Centered around the idea that literacy teaching is more than the transmission of strategies and skills, this volume serves as a foundation for approaching literacy from an identity perspective. Through incisive and accessible chapters from top scholars, it introduces readers to the concept of literate identities, examining them across ages and grade levels to present an overview of how scholars and educators can use this concept in their research and teaching.
Organized by developmental level with sections on early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and cross-age research, contributors reveal how literacy can be framed as an identity practice to engage students and support their development. Applying a range of theoretical perspectives and frameworks, each chapter identifies the identity theory used, explains the relevant methodology and research questions, covers implications for practice, and includes questions or prompts for discussion. The volume reveals how understanding literate identities is at the heart of effective and inclusive literacy instruction by addressing key topics, including culturally relevant pedagogy, intersectionality, and transnationalism, among others. Illuminating multiple pathways to understanding students as readers and writers, this book is essential for teachers, scholars, and researchers in literacy education, research methods, and multicultural education.
Author(s): Christopher J. Wagner, Katherine K. Frankel, Christine M. Leighton
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 263
City: New York
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Figures
Tables
Editor Biographies
Contributor Biographies
Introduction: Approaching Literacy from an Identity Perspective
Introduction
What Are Literate Identities?
Why Do Literate Identities Matter in Literacy Teaching and Research?
What Theories and Methods Are Used to Study Literate Identities?
Do Answers to These Questions Vary Across Childhood and Adolescence?
How This Book Is Structured
References
Section I: Literate Identities in Early Childhood
Introduction to Literate Identities in Early Childhood
Introduction
Theorizing Identities in Early Childhood
Research Methods in Early Childhood
Chapters in This Section
References
Chapter 1: Exploring, Analyzing, Interpreting, and (Re)Presenting Positive Visions of Young Children’s Literate Identities
Introduction
Theoretical Framing
Communities of Practice
Cultural Tools
Positioning Theory
Method
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Study 1
Study 2
Findings
Study 1
Study 2
Implications for Future Research and Practice
Discussion Questions
References
Chapter 2: Enhancing Students’ Identities as Readers and Writers through Assessment
Introduction
Why Assessment Counts in Enhancing Emergent Reader and Writer Identity
The Narrow History of Our Understanding of Human Motivation and Driving Forces
A Brief History of Driving Forces as Viewed in Reading and Writing Research
What Do Skills and Motivation Have in Common?
Understanding the Malleability of Reader and Writer Identity
A Concrete Case: A New-Generation Literacy Screening Test
The Self-Concept Tasks
Status of Third-Grade Reader and Writer Identities and Associations with Skill
How Assessment Can Help Strengthen Reader and Writer Identities
Concluding Remarks
Discussion Questions
References
Chapter 3: Language and Multilingualism in Young Children’s Literate Identities
Introduction
Theorizing Literate Identities for Multilingual Children
Methods
Context of Study 1
Context of Study 2
Data Sources
Reading and Writing Activities
Observations of Children’s Play
Draw and Talk Interviews
Interviews with Children
Interviews with Parents, Caretakers, and Teachers
Data Analysis
Findings
From a Monolingual to a Multilingual Lens on Literate Identities
Language Awareness
Language Preferences
Metalinguistic Awareness
Language Contexts Matter
Monolingual Reading Contexts
Multilingual Reading Contexts
Implications
Discussion Questions
References
Section II: Literate Identities in Middle Childhood
Introduction to Literate Identities in Middle Childhood
Introduction
Theorizing Identities in Middle Childhood
Research Methods in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence
Chapters in This Section
References
Chapter 4: A Sociocultural Approach to School Literacy: Navigating Identity Through Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Introduction
Theoretical Framework
Sociocultural and Asset-Based Perspectives
Literature Review
Independent Reading as a Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Independent Reading Transforming Learning, Identity, and Classrooms
Methodology
School Context and Positionality
Participants
Data Collection and Procedures
Data Analysis
Findings
Youth Voices: Context and Reader Identity
Grant Street, a “Reading School”
Teachers Recommend and Read Books Kids Want to Read
The Principal’s Book Club
Summary
Youth Voices: Texts and Reader Identity
Connecting to Characters
Seeking Out the Unfamiliar
Empathizing with the Character
Summary
Discussion
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
References
Chapter 5: Designing Literacy Instruction to Support Reading Identity Negotiations: The Case of One Fifth-Grade Classroom
Introduction
Understanding Reading Identities
Instructional Approaches That Support Reading Identities
Planning the Literacy Instruction
Choice in Text Selection
Shared Reading
Partner Journals
Partner Discussions
