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A qualitative case study of critically and collaboratively exploring literacy with pupils, parents and teachers in a designated disadvantaged primary school in Ireland
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Date
2025
Authors
Barry, Ciara
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University College Cork
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Abstract
Rationale: This study seeks to explore literacy from the perspective and experiences of pupils, parents and school staff in a designated disadvantaged primary school in Ireland. Acknowledging the difficulties posed when teaching literacy to date within this specific context, an examination and comparison of what it means to be literate in the school and home context is explored. Engaging with six target children and their parents to understand the lived literacies and literacy events that take place within their community and within their daily living, this study endeavours to create links between the types of literacy explored in the school and the types of literacy children engage with outside of school.
Methodology: Together with the researcher, children engaged in the completion of ‘reading rivers’ (Hodges 2010) which depicted the literacies of their daily lives. They then undertook ‘photovoice’ (Gubrium and Harper 2013) using photographs to document literacies and points of interest for further discussion within their local community and their homes. Furthermore, children chose an ‘artefact of reading’ to share with the researcher and literacy lessons were co-created between the pupil and the researcher centred around the artefact in a shared space of meaning creation. Capitalising on the knowledge of the pupil and viewing him/her/them as having valuable and legitimate knowledge that can contribute to the lesson design process, a ‘funds of knowledge’ (Moll et al. 1992) and ‘funds of identity’ (Esteban-Guitart and Moll 2014) approach was undertaken whereby the pupils’ knowledge about their chosen artefact acted as a catalyst for the development and implementation of literacy lessons. With the researcher engaging in ‘close-to-practice research’ (Kelchtermans 2021) she was enabled to capitalise on her pedagogical knowledge to bring literacy learning to life and provide motivation for pupils to engage with literacy.
Key Findings: The creation of deeply personalised literacy instruction rooted in children’s identities is a culturally responsive pedagogy which can be utilised to
motivate children to become engaged with literacy learning. Adapting the content of texts and the curriculum to reflect students’ lives recognises and values diverse literacy practices beyond traditional school-based ones. Emerging from this lesson creation process were key ideas around ‘critical literacy’ (Comber 2015) and ‘dark funds of knowledge’ (Zipin 2009) as well as findings challenging deficit views of disadvantaged communities who are marginalised by the education system by virtue of their social class. This marginalisation is largely centred around the politics of poverty and social justice. The views of parents and school staff were also central to this study, and the typography of parental involvement in a designated disadvantaged school was placed under a critical lens, with the school and parents having different views and contradictory understandings of one another’s roles within education and within the school at the centre of this research.
Conclusions: This study provides a unique contribution to literacy teaching and learning through adopting a socio-cultural lens to literacy instruction. This study utilises creative methodologies and demonstrates how engaging with pupils and their identities can be a very effective strategy when teaching literacy in a school with designated disadvantaged status. Implications of the findings of this study pertain to teachers who teach diverse pupils and/or in designated disadvantaged schools. This study shows how pupils can and do learn when literacy instruction is tailored to be relevant to their lives and experiences.
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Keywords
Educational disadvantage , Literacy , Funds of knowledge , Critical literacy , Social class , Funds of identity , Socio-cultural
Citation
Barry, C. 2025. A qualitative case study of critically and collaboratively exploring literacy with pupils, parents and teachers in a designated disadvantaged primary school in Ireland. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.