Literacy Practices Research Articles

Positive impact of an inpatient early childhood literacy programme on literacy practices and family experience in a paediatric heart centre.

CHD predisposes children to neurodevelopmental delays. Frequent, prolonged hospitalisations during infancy prevent children with heart disease from participating in recommended language and cognitive development programmes, such as outpatient early childhood literacy programmes, and contribute to caregiver stress, a risk factor for adverse developmental outcomes. This study aims to describe the implementation of a single-centre inpatient early childhood literacy programme for hospitalised infants with heart disease and assess its impact on reading practices and patient-family hospital experience. Admitted infants ≤1 year old receive books, a calendar to track reading frequency, and reading guidance at regular intervals. Voluntary feedback is solicited from caregivers using an anonymous, QR-code survey on books. A prospective survey also assessed programme impact on hospital experience. From February 2021 to November 2023, the Books@Heart programme provided 1,293 books to families of 840 infants, of whom 110 voluntarily submitted feedback. Caregivers reported a significant improvement in access to books (p < 0.001) and increased reading frequency after learning about Books@Heart (p = 0.003), with the proportion reading to their child daily increasing from 27% to 62%. Among 40 prospective survey responses, caregivers reported feeling a sense of personal fulfillment (60%), self-confidence (30%), connection (98%), and personal well-being (40%) while reading to their child. An inpatient early childhood literacy programme is a well-received intervention for infants with heart disease that promotes development, improves book access, increases reading exposure, and engages families. Further studies are needed to assess its impact on sustained reading practices and neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Teaching poetry using Instagram: An international, interdisciplinary study with adolescents mobilizing literacy and the arts

Young people engage daily with various social media platforms to communicate with each other across the globe. Adolescents not only share text, but also use images and sound to express themselves on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to provide access to user-created content. The recent emergence of InstaPoetry—poetry with images on Instagram—has been part of such communication and provides a good entry point into adolescents’ engagement with literature and the arts. Limited research exists, however, on how this literate practice, paired with virtual and in-person museum visits, influences young people’s self-expression. In this article, we offer ways of integrating and involving these dynamic dimensions into research projects based on four sites of inquiry located in Canada and Australia. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, this research project provides concrete avenues to investigate teachers’ methods to foster adolescents’ engagement with literature and the arts (i.e., contextual design, procedures, environment) in (post) COVID-19 times.

Boxed In and-and Busting Out

Working with a group of Alberta Grade 1 and 2 teachers we have observed and heard described several of the complexities they face in practicing well amidst multiple and competing dimensions of contemporary literacy instruction. The outcomes-driven machinery of their provincial context, their school district’s system for communicating classroom assessments, and the increasing dominance of synthetic phonics are factors the teachers note as constraining their knowledge, skills, and ways of being/doing, and that of their students. When these material expectations are positioned against other commitments to literacy education and diverse ways of being/becoming literate they both intend a certain future and serve as reminders of literacy education’s philosophical and practical “trouble without end” (Tsing, 2015, p. 2). Conceptualizing instructional contexts and practices as research assemblages, the study in which this paper is based investigates how early elementary teachers work at, with, and within the current conditionings of school-based literacy practices. Drawing on teacher interviews, photographs from within literacy teaching and learning situations (Snaza, 2019), and extended observations with a Grade 1 French Immersion teacher and class, the purpose of this paper is to explore liveable possibilities in reading, writing, and language instruction for the “right now” of literacy education (Kuby et al., 2019). Focusing on examples in which teachers seek “and…and…and…” pedagogies (Deleuze &amp; Guattari, 1987, p. 25) our purpose is not to settle the troubled waters of literacy education but to trace contours of possibility as teachers encounter literacy education’s boxes and boundaries and exceed their confines. We follow teachers’ material and social participation in curricular attentions to affect and cultivations of newness as a practice of care for and curiosity about a shared world in early elementary literacy instruction.

