Connecting With Out-of-School Literacies: Preservice Teachers' Conceptions, Experiences, and Practices

• In Event: 72.048 - Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: 72.048-5 - Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Literacy Instruction

Abstract

This longitudinal qualitative research examined how a group of pre-service middle school teachers constructed conceptions of literacy and enacted literacy pedagogy as they engaged with the broader field of literacy (e.g., multiliteracies, critical literacy) during their teacher education studies. The study involved three points of data collection with pre-service middle school teachers. Data collection methods included questionnaires (n=22), four semi-structured interviews (n=8) (32 interviews), and document analysis. Findings suggest the pre-service teachers’ conceptions of literacy steadily expanded during their studies. They also developed a more nuanced understanding of literacy pedagogy, and the importance of connecting with students’ out-of-school literacies, which influenced how they came to see their role as teachers of literacy.

Authors

• Lydia Menna, University of Alberta

• Carol Doyle-Jones, Niagara University