Stories of becoming: implications of future‐oriented theories for a vital literacy education

Abstract

AbstractDrawing on a multi‐year qualitative study of immigrant and non‐immigrant youth storytelling, I describe youth's imaginative labour as they constructed and moved into one another's worlds. I argue that although multicultural literature is vital for affirming and expanding youth perspectives on their own and others' worlds, the publishing industry lags behind the immediate needs of immigrant youth to be understood and heard as fully human. Storytelling, in the form of co‐narration, creates an imaginative space of uncertainty and playfulness for inviting possible futures into mutual awareness and interpretation. Using two storytelling episodes as illustrations and drawing on contemporary sociocultural and decolonizing theories, I outline four ways future‐oriented teaching and research may be realized: (1) rename the world, by considering ‘what if’, (2) reframe narratives of damage so that narratives of desire may be foregrounded, (3) contribute to a more just and equal world rather than merely participate in existing practices and (4) reclaim childhoods for freedom and exploration, especially in our relations with Black and Brown youth who are perceived in adult terms much earlier than their White peers. I argue, overall, that we must understand and develop a contemporary theory of imagination in order to meet the challenges of future‐oriented literacy teaching and research.