Success Stories of Multilingual Literacy: A Case Study of Ife 1970 Nigeria’s Project and the 2002 Western Cape’s LOITASA’s Project in South Africa

In a progressively interrelated world, the advancement of strong multilingual literacy skills among learners is of great importance. This article showcases successful multilingual literacy initiatives, analyzing their implementation and impact. The study revealed a great positive influence on communities and individuals after the initiatives. The predominant aim is to give extra weight to the indispensable importance of appreciating and paying attention to linguistic diversity through effective multilingual/translanguaging literacy opening moves. Using a survey design, this study paid attention to documenting instances of multilingualism implementation in educational settings, purposefully selecting South Africa and Nigeria as central points. Using a qualitative approach, the research examined success stories by analyzing reports, publications, archival materials, and scholarly articles associated with the projects. Special attention was paid to the Ife 1970 Nigeria’s Project and the 2002 Western Cape LOITASA’s project and the findings were presented in a descriptive narrative format. The study elaborated on the objectives, strategies, and results of these projects, presenting findings in a descriptive narrative format. Moreover, the study contributes valuable insights to the debates surrounding effective literacy practices in multilingual contexts. By presenting success stories from these African nations, the study provided practical guideposts for policymakers, educators, and practitioners who want to develop or improve multilingual literacy programs. Lastly, the findings stressed the significance of culturally responsive and context-specific approaches to literacy, proposing the adoption of multilingual/translanguaging pedagogies within school systems. Through these, the study will promote inclusive and efficient educational practices that honor and celebrate linguistic diversity. Keywords: Educational Outcomes, Language Diversity, Multilingual Education, Multilingual Literacy, Repertoire Knowledge

Az IKT-eszközök szülői kontrollja az olvasóvá nevelés kontextusában

With digital technologies spreading exponentially, families and parents are concerned about the crisis of culture, of the book, of raising their children to be readers. In the research on which the present study is based (2022, 10 semi-structured interviews), I asked graduate mothers living in a rural settlement (Parajd, Harghita County) about their perception of ICT tools in their family literacy practices. In my previous research (Néma, 2023c), I found a significant opposition in the perception of books and ICT tools, thematising the latter as a primary obstacle in the process of literacy education. Thus, in the present study, I present the 6 groups of opinions in which the interviewed mothers detail the need to regulate children's use of devices in the context of reading - by analysing the content of 85 statements emphasising ICT control from the parental narrative.

Um panorama da poesia epigramática neolatina polonesa (e russa)

The following article provides an overview of Polish neo-Latin poetry with a full historical background provided by situating the literary practices of 16th C. Poland and exploring some of the principal theoretical and rhetorical approaches to this poetry. The article claims Polish letters to be central in Eastern Europe, and a decisive authority that helped shape the literary fields of lands such as Ruthenia (presently, Ukraine and Belarus) and Russia until the 18th C. By taking as example Maciej Sarbiewski’s epigrammatic production, I offer a glimpse into the theoretical works of Jesuit priest, Jacobus Pontanus, and of the foremost intellectual in Peter the Great’s court, Feofan Prokopóvitch.

A Parent’s Multimodal Support to Bilingual Child’s Reading: A Case Study of Korean Immigrant Family

ABSTRACT Shared reading is a practice for promoting children’s literacy that parents may utilize at home. In particular, multimodal interactions between a parent and a child can play a role in fostering bilingual children’s reading experiences. This qualitative case study explores how a Korean bilingual mother multimodally supports her child’s shared reading practices. Data sources include an online survey, a monthly reading log, two home visit video observations, and a parent interview. Four multimodal cues are classified throughout the reading: pointing, hand gestures, nodding, and audio language. The three emerging themes of the parent’s nonverbal language in support of the child’s literacy practices include assisting in guessing vocabulary and meaning, drawing attention, and encouraging confidence. The implications of the study are discussed with regards to better promoting a home literacy environment, along with the open communication of relevant messages to parents and educators to offer more support for bilingual students.

Ground Truths: Engaging Kansas Public Libraries in Resilience Research

In Kansas, the NSF-funded statewide initiative Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructure for Social Equity (ARISE) was formed with the goal to create tools and programs that ensure support for communities in rural and urban areas who are most vulnerable to disaster, both natural and human-made. Data literacy has been identified as a foundational infrastructure need. This poster describes emerging findings from Data Literacy for All: A Kansas Public Library Initiative, a project within the ARISE initiative. This year-long study seeks to engage Kansas public library leaders in community-based research to identify the needs of their libraries for supporting everyday life data literacy in the communities they serve. Everyday life data literacy, defined as “the sociocultural data practices that occur within and across different domains of existing literacy practices,” is fundamental for social and economic resilience and can serve as a protective mechanism against misinformation. Using surveys and interviews with public library leaders, this study set out to uncover the ground truths of public library needs across the state of Kansas. An early and emerging picture suggests that public libraries may be best positioned to support data literacy and other resilience initiatives when they are recognized within their communities as critical infrastructure. This poster will report on continued findings in the Data Literacy for All project; the benefits and challenges of using community-engaged methods to involve library professionals in resilience research endeavors; and implications for preparing pre-service librarians for the profession.

