A poetic exploration of literacy to Zillennial teachers: stories of early-career educators in Ontario

Abstract

This research project is a braided weave of literary analysis, stories, and poetry. Using the arts-based post-qualitative research method, poetic inquiry, and the phenomenological interview process, this study explores how early-career educators born between 1995 and 2000 approach literacy instruction at the intermediate and senior levels. This project presents what teachers at the beginning of their careers notice about the literacy skills of youth and adolescents (aged 12- 18), and how these teachers address students' needs while balancing social and curricular expectations. Through distilling the stories of young, novice educators and presenting their felt experiences in poetic form, this work draws attention to the ways that young people are responding to the materials which have altered the role of the literacy teacher in Ontario and offers a meditative way of thinking about literacy and the efforts of new teachers. This research is significant as it contributes to the overall study of literacy pedagogies and teacher identities within the ethos of our time.