Literacy Engagement Research Articles

Children’s perceptions of the importance and value of reading

Fostering children’s engagement in regular recreational reading beyond independent skill acquisition is beneficial to promote continued literacy engagement. Regular recreational reading is associated with both literacy skill acquisition and maintenance across the life span. Children’s perceptions of the importance and value of reading can influence their motivation to read. However, it is not currently known if children continue to perceive the value of reading beyond the period of independent reading skill acquisition. Findings from a sample of 997 older elementary children indicate that some children may not recognise the value of reading beyond independent reading skill acquisition. This is particularly significant, as children who valued the practice of reading read with greater frequency. In addition, children’s subjective task valuing of reading was revealed through the scope of benefits they associated with engagement in the practice, which influenced their conceptualisation of its value. These findings have implications for future educational reading interventions, as fostering greater valuing of regular reading may enhance children’s reading engagement, with valuing of reading found to be an important component of children’s reading motivation.

Power, literacy engagement, and polyphonic identities: Translanguaging in a Tanzanian community library

Powerful monoglossic ideologies in Tanzania have resulted in the pitting of Kiswahili and English in antagonistic opposition to each other, and the muting of the 130+ local languages in educational spaces. Cheche Community Library in northern Tanzania explores community-driven alternatives to rigid either/or discourses of language education by creating a translanguaging space which celebrates and expands children’s diverse linguistic resources. This paper details a critical action research study examining the impact of various multilingual pedagogies on power relations, literacy engagement and identity negotiation. These multilingual pedagogies include writing, reading, storytelling, singing, reading aloud, and games, all of which encourage translanguaging, with a focus on Maa (Maasai language), Kiswahili and English. The study’s participants were a combination of Maa-dominant and Kiswahili-dominant multilingual children. The findings show how specific uses of translanguaging destabilised entrenched power hierarchies between different languages and their speakers, and opened up space for all learners to position themselves with agency. Translanguaging practices also enriched literacy engagement and facilitated the affirmation and negotiation of participants’ polyphonic identities. This paper appeals for translanguaging to be embraced in mainstream schooling, and calls for the continuing development of translanguaging theory and educational models which speak directly to African realities.

Illustrating Tipitip bubblegum comics in Turkey: Transformation, outreach, humour and literacy engagement

Abstract This work makes an overview of the evolution of Tipitip bubblegum comics in Turkey, studying its impact on society especially on children for more than four decades. Besides its colourful and positive characteristics, Tipitip comics fostered optimism intertwined with wit tailor made for the Turkish audience at the time. Tipitip not only presented accessible visuals for its audience but also introduced rich content ranging from sports to opera, occupations to traffic, transmitting valuable visual information in each illustration. Tipitip, promoted as ‘your cheerful friend’, was not only a father figure but also an enthusiast, an adventurer and an inventor as he is seen in many roles, from a conductor to a waiter, from a scout to a drummer, which made these comics inclusive and modern. The Tipitip bubblegum comics, similar to their contemporaries, achieved more than just market success; they benefited their audience, especially children, by reaching even small towns and initiating literary engagement.

Out-of-School Reading and Literature Discussion: An Exploration of Adolescents’ Participation in Digital Book Clubs

This research used an inductive qualitative method to examine how adolescents participate in online literature discussion, with limited guidance from adults, through a summer reading program. Using a New Literacy framework, the authors considered that literacy is social and collaborative and that adolescents often engage in such literacy practices on the Internet outside of school. This study considered these literacy practices to examine an eight-week voluntary online summer reading program at a public library and how such a program might inform such activities in school settings to promote more authentic opportunities for literacy engagement. In this program, twelve adolescents (ages 13-17) read print-based young adult novels and responded to their reading in threaded discussion boards, called book clubs, in a closed, online social network. Results indicated two overlapping themes related to students’ formality in writing to promote shared learning and personalizing digital discussions to make connections. Researchers found adolescents spontaneously adopted online discussion techniques that hybridized formal discussion practices with more personal practices to encourage emotive transaction with text. These results raised implications for integrating such activities in classroom settings to support all learners and to promote academic literacies.