Financial Literacy Practices of Teachers

Embracing sound financial literacy practices can empower teachers to build a financially literate community. In this context, this study aimed to determine the level of teachers’ financial literacy practices. Data for this descriptive study was collected from 56 teachers using a researcher-made instrument that has gone through rigorous tests of validity and reliability. The ensuing analysis showed a low level of financial literacy among teacher-respondents. Additionally, no significant difference was found in the teachers’ financial literacy practices based on age and civil status. In contrast, a significant difference was found in teachers’ financial literacy practices based on groupings by educational attainment and family income. Meanwhile, a significant difference was found when the same data was analyzed based on the length of service and grouping by needs and wants. The findings of this paper call for a salary increase for the teachers, loans on a legal basis, seminars, and training for teachers. Keywords: Financial literacy practices, teachers, Negros Occidental, Philippines

Does Early Childhood Education Matter on Reading Achievement Among Arab Countries

Our research focuses on the impact of Early Childhood Education (ECE) in the reading achievement of pupils in primary schools in MENA countries. The study employed the international data from PIRLS 2016 to identify the effect of early literacy practices on later reading attainment. Leveraging data from the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, we utilize ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and quantile regression to estimate education production functions for each country individually. This approach enables us to assess how coefficients on explanatory variables vary across the spectrum of test scores. The results show that in MENA countries, early childhood education, which develops pupils’ skills acquisition before formal schooling, improves their reading performance. In sum, The Early childhood education effect can be reinforced through government policy and family background. In addition, we recommend a universal access to early childhood education., concentration of early childhood services in the private sector makes the programs confined only to wealthy people who can afford them, especially people living in urban cities and improve the quality of early education by implementing appropriate curricula and modern teaching.

“I feel like I cannot manage without her”

This study explores how a teacher at a Swedish language introductory school is perceived as a literacy mediator or literacy broker (Brandt, 1998) by a group of migrant adolescents with limited prior formal education. Beyond traditional language acquisition elements like grammar and vocabulary, these students are navigating emergent literacy in a second language while adapting to a new society (Gee, 2005). My research is guided by two main questions: (1) How do the students report that their teacher supports their engagement in literacy practices? (2) What do the students think about the fact that certain literacy practices seem to be enabled while others are hindered? Conducted during the 2017/18 school year as an ethnographic case study in an introductory language class, the investigation utilizes field notes, recorded interactions, field conversations, and formal interviews with nine students. The analysis reveals the students’ appreciation for the teacher’s support in meeting new literacy standards, while also highlighting their acceptance of the devaluation of some prior literacy practices as a strategic choice to facilitate engagement in mainstream society’s literacy practices (Nocon &amp; Cole, 2009; Janks, 2010). The study also discusses the students’ opportunities to express themselves, both in interviews and within the classroom, in connection to these findings. Additionally, the concept of literacy sponsorship is explored in relation to these discussions.

Strategic planning best practices: strengthening the planning-performance relationship

PurposeThis study builds on the practice-based view of strategy to examine whether the three most commonly prescribed strategic planning best practices – scanning, communication openness and participative decision-making – actually strengthen the planning-performance relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses objective performance data and data from a survey of 159 managers from 43 publicly listed US firms to test the hypothesized moderation effects of best practices. The analysis uses hierarchical regression.FindingsAt high levels of planning, firms high in participative decision-making and low in openness and scanning outperform firms low in participation and high in openness and scanning. The results reverse at low levels of planning.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a cross-sectional study with a small sample. The response rate was modest; hence, the results should be treated as exploratory. Since the sample is not random, the results may not be generalizable.Practical implicationsWhile managers may find a best practice label helpful, the best practices implemented within a firm need to fit existing planning processes in order to increase planning effectiveness.Originality/valueWhile academic scholarship sometimes struggles with generating actionable prescriptions for improving strategic planning, recommendations by practitioners lack empirical backing. This study builds on the practice-based view of strategy to bridge this gap. These results are consistent with both academic and practitioner literature on strategic planning in finding that the best practices of scanning, openness and participative decision-making strengthen the planning-performance relationship at different planning levels, possibly by underpinning the firm’s dynamic capabilities.

