During the International Study Group meetings at the Literacy Research Association (LRA) Conference in December of 2019, we discovered that LRA scholars were engaged in innovative research, initiatives, and publications in very different contexts around the globe, especially in multilingual environments. The variety of studies offered promising cross-border insights with the potential to enhance international research and global collaboration efforts in education around the globe.
Literacy Pedagogies in Global Contexts provides a collection of research experiences around the globe that are rooted in indigenous, translingual and cross-cultural literacies. It includes chapters on indigenous literacies related to the diverse ways of knowing, communicating, and making meaning in rural Latin America and Africa that are rich, complex, and deeply contextual. Other chapters on translingual literacies describe how moving fluidly across languages to communicate, make meaning, and express identity can support learning in schools. Finally, there are chapters that highlight cross-cultural literacies that support a needed understanding to navigate, interpret, and communicate effectively across different cultural contexts.
One of the key strengths of this book lies in its diverse range of research methodologies, encompassing quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches. Another significant contribution is its inclusion of perspectives from a wide array of geographical regions, including Kenya in Africa; Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador in Latin America; South Korea and China in Asia; as well as the southeastern United States.