‘Baba, Take Us to Museum’: An Afghan refugee family’s engagement in language and literacy at the children’s museum

Although there is a growing body of literature which focuses on museums’ role in supporting children’s literacy, there is also a need for studies to show ways in which museums can support refugee families’ literacy practices. In light of this gap, this qualitative study explores the role of a children’s museum in the literacy practices of a recent refugee Afghan-American family. Data consisted of interviews with the parents and children, conducted using Skype, over a period of two months. A media capture functionality method was used to receive photos from the family using a smartphone. In addition, the family sent audio-recorded interactions during activities that took place at the children’s museum. The recordings were sent through Whatsapp, a smartphone application that lets users’ text, send images, audio record and make calls for free. The findings demonstrated that the children’s museum played an important role in the Manzoor family’s literacy practices. The exhibits at the museum offered the family a site of multi-modalities, where images, sounds and words together contributed to meaning-making. Moreover, the museum provided the family with important resources, such as books and pamphlets on registering for schools. Lastly, the children’s museum provided a supportive environment for the Manzoor family to learn English and meaningfully engage with print literacy.

Does Pocahontas Count? Sites of Engaged Process for Critical Literacy

This paper details my involvement as director of a media literacy program that brought together American And Nicaraguan youth to produce media about social issues. Grounded in civic engagement, youth leadership and media literacy, the program provided youth with media equipment and a series of workshops on digital literacy. Youth decided for their final project to re-create the colonial narrative Pocahontas. To me, this signaled a failure of critical media literacy programming to guide young people to tell critical stories. On further examination, I came to relate to this occurrence in a deeper way, wondering how they came to tell this story and discovering something rich and creative underneath the final product. In this paper, I explore the production process for this video, pushing at the boundaries of what constitutes both media literacy and civic engagement, and asking questions about how we understand what constitutes critical media literacy. Instead, I propose that when we focus on the product as what evidences critical literacy or civic engagement, we lose sight of the method. In this case, method was the home of powerful processes of literacy engagement around issues of class and race that were obscured by the use of the colonial narrative. This paper explores this tension, in order to both examine the challenges around producing a final product inextricably tied to colonial patterns of gender inequality and to give voice to the rich practices of critical literacy that the production process initiated.

Using a Mobile Laboratory to Promote College-Level Outreach and Graduate Student Engagement in Precollege STEM Literacy.

This article presents a case study about the impact that our mobile laboratory, the Rutgers Science Explorer bus, has had on the professional development of graduate students and content enrichment for the middle school communities in the state of New Jersey.

Learning From Exemplary Teachers of Literacy

AbstractRecent articles in The Reading Teacher have communicated contributions of reading research over the last three decades. In this article, the authors focus on a type of research that has contributed to our understanding of practice: studies of exemplary teachers of literacy. The authors discuss three studies and their findings: a study of a teacher who was exemplary in fostering the literacy achievement of African American students; a study of two teachers who were, in comparison with five other teachers studied, exemplary in fostering literacy engagement; and a study of 36 teachers who were more and less effective at fostering literacy growth. These and other studies of exemplary teachers reveal a wide range of instructional practices and their orchestration.

The Positive Effect of Intrinsic Feedback on Motivational Engagement and Self-Efficacy in Information Literacy

Formative assessment and feedback play important roles in empowering students as self-regulated learners in the higher education context. This study aimed to investigate the use of a rubric as a self-assessment tool which could generate intrinsic feedback to promote learning outcomes related to information literacy. We collected data from 584 Thai undergraduate students who enrolled in six sections of a general education course on information literacy skills. The researchers treated three sections as the control group and three sections as the experimental group. Only students in the experimental group took part in a formalized classroom activity based on using the course rubric as a tool for self-assessment. The results from the quasi-experimental study revealed that using a rubric as a self-assessment tool increased students’ self-efficacy in information literacy, which were measured in terms of “information search,” “information evaluation,” “information processing,” and “information communication and dissemination.” Our findings have important implications for the development of self-efficacy in information literacy.

