Teaching with children's literature in initial teacher education: Developing equitable literacy pedagogy through talk about books

Abstract

Teaching about children’s literature in pre-service teacher education is quite rare, even though research shows it is crucial for teachers to be good at teaching reading as well as being committed readers (Commeyras et al., 2003; Cremin et al., 2009). Emphasis on the reading process can sideline the importance of talking about quality literature to engage students in reading (Author, 2016). I have positioned the role of talk about books as a core part of our undergraduate degree. In this way, my pre-service teachers are alerted to the potential of the ‘fiction effect’ to improve equitable engagement with reading (Jerrim & Moss, 2019) for all students.
 
 The paper explores how an initial teacher education course in Australia partnered with local schools to create authentic interactions about children’s literature. A dialogic approach to learning (Alexander, 2020) was adopted to teach pre-service teachers to develop equitable literacy pedagogy informed by children's literature. During their education program the pre-service teachers received letters from school children who wrote about their reading preferences. The letters were discussed for evidence of reading habits and new books were sought as recommendations for children to read. Through considering their own reading identities pre-service teachers collectively developed their knowledge about children’s literature as they developed knowledge of literacy pedagogy. The development of habits of noticing (Simpson et al., 2020) through iterative discussion helped the pre-service teachers’ learn about their students, learn from their students, and encouraged them to take a more holistic view of the teaching of reading.