ERIC Number: EJ1261630
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0159-6306
EISSN: N/A
Christmas in U.S. K-12 Schools: Categorizing and Explaining Teacher Awareness of Christo-Normativity
Puchner, Laurel; Markowitz, Linda
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v41 n4 p545-558 2020
To reduce Christo-normativity in United States of America schools, most schools tend to only educate teachers about what religious practices are allowed by law. The question we ask is whether a focus on structural policies, like law, works. We apply Bourdieu's theory of habitus, capital, and field to discuss the findings from 27 interviews we completed with teachers/administrators. We found that participants tended to fit into five categories related to their awareness of whether they promoted Christo-normativity. Those who were relatively aware were either Apologists or Non-celebrators and those who were less aware were Non-apologists, Promoters, or Deniers. We argue that while structural policies to reduce Christo-normativity in public schools may be effective for Apologists and Non-celebrators, such a policy may be ineffective or resisted among Non-apologists, Promoters or Deniers.
Descriptors: Christianity, Holidays, Laws, Social Capital, Cultural Capital, Teacher Attitudes, Administrator Attitudes, Religious Factors, Educational Policy, Public Schools, Inclusion, Diversity, Elementary Secondary Education, Kindergarten, Elementary School Teachers, School Districts, Advantaged, Religious Cultural Groups, Islam, Judaism
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A