Learning to choose and teach “good” books: curricular accountability in elementary language arts teacher education

Purpose This study aims to examine how elementary teacher education programs can foster “curricular accountability” in language arts – the ability to make informed text selections aligned with inclusive educational values and justify these choices through critical reflection on their implications for diverse learners. Design/methodology/approach Using critical action research methods and reflexive thematic analysis, the authors traced 52 teacher candidates’ (TCs) evolving reasoning and priorities regarding their role as language arts teachers and criteria for selecting “good” books for classroom use. Findings Five distinct orientations toward choosing and teaching “good” books emerged along a continuum: Pleasure Reader, Text Connector, Meaning-Maker, Active Text Selector and Critical Text Selector. Initially, most TCs oriented as Pleasure Readers (65%), prioritizing personal enjoyment and nostalgia. By term’s end, many shifted toward more intentional orientations – Active (29%) and Critical (15%) – demonstrating nuanced understandings of representation, privilege and literature’s transformative potential. Findings show that criticality and pedagogical intentionality develop as interwoven rather than competing dimensions. Practical implications The continuum provides a shared language and practical tool for teacher educators to design learning experiences that scaffold candidates’ movement toward more accountable praxis. Originality/value This study challenges the notion that critical and pedagogical considerations are at odds, showing they develop in tandem. The continuum offers a framework for understanding educator orientations that support integrated critical-pedagogical reasoning in choosing and teaching “good” books. These orientations reflect not only individual shifts in reasoning but also broader patterns in how TCs prepare to enact curricular accountability.