitates a socio-constructivist learning environment. We adopt the structure of Scarborough’s (2001) reading rope to underscore the essential skills and strategies it outlines as crucial to the reading process. However, we contend that the rope alone, without additional tools and active engagement from the reader—whether a novice learner or an expert—is insufficient for reaching the metaphorical summit. This model, taking up a rock climbing metaphor, proposes an integrative approach where the climbing tools and the climber's active decision-making processes are pivotal. Our extension of Scarborough’s (2001) rope model introduces elements that are intrinsic to top-rope climbing but extend beyond the rope itself. For example, the harness that connects the climber to the rope symbolizes the reader's motivation, executive function, cognitive development, and linguistic capabilities. Similarly, the handholds and footholds selected by the climber as they ascend represent the metacognitive decisions made during the reading process. These are just two elements of the model that illustrate that achieving proficiency in reading can be likened to reaching a summit, which requires dynamically engaging various skills and strategies beyond those represented by Scarborough’s model. Teaching quality is profoundly influenced by the educational models adopted by school systems. By enhancing Scarborough’s popular model with additional dimensions of reader engagement and strategy use, we offer a framework that not only respects the complexity of reading but also supports effective teaching practices, aligning with the conference’s focus on characteristics of quality teaching.