The quiet in the land: Core-to-Core Culture Confrontation in a democratic English classroom

The purpose of this investigation was to answer two primary questions that pertain to a young person's transition from high school into the university English classroom. This study explored how a first-year college student shapes and re-shapes a "received" worldview in the context of a university English classroom that purports to be democratically structured and constructivist. The study also explored the ways that the young person might experience forms of silencing or marginalization as a result of enacting her received worldview and Discourse in that setting. A case study design served as the structure of this research project that followed the transition of seven graduates from the same high school who went on to enroll in seven different universities. The students participated in data collection activities that included interviews, reflective journals, essays, reader response activities, and portfolios. The students' responses were recorded as participant profiles and analyzed for evidence of worldview shifting, silencing, and Core-to-Core confrontation.; All participants were educated for at least four years in Anabaptist-Mennonite schools. The primary analytical lens was the concept of "Core-to-Core Culture Confrontation," as defined by Chaim Potok (1986). Participant responses to literature were examined for evidence of how an Anabaptist-Mennonite worldview and Discourse, affected the participant's transaction (Rosenblatt, 1995) with literature. Additionally, three case studies were expanded to allow for the presentation and examination of the participants' Discourse (Gee, 1999) in their university English classes, including how each resolved any Core-to-Core culture confrontation.; The results of this study show that students representing a non-mainstream worldview and Discourse will likely experience some forms of silencing in a democratically structured, constructivist English classroom. Transitioning from a "received" to a constructed worldview involves contribution of the student's prior knowledge (Beach, 1980) and an examination of her Discourse. Presentation of the student's Discourse will invariably result in Core-to-Core culture confrontations that must be resolved.