Cathy Burnett

This book delves into the intriguing question of why certain types of literacy research gain more traction than others in educational settings. It draws upon findings from Research Mobilities in Primary Literacy Education, an innovative and interdisciplinary study conducted in England and supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/W000571/1]. The study investigated the types of literacy research that reach teachers, the ways in which human and non-human actors mobilise research and the transformation of research as it circulates. The book argues that, for teachers to foster genuinely inclusive literacy classrooms, they need to be equipped to draw on understandings associated with a variety of theoretical perspectives and research traditions. It further explores the dynamics of research dissemination and the factors that influence the uptake and application of research findings in educational contexts. This work is an original and groundbreaking contribution to debates about the scope and focus of literacy education, the role of evidence-based teaching and approaches to professional learning. This book is of vital interest to scholars, researchers and students with interests in Literacy Education, Professional Development and the Ethics of Research. It challenges conventional wisdom, provokes thoughtful discussion and inspires readers to rethink the role and value of research in shaping literacy education that is inclusive, effective and meaningful.

What happens when a small group of educators get together? What could they do, what could they make, what could they become? Not necessarily what you might think. This book describes an alternate journey, one that departs from the busy traffic of goal-oriented projects, over-determined aims, and the doorstep delivery of interventions in order to wander reflectively across a more expansive landscape. We came together to record the successes and failures of a small research project, witnessing it gather momentum and then dissipate, but always holding open the space for a nuanced way of working that allowed for – even celebrated – humour, deviation, distraction, and dissatisfaction. This is a record of that journey, told through story fragments and reflective commentary.

Undoing the Digital challenges common ways of understanding digital technology and its relationships to literacy and literacy education. The book explores how a sociomaterial perspective can provide an alternative analysis of literacy in the context of digital communication. Introducing a series of conceptual tools and examples, the book examines digital communication as an emergent interweaving of social, material and semiotic resources. The perspective invites literacy research to focus more on the relations associated with the process of making meaning: the new collaborations, stories, conceptualisations, directions, and intentions that take shape in, and also help to shape, the contemporary mediascape. Drawing on studies conducted in a variety of contexts, this book is key reading for all advanced students and researchers of literacy and digital media within Education, Applied Linguistics and Media/Communication Studies.

Undoing the Digital challenges common ways of understanding digital technology and its relationships to literacy and literacy education. The book explores how a sociomaterial perspective can provide an alternative analysis of literacy in the context of digital communication. Introducing a series of conceptual tools and examples, the book examines digital communication as an emergent interweaving of social, material and semiotic resources. The perspective invites literacy research to focus more on the relations associated with the process of making meaning: the new collaborations, stories, conceptualisations, directions, and intentions that take shape in, and also help to shape, the contemporary mediascape. Drawing on studies conducted in a variety of contexts, this book is key reading for all advanced students and researchers of literacy and digital media within Education, Applied Linguistics and Media/Communication Studies.

‘This an exciting publication that offers authentic approaches for educators to meet challenges of the literacy that students need in our evolving digital landscape.’ Maureen Walsh, Adjunct Professor, Australian Catholic University and Honorary Professor, The University of Sydney ‘In this significant new text, Cathy Burnett and Guy Merchant foreground the affective, embodied and emergent nature of making meaning with new media.’ Teresa Cremin, The Open University The rise of new media technologies has changed the ways in which children engage with texts and this has implications for literacy provision in schools. Drawing on research exploring new media practices within and outside school, this book explains and encourages classroom activity that makes purposeful and appropriate use of these literacies and is underpinned by a set of guiding principles for teaching literacy in contemporary times. Key topics include: Building on children’s experiences in and out of school Supporting children to draw on multiple modes and media to develop and convey meaning Developing a responsive approach to literacy provision Investigating ways of encouraging collaboration through and around digital media Encouraging children to use digital media safely and advantageously This is essential reading for primary English or elementary language arts modules on initial teacher education courses including university-based and schools-based routes into teaching and also for current teachers wishing to enhance their own literacy teaching. Cathy Burnett is Professor of Literacy and Education at Sheffield Hallam University. Guy Merchant is Professor of Literacy in Education at Sheffield Hallam University.

‘This an exciting publication that offers authentic approaches for educators to meet challenges of the literacy that students need in our evolving digital landscape.’ Maureen Walsh, Adjunct Professor, Australian Catholic University and Honorary Professor, The University of Sydney ‘In this significant new text, Cathy Burnett and Guy Merchant foreground the affective, embodied and emergent nature of making meaning with new media.’ Teresa Cremin, The Open University The rise of new media technologies has changed the ways in which children engage with texts and this has implications for literacy provision in schools. Drawing on research exploring new media practices within and outside school, this book explains and encourages classroom activity that makes purposeful and appropriate use of these literacies and is underpinned by a set of guiding principles for teaching literacy in contemporary times. Key topics include: Building on children’s experiences in and out of school Supporting children to draw on multiple modes and media to develop and convey meaning Developing a responsive approach to literacy provision Investigating ways of encouraging collaboration through and around digital media Encouraging children to use digital media safely and advantageously This is essential reading for primary English or elementary language arts modules on initial teacher education courses including university-based and schools-based routes into teaching and also for current teachers wishing to enhance their own literacy teaching. Cathy Burnett is Professor of Literacy and Education at Sheffield Hallam University. Guy Merchant is Professor of Literacy in Education at Sheffield Hallam University.

This title highlights aspects of progression and continuity in the teaching of English across the Foundation and Primary years and encourages readers to develop an understanding of key principles and the confidence to apply these appropriately to their classroom practice.