ABSTRACT
Drawing upon social justice as theory and practice, this chapter begins with a review of literature revealing and problematizing the interrelationships between literacy and incarceration. A university–school partnership in which English teacher candidates read young adult novels with incarcerated youth over a month-long period is introduced. Teacher candidates conduct reading interviews, offer book choices (based on information gathered from reading interviews), conduct miscue analyses, guide retrospective miscue analyses, and provide pre-, during, and post-reading strategies with/for their student partners. The literacy partnership process and pedagogy is detailed. Action research conducted with teacher candidates and incarcerated youth is shared which determined the effects of the partnership experiences on teachers’ understandings of literacy and its relationship with issues of culture and ability as well as students’ learning about reading, teachers, and teaching. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the partnership sustainability and challenges that could impact future collaborations. Resources and references are provided.
