My Literacies. Insights into children’s extracurricular literacy experiences
Keywords
multimodality
agency
extra-curricular literacies
primary school
Publication details
| Year: | 2019 |
| Issued: | 2019 |
| Language: | English |
| Start Page: | 674 |
| End Page: | 686 |
| Editors: | Sophocleous S. |
| Authors: | Kerschhofer-Puhalo N.; Schreger C.; Mayer W. |
| Type: | Conference proceeding |
| Book title: | 3rd International Conference. Literacy and Contemporary Society: Identities, Texts, Institutions. |
| Place: | Nikosia |
| Topics: | Learning; Internet usage, practices and engagement; Literacy and skills |
| Sample: | 90 students from the 3rd and 4th grades (age 8-11) in three primary schools in Vienna (Austria) |
| Implications For Educators About: | School innovation; Professional development |
| Implications For Policy Makers About: | Stepping up awareness and empowerment |
Abstract
Together with over 90 primary school children, the research project My Literacies explored in a participatory research design the multilingual and multiliteracy repertoires of children age 8-11 and their everyday literacy experiences. We will introduce aims, methods and achievements of this project, present a model for the analysis of multimodal literacy practices (MODIPLAC) and will describe the Little Books project of our partner class, where children are encouraged to create their own little books. We will argue that children’s activities within these two projects have the new literacies’ ethos as they provide children opportunities to experience agency, performativity and authorship of multimodal artefacts beyond the space-time of school-activities.
Outcome
"As part of this project, students from the third and fourth grade in three Viennese primary schools were encouraged to record the extracurricular use of everyday literacy practices in their families and communities in photos, text, pictures and films. Materials collected by the children and their commentary, description and interpretation were analysed by linguists and also served as reading resources in teaching projects. Methods and materials, in particular the medium of image, promoted innovative approaches to writing, language and media use by children, their families and communities. By providing evidence for literacy practices in extracurricular contexts of everyday life under the conditions of social diversity, the project contributed to research in the field of family literacy and reading socialisation."
(Sparkling Science, 2019, online)