Storytelling in a Racially, Culturally, and Linguistically Complex Classroom: Negotiating Tensions Between Teacher Beliefs and the Systems of Schooling

This study explores what tensions exist for a teacher who desires to incorporate storytelling into their classroom. This study uses a framing of storytelling as a theoretical concept and as classroom pedagogy to explore the research question: What tensions exist for a teacher who desires to incorporate storytelling into an urban, first-grade classroom? Data collection and analysis revealed that the teacher experienced three key tensions—structural, economic, and political/administrative—between her desires and what she was required to do given her school context and directives. This teacher's story emphasizes implications for policy, research, and practice.