Sustaining education through engaging texts: Using graphic novels as tools for reading and language learning amongst the struggling ELL readers

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday III)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Critical pedagogy for sustainable education

Proposal

Education for sustainability must include literacy instruction for a variety of diverse cultures and children. According to UNESCO (2015), education is the key to sustainable development and literacy is a fundamental element. Specifically, UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goal 4 proposes to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ (UNESCO, 2015). One of the core tenants of the CIES Education for Sustainability conference theme is that ‘researchers must advocate for policies and practices that will develop a sustainable planet for all.’ Additionally, UNESCO (2015) calls for action in 5 areas, specifically relevant to the present study are people and partnership.
Darling-Hammond (2005) noted that youth who do not succeed in school become “part of a growing underclass, cut off from productive engagement in society.” Jimerson, Reschly, and Hess (2008) hold that school dropout should be understood as a progression of disengagement from school rather than an abrupt event. Thus, even our youngest learners can benefit from engaging learning opportunities. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2018) drop-out rates amongst Hispanic youth have decreased since 2000, but are still higher than those of white and black youth. According to OECD (2015), offering early literacy support for “the youngest immigrant children into the school system is certainly the most effective way of integrating them-linguistically and culturally- into their new communities.” Further, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2009) suggests that appropriate learning opportunities can help young children accomplish goals that are developmentally and educationally significant. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2003) examined studies of high-quality early childhood education practices and determined that when such practices are utilized for our youngest learners have long-lasting positive impacts on their development, learning abilities, and capacity to regulate their emotions. In the United States, our school systems must address the literacy challenges that continue to face today’s early childhood learners, especially those that are newcomers to the United States and the growing international diversity they bring.
In this roundtable presentation, I will discuss the findings from an ongoing research study which sought to explore how pre-service teachers (PST) use graphic novels to strengthen early childhood English Language Learners (ELLs) reading skills and offer them a more engaging alternate perspective to traditional texts. Specifically, their lived experiences as they use graphic novels as a tool for reading and language learning amongst the struggling ELL readers they tutored in grades PK-3 will be explored. The children attended a high-poverty urban Title 1 school in a predominately Hispanic area located in the southwest region of the United States. Graphic novels are written and illustrated in the style of a comic book and resemble a novel in both length and narrative development (Scholastic, 2018). Recent research has determined that graphic novels promote literacy, reading comprehension, and language learning (Cook, 2017; Carano and Clabough, 2016; Brenna, 2012; Walsh, 2017), yet use amongst PSTs working with young ELLs has not been thoroughly researched.

Author

• Lisa C Delgado Brown, Oklahoma City University