Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, ICT has been urgently introduced in education systems in a generalised manner. In this context, it is essential for teachers to master a spectrum of basic digital competencies and manifest digital leadership in the classroom. In addition, it is necessary to consider the relationship between digital competence development and social sustainability, that is, social and cultural heritage, and to what extent they contribute to improving social cohesion and living conditions in a community. This study presents a systematic review of research on teacher digital competence and social sustainability based on the PRISMA model and a review of 22 studies indexed in SCOPUS. The review reveals that most are intended to measure the digital competence level of teachers, usually in compulsory stages of the educational system and through quantitative studies based on virtual questionnaires comprised of closed-ended questions. However, the studies tend to ignore questions related to social sustainability (access to resources, heritage culture, intergenerational transmission, employability, or gender equality). It is therefore urgent to develop research committed to a sustainable society that is oriented towards social justice.

Background Research has suggested that one of the most important variables for the development of reading comprehension is the home literacy environment, composed of the literacy interface and what is known as the limiting environment. The current study investigated Spanish children's reading comprehension in relation to these two dimensions. Method Data have been drawn from measures of reading competence and the Learning to Read Survey undertaken for the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2016 assessment in Spain. Our secondary analysis of the PIRLS 2016 data has enabled the production of two multiple regression models from a sample of 14,595 Spanish pupils aged 9–10 years old. Results The analyses performed have allowed us to determine the limiting environment elements that relate to the reading comprehension results. Moreover, they have highlighted the importance of the literacy interface prior to schooling. Both variables of the home literacy environment appear to be linked with the reading comprehension results taken from the PIRLS 2016 and may orientate the improvement of reading skills at home. Conclusions Our research supports the implementation of family literacy programmes in Spain, especially for low‐income families, which might enhance their literacy interaction with their children in the early stages. The promotion of family literacy programmes oriented to preschool children could improve not only emergent literacy skills but also the social value of literacy from a sociocultural perspective. Highlights What is already known about this topic Reading comprehension is a crucial skill in education. Owing to its links with the common teaching and learning methods in primary education, a weak or late development of reading comprehension may impede academic outcomes. Literacy development may be influenced by the socioeconomic status of families. Although important, there are other familial factors influencing children's literacy development. For this reason, the concept ‘home literacy environment' offers a wider perspective on the nature of the links between families and literacy. The home literacy environment has been described as the mixture of two different dimensions: the literacy interface and the limiting environment. An analysis of both dimensions shows the importance of the activities promoted and carried out by families (the literacy interface). What this paper adds There is a scarcity of research about the development of reading comprehension among primary pupils and its relationship with the home literacy environment in Spain. Family context is currently one of the less well‐understood aspects of the Spanish educational system. The current research points to the Spanish families' limiting environment as one of the elements that may predetermine, from early childhood, the later development of reading comprehension. The research identifies variables within the home literacy environment which are more relevant to the development of reading comprehension. Implications for t...

Among the recent approaches to literacy incorporated into Literacy Studies, the concept of (im)materiality has enabled researchers to delve into the fluid and hybrid nature of contemporary literacy practices in early childhood. Our research explores the (im)materiality of literacy practices from the perspectives of space, screen mediation, artefacts and embodiment. The research focuses on the (im)material nature of the literacy practices carried out in different spaces, and its relevance in the making of meaning by children. The research method is based on an ethnographic approach. The results show the children’s embodiment of their literacy practices, and the way in which they create and interact with space and make meaning from their (im)material practices. These practices raise questions about their inclusion in current literacy development in schools.

Social sustainability embraces literacy development as a means by which children integrate their knowledge in society and become powerful and meaningful. In this context, the development of writing among young children requires the design of new teaching strategies that allow for the multimodal repertoire brought by children into the classroom. Systemic Functional Linguistics offers tools for the analysis of children’s multimodal writing, which plays an important role in their literacy development. Our research was carried out in an urban context, the participants being 12 children aged 7 to 8. Data were collected through participant observation, conversations, and the analysis of documents and products generated by the children. From them, we analysed two stories written by two girls, which showed the way in which the children created meaning by combining verbal and visual modes, and how these modes interact (intersemiosis). The performance of a literacy task in which children are able to integrate their knowledge and heritage into the classroom, may constitute an interdisciplinary tool for their participation and engagement in the school, thus leading to a more equal society. In consequence, we propose that the integration of a genre-based pedagogy in the classroom should include greater awareness in teachers of the value of pupils’ multimodal assessments.

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