Can Literacy Education save the World?

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Wednesday IV)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Language education and global competencies

Proposal

In my paper presentation I will cross conceptual and disciplinary boundaries: I will explore whether, and how, the effectiveness of literacy education can be raised both in terms of (1) raising students’ literacy levels and (2) raising students’ awareness, knowledge and skills with regard to fostering sustainable development.

(1) To reach the first objective, the pedagogy of literacy education needs to be innovated in line with the results of recent meta-analyses into effective reading and writing education. Amongst others, those meta-analyses indicate that students should be encouraged to work with authentic and interesting texts, that strategy and vocabulary instruction should be embedded in the performance of motivating literacy tasks, that students should have the opportunity to interact with other students, that they should receive feedback from both teachers and peers, and that they can benefit from the skillful and well-considered integration of modern technology in the classroom. Quite interestingly, many of those principles also serve the second purpose mentioned above.

(2) To pursue that second objective, I will argue that, at the same time, literacy education needs to be ‘globalized’. In view of the fact that the term ‘globalization’ generally refers to the crossing of boundaries, this means that literacy education should not be locked up in language-and-arts courses, but instead should be connected with topic content that truly matters in pupils’ real lives outside school and that is typically offered in other subjects. If students’ literacy education is built around the reading and writing of texts related to topics like climate change, pollution, ecological lifestyles and citizenship, students can develop both their literacy competences and 21st century competences related to sustainable development in an integrated, holistic way, and may grow up to become informed, caring, and responsible citizens who are able, and willing, to improve life on the planet.

I will not only synthesize the relevant research on effective education that supports the above-mentioned principles. I will also illustrate the practice of globalizing literacy education with two authentic, school-based examples that adopted the AIR-model: Alarm, Inform, React!

Alarm: In the first stage, students are informed about a major problem that mankind is struggling with. For instance, they are given information on the growing number of fish that are found in the oceans with their stomachs filled with plastic, or are confronted with shocking data concerning air pollution in their region and its devastating impact on people’s health.

Inform: In the second stage, students explore the problem at hand by analyzing extensive (written/digital) information. They fact-check particular claims, explore and discuss the causes and origins of the problem, and try to gain solid background knowledge which will allow them to design a creative action plan.

React: In the third stage, students design and discuss possible actions they can take to make a difference. This stage culminates in a real action that students take, whether at their school, in their own neighbourhood, in their town or country, or on the internet. For instance, the students design and try to implement a plan to reduce plastic garbage in their own school.

The approach described above is consistent with the research-based insight that in order to foster students’ development of competences related to sustainable development and responsible citizenship, they need to be offered more than theoretical instruction. They need to be engaged in an active way to become more critically aware, develop relevant skills, and enhance their confidence that they can make a difference. In this respect, the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) showed that student active participation in school-based decision making had a positive effect on their overall civic knowledge and interest. Students need concrete, successful experiences during their school careers to realise that they can contribute to pacifying relationships between people and making life in a particular environment more sustainable, peaceful and harmonious.

As for the literacy education involved in the above-mentioned approach, at first sight it seems to be concentrated in the second stage. This, however, represents a fairly traditional interpretation of the approach. In fact, students can be stimulated and supported to develop their literacy skills throughout the three stages of the model. For instance, in the first stage, they can be offered alarming information in written or digital form and may be asked to react to it in blog posts, chatboxes, or other types of messages. Similarly, in the final stage, their action plan may take the shape of a written report that they draw up for outsiders, change agents or stakeholders; a poster in which their actions or demands are described; a campaign on the internet; or an article informing particular segments of the population.

This approach to globalizing literacy education also has considerable potential in terms of fostering students’ global citizenship and intercultural competencies. For instance, in the example given above, school/students/classes from different countries and continents can exchange information, ideas, and action plans, and do so throughout the three stages of the model. In the example above, students in Nigeria, Vietnam and the Netherlands can communicate with each other on the insights they gained in the waste of plastic and can complement and support each other’s actions to reduce the problem.

From my own experience as a teacher educator in Belgium, South Korea, Vietnam and Germany, I have learnt that many teachers find this model highly innovative and inspiring, while at the same time raising a range of conceptual questions: to what extent can a focus on teaching literacy skills be effectively integrated with the teaching of other competences? What does this entail for the education of the teachers involved? Which conditions must be met for teachers of different subjects to cooperate in these kinds of projects? What school policy measures need to be taken? How to assess the students’ performance and growth in a valid, reliable and transparent way? Those are definitely exciting issues that can be taken up in the round table discussion following my paper presentation.

Author

• Kris Van den Branden, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven