Accessing a ‘Very, Very Secret Garden’: Exploring the Literary Practices of Children and Young People Using Participatory Research Methods

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/G26371

Keywords:

participatory research methods, New Literacy Studies, children, young people, voice in research

Abstract

Despite the wealth of publications on children’s and young people’s participation in research, the connections between participatory research methods (PRM) and literacy studies remain unclear. The aim of this paper is to understand why it is particularly pertinent to use PRM in literacy studies (particularly New Literacy Studies). In order to capture the complexity and plurality of these methods, we discuss two studies, one conducted with children in Chile and the other with young people in Québec (Canada). We argue that by using PRM, researchers can support participants in the appropriation of an alternative and potentially empowering view of literacy.

Author Biographies

Margarita Calderón López, Center for Advanced Research in Education, Universidad de Chile

Margarita Calderón López is a lecturer in Childhood Education at the Universidad de Chile. Her research interests are children’s literacy practices at home and school, assessment and writing performance.

Virginie Theriault, University of Strathclyde

Virginie Thériault is a lecturer in Informal Education at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, UK). Her current research interests are in literacy mediation and bureaucracies, digital literacies, and community-based organisations’ semiotic landscapes.

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Published

2017-10-31

How to Cite

Calderón López, M., & Theriault, V. (2017). Accessing a ‘Very, Very Secret Garden’: Exploring the Literary Practices of Children and Young People Using Participatory Research Methods. Language and Literacy, 19(4), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.20360/G26371

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 4 (2017)

Section

Articles

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