ABSTRACT

The presentation will introduce some of the key ideas and understandings of literacy, literature and learning explored in detail in Alicia Curtain’s publication Reading and Writing Pathways through Children’s and Young Adult Literature ( https://www.routledge.com/Reading-and-Writing-Pathways-through-Childrens-and-Young-Adult-Literature-Exploring-literacy-identity-and-story-with-authors-and-readers/Curtin/p/book/9780367821012). A particular focus on literacy instruction through children’s literature in the primary classroom will be taken and sample texts and pedagogical approaches shared alongside supporting theoretical literature.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Alicia Curtin is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Education, University College Cork where she is Deputy Director of the Cohort PhD and MEd Modular programmes. Alicia’s research is distinctive and innovative in its sociocultural exploration of relationships between key areas in education, its focus on real world contexts and its engagement of innovative, professional, practical, cultural, societal and alternative stakeholders.

One aspect of her research focuses on the development of children’s literature as pedagogy for engaging with literacy in classroom practice. This incorporates key themes such as understanding relationships between learning, identity, power, agency, literacy and in and out of school literacies and identities in teaching and learning. Practically, her research aims to develop sociocultural, innovative, creative and culturally relevant pedagogical approaches for literacy. Her latest publication Reading and Writing Pathways through Children’s and Young Adult Literature showcases contributions from international and award-winning authors to the development of such pedagogical approaches and has been nominated by Routledge for the prestigious UKLA Academic Book of the Year Award. 

Hosted by the ISS21 Children and Young People Research Cluster and UCC Futures Children.