“Nobody Spoke Like I Did”: Picture Books, Critical Literacy, and Global Contexts

Abstract

In the 21st century, our students increasingly communicate, connect, collaborate, and interact with diverse cultures and traditions around the world, so they need to develop global literacy. This department column highlights research and research‐to‐practice at the international level to bring global best teaching practices to the forefront. Topics include international literacy instruction, international professional development, global literacy initiatives, global partnership and collaborative projects between schools and educators, best practices in literacy globally, and advocacy.

Using picture books to develop critical visual literacy in primary schools: challenges of a dialogic approach

“…However, while we agree with previous researchers that the focus on the story is an important part of children's engagement with picture books (Arizpe and Styles, , Roche, ), in line with our understanding of critical visual literacy, we wanted to invite the children to think about how “specific visual or textual features may be linked to an author's purposeful choice to shape the reader's view” (Callow, :234). In other words, we wanted them to think about ‘the text as construct' (Unsworth and Macken‐Horarik, , p. 66) and to focus on the picture book as ‘object' of analysis (Farrar, in Arizpe and Styles, , p. 160).…”

“…Teachers pursuing aims similar to ours could start with short lessons covering visual theory, illustrating how each feature of a picture book is a product of the author/illustrator choosing semiotic resources (Pantaleo, , Serafini, , Smith, ). These lessons would include teacher modelling of the kind I did in extract 2, seeking to equip the children with “a language to describe and analyse how various modes inform and persuade readers” (Callow, , p. 231), a key part of critical literacy. In a second step, teachers could then organise sessions similar to those we ran in our project, focusing on how to enable dialogue and critical discussions with them in the roles of manager, encourager, extender and director, but from a position of facilitating child talk.…”

“…Beyond this, critical visual literacy, very much like critical literacy, entails looking at how linguistic and visual means are used to convey the specific ideas, positions and biases contained in texts (Evans, ). This implies that if we want children to be critical reader‐viewers, we need to engage them in discussions of how authors/illustrators use visual tools, for example, colour or gaze, to present an idea or message (Serafini, , Callow, ). Furthermore, to achieve critical visual literacy, children need to be encouraged to ‘interrogate' (Serafini, ) what messages visuals convey: how these constrain what readers are invited to believe and what alternative readings could be considered.…”

“…Arizpe and Styles () provide a helpful overview of research in this area. Studies vary in the topics they explore (via the choice of picture books) and in their aims for children's learning, some privileging ‘literary understanding' (Sipe, ) or ‘aesthetic development' (Doonan, ) and others including aims such as critical thinking and visual analysis (see, for example, Callow, , Roche, ). Many studies emphasise the importance of talk in children's engagement with picture books, highlighting the need for teachers to support children jointly exploring picture books (Arizpe et al, , Evans, , Lysaker and Sedberry, ).…”

Using Multicultural Picture Books to Promote Racial Justice in Urban Early Childhood Literacy Classrooms

“…One common approach early childhood teachers might use to teach children about race and racial justice through multicultural picture books is known as a Critical Literacy approach (Callow, 2017; Kuby, 2011; Lewison, Leland, & Harste, 2008; Luke, 2012). Theoretically speaking, a critical literacy approach is guided by the following four tenets: disrupting commonly accepted understandings; interrogating multiple viewpoints; focusing on sociopolitical issues; and taking social action to promote social justice (Janks, 2010).…”