Balancing Cognitive and Sociocultural Dimensions
Analyzing the Literacy Instruction
Reflecting on Literacy Instruction Analysis
Briana
Literacy Block Instruction
Partner Discussions and Journals
Interview
Landon
Literacy Block Instruction
Partner Discussions and Journals
Interview
Yonas
Literacy Block Instruction
Partner Discussion and Journals
Interview
Discussion
Discussion Questions
References
Chapter 6: “They Will Shut You Out If They Think You Can’t Read”: Navigating Diverse Models of Identity in an Eighth-Grade Classroom
Introduction
Theoretical Framework
Methods
Study Design and Data Sources
Data Analysis
Findings
Understanding and Assigning Models of Identity
Enacting Models of Identity: The Privileges and Influence of a “Good” Reader
When Good Readers Dominate: Understanding Power Dynamics
Discussion
Students’ Understandings of What It Means to Be a Reader
Privileges and Power
Discussion Questions
References
Section III: Literate Identities in Adolescence
Introduction to Literate Identities in Adolescence
Introduction
Theorizing Identities in Adolescence
Research Methods in Adolescence
Chapters in this Section
References
Chapter 7: How Youth Construct Literacy-Related Identities: The Role of Tracking and High-Stakes Testing
Introduction
Theoretical Grounding—How We Understand Literacy and Identity
Brief Empirical Review–Literacy-Related Tracking, Testing, and Identity
Research Methods
Research Study #1–Tracking and the Construction of Reading-Related Identities
Research Study #2–Testing and Its Outsized Role in Literacy-Related Education and Identities
Conclusions and Implications—What We Recommend for Educators and Researchers
Conclusions Drawn from Our Studies on Tracking and Testing
Implications for Future Research—Understanding and Reimagining Tracking and Testing to Promote Literacy Learning and Identities
Implications for Schools and Teaching—Navigating and Disrupting Tracking and Testing
Moving Forward Toward Meaningful Literacy Learning and Literate Identities
Discussion Questions
References
Chapter 8: Transnationalism, Writing, and Identity within a Caribbean Classroom Context
Introduction
Literacy, Transnationalism, and Identity
Review of the Literature
Methods
Focal School Membership
Literate Lives Unit
Data and Analysis
Findings
Jekke’s Composition: Literacy and Videogames
Annemarie’s Multimodal Composition: Travel
Discussion and Implications
Discussion Questions
References
Chapter 9: “Learning to Code … with a Goal that I Get to Determine”: A Latina Girl’s Literate Intersectional Identities at a STEAM Workshop
Introduction
Theoretical Framework
Methodology
Findings
STEAM-Powered Identity Work
Multimodal Identity Work
Intersectional Identity Work
Discussion
Discussion Questions
References
Section IV: Literate Identities Across Childhood and Adolescence
Introduction to Literate Identities Across Childhood and Adolescence
Introduction
Theorizing Identities Across Childhood and Adolescence
Research Methods Across Childhood and Adolescence
Chapters in This Section
References
Chapter 10: Longitudinal Identity Construction: Intersectionality, Figured Worlds, and Assemblage
Introduction
A Longitudinal Methodology
Theorizing Becomings
Intersectionality and Becomings
Gabby’s Becomings During Her Elementary Years
Gabby’s Becomings During Her Middle School Years
Gabby’s Becomings During Her High School Years
Gabby’s Intersectionality and Becomings
Lupita’s Figured Worlds and Becomings
Lupita’s Becomings During Her Elementary School Years
Lupita’s Becomings During Her Middle School Years
Lupita’s Becomings During Her High School Years
Lupita’s Figured World and Becomings
Assemblages and Becomings
Adam’s Becomings During His Elementary School Years
Adam’s Becomings During His Middle School Years
Adam’s Becomings During His High School Years
Adam’s Assemblages of Becomings
Discussion and Conclusions
Discussion Questions
References
Chapter 11: Becoming (Un)Labeled: Challenging Socially Constructed Notions of Normalcy in Literate Identities
Introduction
Becoming Labeled as Identity Construction over Time
Revaluing Readers and Families
Revisiting Framework
Temporal Discourse Analysis
The Classification Process
Educational Services and Curricular Structures
Becoming (Un)Labeled
Implications
Discussion Questions
References
Chapter 12: Literate Identities and/in the Body: Tracing Embodiments of Literacy Across Grade Levels
Introduction
Theories of Literacies and Embodiment
Putting Theory to Work: Vignettes of Embodied Literate Identities
Kindergarten: Constructing Literate Identity at the Start
Vignette Analysis: Our Reading of the Event
Third Grade: Constant Negotiations of Literate Identities
Vignette Analysis: Our Reading of the Event
Middle School: Navigating the Push and Pull of Multiple Identities
Vignette Analysis: Our Reading of the Event
High School: Resisting and Re(Writing) Literate Identities
Vignette Analysis: Our Reading of the Event
Discussion
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
References
Conclusion: Advancing Identity in the Literacy Field
Introduction
Theorizing Literate Identities
What Have We Learned About Literate Identities as a Theoretical Concept?
What Do We Wonder About?
Studying Literate Identities
What Have We Learned About Studying the Literate Identities of Children and Youth?
What Do We Wonder About?
Being Responsive to Literate Identities in Policy and Practice
What Have We Learned About Literacy Instruction and Policy-Level Considerations?
What Do We Wonder About?
References
Index
