Fostering multiliteracies pedagogy through preservice teacher education

TLDR

Teacher education for literacy teaching is often fairly narrow in focus. The study aims to clarify the nature and importance of a multiliteracies approach and report successes and challenges in implementing it, arguing that sociocultural, diverse language forms necessitate such an approach. The authors examined the ideas and practices of 10 literacy faculty and 22 first‑year literacy teachers at a large school of education. The study found that while some advances were made, many shortcomings remained, partly due to unclear definitions of multiliteracies pedagogy.

Abstract

Teacher education for literacy teaching is often fairly narrow in focus. New approaches are needed that are sociocultural in orientation and take due account of the diversity of language forms, both traditional and contemporary, formal and informal, literary and non‐literary. We believe this need can be met by largely adopting a ‘multiliteracies’ approach as articulated by the New London Group. This research examined the ideas and practices of 10 literacy faculty in a large school of education and 22 first year literacy teachers from the same institution. It found that despite some important advances in a multiliteracies direction, many shortcomings remained. Part of the difficulty was lack of clarity about the nature and purpose of multiliteracies pedagogy. This paper has two main purposes: first, to attempt to clarify the nature and importance of a multiliteracies approach; and second, to report on the successes achieved and challenges encountered in moving in this direction in one school of education.