Literacy education, reading engagement, and library use in multilingual classes

Abstract

The topic of this paper is literacy education and reading engagement in multilingual classes. The research question is: What facilitates reading engagement in the language of instruction in multilingual classes? In the paper we analyse reading engagement in the language of instruction in three multilingual classes in Norway within a literature based "book-flooding" program. The design was a research and development project in which teachers, researchers and librarians collaborated within literacy education (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011). In the paper we present the pedagogical interventions within the project and analyse the subsequent reading engagement. The measuring of reading engagement is based on a survey of the participating students in 2009, two years into the project. The overwhelming majority of the students were found to be what we define as engaged readers, measured by way of the students' amount of voluntary reading, library use and attitudes towards reading. The findings indicate that literature-based education, non-segregated educational provisions and use of library resources facilitated reading engagement in the language of instruction among both first-and second-language learners.

Can Library Use Enhance Intercultural Education?

“…Education based on use of library resources and interprofessional collaboration required a learning process among teachers, librarians and school principals. The study documented the educational benefits of literature-based education and library use in terms of reading engagement regardless of the students' linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds (Tonne & Pihl 2012), information literacy and inclusive education in an intercultural context. The project highlighted some important pedagogical preconditions for successful educational use of library resources in literacy education: collaborative teaching and school environments, support by institutional leaders, systematic collaboration between teachers and librarians related to planning and implementation, a well-developed and fully staffed school library, and collaboration between the school and public library.…”

The challenge of sustaining change: contradictions within the development of teacher and librarian collaboration

“…Collaboration between teachers, school librarians and public librarians increases the range of books and other materials students have access to and to topics that they find meaningful and interesting. Access to exciting and engaging books is, furthermore, a precondition for the development of student reading engagement (Tonne and Pihl 2012) and free voluntary reading (Krashen 2011). Data from large-scale surveys in the Nordic countries of 15 year old students shows that reading engagement has a greater impact on reading achievement than socioeconomic status.…”

“…Collaboration between teachers and librarians can lead to increased reading engagement and increased reading achievement (Tonne andPihl 2012, Montiel-Overall 2008). Teacher and librarian collaboration has, however, relatively low priority in 2 schools, in educational policy and in educational research (Carlsten and Sjaastad 2014;Pihl 2012).…”

The best way to conduct intervention research: methodological considerations

“…My main supervisor invited me to conduct a PhD thesis within an intervention project in which she was the lead researcher: 'Multiplicity, Empowerment, Citizenship' (2007-2011) (referred to here as the Multiplicity Project). The aim of the intervention in the Multiplicity Project was to stimulate reading engagement and literacy at two primary schools (Tonne & Pihl, 2012). To achieve this goal, the researchers in the project proposed literature-based literacy education and collaboration between teachers and librarians at the schools (see article 2, p. 243, for a more detailed description of the Multiplicity Project).…”

“…There are some interesting similarities between the state-run programme and the Multiplicity Project. In article 2, I describe how the local education authorities disregarded the Multiplicity Project although a survey documented that the majority of the participating pupils were significantly more engaged readers two years into the project (Tonne & Pihl, 2012). There is a contradiction here between the actual use value (engagement) of the literature-based literacy programme of the Multiplicity Project as reported by pupils and the local educational authority's refusal of the programme.…”