Shared Reading for Valuing Diversity: A Conversation Analysis Approach

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Considerations in Early Childhood and Elementary Literacy

Abstract

How can kindergarten support children in the acquisition of the local language in a way that does not just ask for assimilation but recognises differences (Benjamin, 2006)? As adaptation patterns of immigrant youth (Berry 2006) show, a pedagogy of encouraging a sense of belonging to different cultural identities is needed (May & Sleeter 2010). Recognition is paramount in the personal development of children (Honneth 1996) and child-centred dialogues are one possibility to facilitate it (Graham & Fitzgerald 2010). However, ‘recognising’ can also lead to the reproduction of stereotypical categories (Diehm 2000). The paper explores these processes by means of conversation analysis (Waring 2017) of videotaped conversations between kindergarten teachers and a group of children during shared reading.

Authors

• Johanna Quiring, St.Gallen University of Teacher Education

• Franziska Christina Vogt, St.Gallen University of Teacher Education