Transforming science literacy: assessing the ability of chemistry teacher candidates through the viewpoint of Islamic values

Science literacy assessment is important to familiarize students with literacy questions based on aspects of science knowledge and its interaction with the environment, technology, and society. Students' low science literacy is often caused by teachers' low science literacy. This study aims to analyze (1) the science literacy skills of chemistry education students in basic chemistry courses; and (2) the science literacy skills of chemistry education students based on competency aspects which are divided into three achievement indicators. This research is a descriptive study with a quantitative approach, with subjects 21 semester 6 students of the chemistry education study program at UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung. The instrument used was a scientific literacy test in the form of an essay test with 22 questions which have been validated by 2 chemistry education lecturers, and the test results with a test reliability of 0.629, as well as a difficulty level of 1 easy question, 19 medium, and 2 difficult. The results showed that (1) students' science literacy skills were in the "sufficient" category with an average score of 43.9. (2) Analysis based on competency aspects shows the ability to explain phenomena scientifically and identify scientific issues is in the sufficient category, but the use of scientific evidence is low. The findings are expected to provide input to improve learning and practice of science literacy in preparing students as future educators.

E-Textbooks as a Teaching Aid at a University of Technology in South Africa: A Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Analysis

The past two years saw a rapid proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in higher education. Digital technologies and environments offer many affordances. New digital literacy practices in universities have implications for teaching and learning. E-textbooks, in particular, act as mediating tools that can facilitate teaching and learning through developing students’ understandings of scientific concepts. This paper positions e-textbooks as mediators of learning, rather than merely objects of learning. There is thus a need to understand the mediating role of e-textbooks that lecturers draw on in their teaching. While much research was conducted on students’ use of e-textbooks, relatively little was conducted on lecturers’ use of e-textbooks in engineering education. The current study aimed to answer the following research question: What are lecturers’ perspectives on the use of e-textbooks to facilitate learning in engineering? To address this question, data were collected through five individual interviews conducted with engineering lecturers working in the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) of first-year students from three engineering departments (chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and nautical science) at a university of technology in South Africa. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis with the help of ATLAS.ti. Data analysis was guided by a theoretical framework that drew on the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). In this study, the focus was on e-textbooks as pedagogical tools within engineering teaching and learning. The findings provide insight into how lecturers incorporate e-textbooks into their teaching, but also reveal the extent to which new digital literacy reading practices remain unfamiliar to engineering lecturers. CHAT enabled the identification of a critical insight, namely, the tension between mediation and division of labour. This highlights important aspects of the discourse surrounding seamless technology integration in higher education. The discussion points to the need for an expansive transformation regarding the use of e-textbooks as important mediating tools for teaching and learning.

The Role of the Practitioner in Curating LGBTQIA+ Safe Spaces in Libraries

ABSTRACTThe LGBTQIA+ community has come under increasing hostility in the North America through policy and challenges to library holdings and funding. These challenges to professional jurisdiction have prompted renewed scrutiny of the library‐as‐institution's responsibility toward society and the LGBTQIA+ community specifically. Safe spaces for this community remains a nebulous and contested concept. This paper reports preliminary findings of conceptualizations of LGBTQIA+ safe spaces in scholarly and practitioner literature in library and information science. Undertaking a critical literature review, this work outlines conceptualizations of the librarian's role in cultivating safe spaces and contrasts the theme of safe spaces as consisting of in‐group safe spaces. This paper collocates discussions of sociocultural contexts informing the ideas within literature alongside critical appraisals of and tensions with lived experience of queer folks. Surfaced is the gap between the two bodies of knowledge and conceptual and practice‐oriented approaches to reduce this gap.

Mapping the SDG 4 Process: Algorithmic Literacy Among Students of the University of Sarajevo

Utilizing a mixed-method approach, this research aims to evaluate algorithmic literacy among students at the University of Sarajevo - Faculty of Political Sciences and the Faculty of Philosophy (BIH), and to assess the possibilities for improving existing practices of media and information literacy (MIL) integration. The central research question investigates how current MIL educational strategies influence students' awareness and understanding of the roles algorithms play in the digital transformation of a society striving for sustainable development. Therefore, the study encompasses a descriptive method of holistic approach elements: strategic documents, MIL book edition and MOOC modules. Subsequently, a thematic analysis of ten qualitative interviews with students further explores their experiences, attitudes, and perceptions regarding information, media, and algorithms. The research results offer insights into the potential of MIL education to support algorithmic literacy and its potential contribution to sustainable development, particularly focusing on SDG 4 - Quality Education. By aligning its findings with the objectives of a universally applicable goal, this study not only addresses the context of algorithmic literacy as an integral component of quality education but also serves as a step towards advancing the interconnectedness of open education and artificial intelligence.

The Instantiation of Narrative in Picturebook Forms

Narratives have been instantiated across an array of materials, media, and modalities, including oral storytelling, film, novels, tapestries, comics, theatre, and children’s picturebooks for centuries. Narrative picturebooks come in many different forms, contain a variety of modalities, primarily written and oral language, visual images, and design elements, and are produced using an array of material and production technologies. Like the continuing evolution of narratives in general, narrative picturebooks are part of an extended history of visual and multimodal communication and have been instantiated as printed codices, moveable or pop-up books, volvelles, electronic books, and as digital and augmented reality software applications. This article focuses on the semiotic, material, and ideological aspects of the instantiation of narrative in picturebook form and examines how narrative picturebooks are embedded in an array of social, cultural, and literacy practices. Additionally, the article proposes a framework from which to consider the syntactical, modal, compositional, mediational, material, technological, historical, and sociocultural aspects of the instantiation of narrative in picturebook forms.

Digital Literacy Practice: Pedagogical Approach with CoPORA Model on Students’ Performances in Writing Classroom

Objective: This study aims to describe the impact of the CoPORA model on EFL university students’ performances in accessing, communicating, integrating, evaluating, and creating information using social media in a writing classroom. Method: Data were collected using interview techniques from EFL university students and analyzed descriptively to achieve the study's objectives. Results: The CoPORA model in pedagogical digital literacy practices enables students to master English vocabulary, be motivated to communicate, develop social identity, and manage and evaluate information effectively. Key performances included creating and communicating argumentative texts with readers on social media platforms. Social media usage facilitated checking trusted sources and contents, communicating information with friends, lecturers, and followers, making cross-references among digital content and facts, proving the truth of contents, and writing and communicating argumentative texts. Novelty: The study found that pedagogical digital literacy practices using the CoPORA model positively contribute to students' mutual contributions to language learning, cognition, and social interaction in English essay-writing classrooms.

Multilingual learners’ literacy identities: ideology and local enactment of a language-restrictive alternative instructional program

This article reports a case study of the local enactment of a supportive mainstream language program in two elementary classrooms in a school district with an increasing number of linguistically and culturally diverse students. The study explores how teachers and multilingual learners (MLs) in this context navigate the school’s supportive mainstream language program, a type of alternative instructional program, that pulls MLs out of their mainstream classrooms for English language development instruction. Most US language education policies currently outline alternative instructional language programs, such as supportive mainstream and sheltered instruction programs, as options for districts and schools. To understand MLs’ literacy development opportunities in such programs, the study examines literacy identity construction through the interaction of participants’ language ideologies and literacy practices as they enact the language program. Drawing on the theory of heteroglossia and works on literacy communities, the article unpacks the nuances of language-restrictive programs that position MLs in deficit light. The findings highlight the dissonance between participants’ ideologies and literacy practices used negotiate their subjectivities, and constructed deficit identities within the school’s dominant hegemonic literacy community. The findings are discussed considering their implications for building authentic literacy communities and incorporating an equity perspective into language policies.

Digital In- and Exclusion in Everyday Life: Practices and Literacies Across the Lifespan

In this thematic issue of &lt;em&gt;Media and Communication&lt;/em&gt; titled Practices of Digital In- and Exclusion in Everyday Life, we bring together insights from around the world to offer a diverse set of perspectives on digital practices and digital literacies across the lifespan. Moreover, emphasizing the development of digital literacies as a situated social practice, this thematic issue provides insights into the social contexts through which people develop digital literacy practices, how they construct and integrate social norms around technologies, and the links between digital literacies and (digital) citizenship. As concerns about digital in- and exclusion grow, this thematic issue hosts numerous relevant studies by academics that collectively help us gain insight into the impact of digital in- and exclusion in everyday life across the lifespan, gaining insight into the role of different contextual factors, including time, place, and social, economic, and political contexts in the ways in which citizens use digital media and develop digital literacies.