The effects of context on processing words during sentence reading among adults varying in age and literacy skill.

The facilitation of word processing by sentence context reflects the interaction between the build-up of message-level semantics and lexical processing. Yet, little is known about how this effect varies through adulthood as a function of reading skill. In this study, Participants 18-64 years old with a range of literacy competence read simple sentences as their eye movements were monitored. We manipulated the predictability of a sentence-final target word, operationalized as cloze probability. First fixation durations showed an interaction between age and literacy skill, decreasing with age among more skilled readers but increasing among less skilled readers. This pattern suggests that age-related slowing may impact reading when not buffered by skill, but with continued practice, automatization of reading can continue to develop in adulthood. In absolute terms, readers were sensitive to predictability, regardless of age or literacy, in both early and later measures. Older readers showed differential contextual sensitivity in regression patterns, effects not moderated by literacy skill. Finally, comprehension performance increased with age and literacy skill, but performance among less skilled readers was especially reduced when predictability was low, suggesting that low-literacy adults (regardless of age) struggle when creating mental representations under weaker semantic constraints. Collectively, these findings suggest that aging readers (regardless of reading skill) are more sensitive to context for meaning-integration processes; that less skilled adult readers (regardless of age) depend more on a constrained semantic representation for comprehension; and that the capacity for literacy engagement enables continued development of efficient lexical processing in adult reading development. (PsycINFO Database Record

Arctic science education using public museum collections from the University of Alaska Museum: an evolving and expanding landscape

Alaska faces unique challenges in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, including limited accessibility to resources and learning opportunities, and a lack of place-based education resources. Museum education programs, traditionally focused on public outreach through docent-led tours, are playing an increasingly important role in both formal and informal aspects of STEM education to help address these challenges. The University of Alaska Museum (UAM) stands as a model in the Arctic region exemplifying how public natural history museum collections can be utilized to create active place-based learning experiences with the aim of increasing engagement in STEM literacy and building connections between museums and communities. These efforts take many forms, including the development of teaching materials involving physical objects and (or) online data from the open-access database ARCTOS, training preservice teachers, and implementing citizen science projects. Because many UAM specimens and objects are from Alaska, they are easily incorporated into place-based education, thereby demonstrating how the Arctic environment is unique at local and regional scales. Here, we showcase several programs that are either unique to UAM or part of larger national projects and include exemplar teaching modules in order to provide learning opportunities in the Arctic region and other rural settings.

Child physical punishment, parenting, and school readiness

AbstractThis study explored how physical punishment (PP) and other parenting approaches may predict school readiness outcomes. By using the Canada‐wide representative data, 5,513 children were followed over a 2‐year period. Caregivers reported on their use of PP and other parenting approaches (i.e., literacy and learning activities and other disciplinary practices) when children were 2–3 years old, whereas school readiness was measured at 4–5 years using interviewer‐administered tests of number competence and receptive vocabulary skills. Analyses controlled for PP use at 4–5 years, child externalizing behaviours, and various sociodemographics. Results indicated that PP does not directly predict school readiness; however, the effect of PP was moderated by other parenting approaches. Children's receptive vocabulary was weaker if caregivers used PP together with less frequent explaining/teaching regarding problem behaviour, or PP with less frequent engagement in literacy and learning activities. Children had weaker number competence when PP co‐occurred with more frequent psychological aggression (e.g., yelling/scolding). Results suggest that PP hinders children's school readiness when used alongside other parenting approaches, which reflects the reality of parenting (i.e., PP does not occur in isolation). Findings support early education efforts aimed at promoting early learning and literacy opportunities, as well as positive disciplinary strategies that do not involve PP.Highlights We explored how physical punishment and other parenting approaches may predict school readiness outcomes using Canada‐wide data. Results provided little evidence of positive effects of physical punishment on school readiness across a range of parenting and disciplinary contexts. To promote school readiness, early education efforts should promote early learning opportunities and positive disciplinary strategies that do not involve physical punishment.

Using Place-Referenced Approaches to Extend Language-Minority Youths’ Problem-Solving Abilities and Literacy Engagement

We examine an action research initiative focusing on youths who were born and/or began formal schooling in Canada but raised in homes where the societally dominant language was not extensively spoken. Concepts of place and situation were used as heuristics to extend secondary-level students’ problem-solving abilities and literacy engagement and—using activities revolving around youths’ locations within family, school, and community ecologies—to stimulate reflection on their personal and socially situated identities. The structure of secondary schooling, including its engagement of placemaking processes, is not conducive to the promotion of pedagogies that beneficially support the learning of this student cohort.

Using nonfiction scientific literature for conservation biology education: The Tigerland effect

ABSTRACTDespite the volume of research published and pedagogy practiced in conservation biology, there is little assessment of the effectiveness of pedagogical techniques for improving undergraduate conservation literacy and student engagement. We evaluated student responses (2009–2011) to reading Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations by Eric Dinerstein (2005) and found that the book effectively reinforced applied and theoretical concepts learned in class, improved vocabulary, and clarified student perceptions of the field and their potential careers. Our study suggests that reading of nonfiction scientific literature is a valuable option for engaging students in a more meaningful way than can be solely gained from reading required primary literature or textbooks.

An Evidence-Based Approach to the Use of Social Media to Promote Political Literacy among Youth in the Sultanate of Oman

This paper presents the findings of a review of literature to understand the issues facing the Sultanate of Oman in this area, and to identify international examples of best practice in the use of social media to promote political literacy among young people. Evidence-based recommendations for the Government of the Sultanate of Oman are developed, which include the provision of social media literacy training at school and university level, as well as the establishment of an online citizen engagement portal. By adopting international best practice in the use of social media to promote political literacy and citizen engagement among young people, it is believed that the Sultanate of Oman can provide a model for other Middle Eastern Arab states, helping to reduce the potential for political conflict in these countries and promoting participatory approaches to policy-making which reflect the growing demands of young citizens.

The Play-Literacy Interface in Full-day Kindergarten Classrooms

The increasing accountability framework in Kindergarten education has put pressure on teachers to ensure that students reach certain literacy milestones before proceeding to the subsequent grade. One result of this shift is a tension between an emphasis on academic learning and the use of developmentally appropriate practices, such as play. However, there is evidence that play can be an effective context for literacy development. This study investigated the enacted integration of literacy learning and play-based pedagogies. Semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers who taught using a play-based Kindergarten program revealed differences in their beliefs about the role of play for literacy learning. Two groups of teachers emerged from the data analysis. The play and development group. Consisted of five teachers who dichotomized play and learning while the integrated play and learning group consisted of seven teachers who combined play and learning. Teachers in the play and development group expressed the concept that play may not be the best approach for literacy learning and were less likely to integrate the two. Teachers in the integrated play and learning group believed play was important for children’s literacy learning and articulated a range of strategies for integration. Classroom observations of children’s play showed evidence of more literacy-play integration by students in the integrated play and learning group. Teachers in this group were also more likely to become involved in children’s play, which supported children’s literacy engagement during play. Although there were differences in play-literacy integration between the groups, all teachers expressed challenges associated with implementing a play-based learning program.

Students’ Oppositional Behaviors and Engagement in School: The Differential Role of the Student-Teacher Relationship

Students presenting oppositional behaviors often display lower behavioral and emotional engagement in class as compared to their peers. Moreover, children in general are known to be deeply affected by their relationships with teachers while in school. It is therefore possible that such relationships could also influence the engagement of students presenting higher levels of oppositional behavior. As a way of verifying this hypothesis, the present study investigated the contribution of students’ levels of oppositional behavior to their behavioral and emotional engagement in literacy. Furthermore, it examined whether these relationships were different for boys and girls, or changed as a function of two components of student-teacher relationships: closeness and conflict. Three hundred and eighty five third and fourth grade students and their teachers participated in the study. Two series of linear regressions were conducted. Findings indicate that students who presented higher levels of oppositional behavior showed lower behavioral engagement than their peers. Moreover, students who had close relationships with their teachers reported higher behavioral engagement. Although closeness in student-teacher relationships protected students from behavioral disengagement, students with higher oppositional behaviors were less protected than students who presented lower levels of oppositional difficulty. Having a warm relationship with a teacher was also more beneficial for the behavioral engagement of girls, whereas a high level of conflict between student and teacher was more harmful for the emotional engagement of boys. This was deemed to be true whether the boys or girls presented high levels of oppositional behavior or not. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of the student-teacher relationship in fostering all students’ engagement in school.

Scaling as a Literacy Activity: Mobility and Educational Inequality in an Age of Global Connectivity

This article takes up an area of central concern for educators in an era of global connectivity: howto account for the mobility of people, texts, and practices while simultaneously addressing persistent educational inequalities. In attending to the ways people participate in unequal globalized contexts,even educational contexts constructed to bring students and teachers together, we examine how resources such as time, space, materials, national identity, genre, and language are all unequally distributed and unequally ordered in various hierarchies. We propose the notion of scale to offer literacy researchers a flexible conceptual tool with which to examine educational inequities by capturing how movement and mobility are not simple processes of relocation; rather, literacies and texts are always dynamically constructed in relation to hierarchical orders of varying spatial and temporal dimensions. Through multisited ethnography, we engage in a scalar analysis of teachers’ cross-cultural collaborations to illustrate how they produced various categories of space and time (e.g., local, national, global) through routine literacy engagements. In explaining how different scales are invoked, implicated, and constructed in interaction, we find that participants engaged in six scalar moves-upscaling, downscaling, aligning, contesting, anchoring, and embedding-and offer these in response to the pressing need to develop sensitive analytical toolsthat can bring to the surface the ways inequalities are inscribed in literacy practices and texts.Implications of conceptualizing scaling as literacy activity include disrupting smooth narratives of global connectedness in educational collaborations and highlighting the multiscalar nature of all literacy practice.

Teacher leadership report: How student-led pedagogy in modern learning environments (MLEs) can improve literacy learning

Abstract Our teacher leadership story comes from two schools collaborating on a New Zealand Teacher Led Innovation Fund (TLIF) project exploring the effect of student-led learning practices on literacy achievement within modern learning environments (MLEs). Our rationale is that learning which is individualised for all learners leads to more equitable outcomes for all. It also enables student ownership of learning, which in turn increases success for all learners, measured through improved student engagement, positive shifts in attitude, and improved progress and achievement. We undertook two cycles of participatory action-based inquiry to find out how successful collaboration and student ownership within the MLEs could impact on literacy engagement and achievement. We noted considerable progress in the development of key competencies, influenced by the transfer of ownership from teacher to student through choice, sharing of the curriculum, and engagement with the wider range of resources readily available in an MLE. Giving students a say in their topic and context increased their engagement and led to improved outcomes in literacy achievement. The support provided by our school management for teacher-leadership of the innovations has enabled research-informed student-led pedagogy to be developed at both schools.

Individual Paths to Literacy Engagement: Three Narratives Revisited

What does it mean to be engaged, especially when it comes to literacy learning? It is this question that drove my doctoral research in 2007 when I became a participant observer in a grade two classroom with the goal of making the everyday visible while sharing a greater understanding of classroom life in relation to engagement. Six years later, I returned to the original school where the grade two students were in grade eight to revisit and expand student understandings of successful engagement in learning. In this paper, I revisit the narratives of Spike, Jasper and Avery (Scheffel, 2012) to consider themes of change and continuity, including ways in which initial success and struggle appeared to influence their journey over time. I also propose a revised Framework for Engagement that draws upon grade eight students' insights.