Fostering Dialogue. Ensenyar literatura infantil i llegir per plaer a la Universitat

Training reading promotion professionals: pillars, challenges and strategies that work.

The essence of reading promotion is connecting books and readers in diverse sociocultural contexts. This is done through cultural activities that pursue diverse goals and adopt multiple and imaginative formats requiring specific types of mediation. However, not everything works everywhere when it comes to reading promotion. It is a localised, context-sensitive task, so teaching professionals at university level is inevitably a practice-oriented endeavour that involves adaptability, creativity, reflection, and critical thinking, in addition to the transversal task of constant evaluation. The teaching challenge lies mainly in the ability to articulate all these elements in specific situations. In this presentation, I will be discussing the guiding pillars of training, including, among others: (a) the need to focus on competency elements regarding book selection, design, mediation, assessment and analysis, (b) the value of partnerships in the local sphere that serve as models and inspiration, and (c) the importance of raising awareness about the role that place, space and materialities play when thinking of reading promotion activities. I will also share some examples of good practice and reflect on the challenges in the Catalan university-level context. 
 

Within and beyond academia: ecology of knowledges for teaching children’s literature

In this presentation, we will explore the diverse landscapes of knowledge surrounding the teaching of children’s literature, both within and beyond traditional academic settings. Drawing upon Visvanathan's (2009) reflections on cognitive (in)justice and the ecology of knowledges, we will examine how integrating different epistemologies can contribute to fostering a positive culture of reading among students.

Through our discussion, we seek to explore the interconnectedness of various forms of knowledge, considering the specific nature of children's literature scholarship in Latin America. This includes the role of scholarly research, pedagogical perspectives, and various marginal practices in shaping effective approaches to teaching children's literature. Central to our discussion is the experience of the "Diálogos Improbables" (Improbable Dialogues) reading club promoted by Colectivo La Lucila, where literary and theoretical texts are discussed. By engaging with diverse voices and viewpoints, "Diálogos Improbables" cultivates a holistic approach, building bridges between theories and artistic expressions. We will delve into the ways in which this initiative has contributed to challenging conventional associations between types of text and types of reading practices (e.g., theoretical texts associated with analytical reading, and literary texts linked to reading for pleasure).  

Recognising the intersectionality of academic and non-academic knowledge in promoting reading enjoyment allows us to bridge the gap between theory and practice, fostering environments where students are motivated to explore literature both inside and outside the classroom.

Within and beyond academia: ecology of knowledges for teaching children’s literature

In this presentation, we will explore the diverse landscapes of knowledge surrounding the teaching of children’s literature, both within and beyond traditional academic settings. Drawing upon Visvanathan's (2009) reflections on cognitive (in)justice and the ecology of knowledges, we will examine how integrating different epistemologies can contribute to fostering a positive culture of reading among students.

Through our discussion, we seek to explore the interconnectedness of various forms of knowledge, considering the specific nature of children's literature scholarship in Latin America. This includes the role of scholarly research, pedagogical perspectives, and various marginal practices in shaping effective approaches to teaching children's literature. Central to our discussion is the experience of the "Diálogos Improbables" (Improbable Dialogues) reading club promoted by Colectivo La Lucila, where literary and theoretical texts are discussed. By engaging with diverse voices and viewpoints, "Diálogos Improbables" cultivates a holistic approach, building bridges between theories and artistic expressions. We will delve into the ways in which this initiative has contributed to challenging conventional associations between types of text and types of reading practices (e.g., theoretical texts associated with analytical reading, and literary texts linked to reading for pleasure).  

Recognising the intersectionality of academic and non-academic knowledge in promoting reading enjoyment allows us to bridge the gap between theory and practice, fostering environments where students are motivated to explore literature both inside and outside the classroom.

Engaging intercultural exchanges focusing on the visuals of international picturebooks

Grow is an initiative of three scholars with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds (coming from the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland) that aims to stimulate transnational dialogue and collaboration among young scholars, focusing on non-anglophone works and underrepresented research in international academia.

In our endeavours, we have experienced how focusing on the visuals of international picturebooks can lead to fun and engaging intercultural exchanges within university settings and beyond. One example of this was a workshop we guided at the Crossing Paths Conference (University of Padua, 2024). During this workshop, aimed at a group of student-teachers, teachers, librarians, and other educators, we focused on images representing interactions between adults and children taken from Dutch, Italian, and Polish picturebooks. The focus on the visuals of picturebooks from different countries led to lively exchanges between the participants and to the development of their visual analysis skills. It showed us that the comparative reading of pictures is a stimulating activity fostering interest and pleasure in reading picturebooks.

Reading for Pleasure in the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene – the state of risk and emergency marked by our growing awareness of the unhopeful future of humanity and the world – has put educational theory and practice on the spot. There is no doubt that they cannot continue with business-as-usual but need to help us all navigate the intellectual, affective, and ethical challenges of living on the damaged planet. Drawing on the work of colleagues, among others, who have critiqued anthropocentric practices of reading (e.g. Errázuriz and García-González 2021, de Rijke, Osgood and Laura-Rosa 2023), as well as on posthuman literacies (e.g. Murris and Somerville 2022) and the work of the Common Worlds Research Collective (e.g. Taylor and Pacini-Ketchabaw 2019), I invite speculation on re-imagining reading for pleasure away from its focus on the all-too-human goals of individual agency, progress, and socioeconomic  success, which seem to be dead ends in this era of uncertainty. I suggest that it become a practice committed to a pleasure derived from our sense of interconnectedness with and participation in more-than-human communities (Alaimo 2016). I conclude with a reflection on what such a reconceptualisation could mean for Reading Teachers (Cremin et al. 2023). 

Engaging intercultural exchanges focusing on the visuals of international picturebooks

Grow is an initiative of three scholars with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds (coming from the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland) that aims to stimulate transnational dialogue and collaboration among young scholars, focusing on non-anglophone works and underrepresented research in international academia.

In our endeavours, we have experienced how focusing on the visuals of international picturebooks can lead to fun and engaging intercultural exchanges within university settings and beyond. One example of this was a workshop we guided at the Crossing Paths Conference (University of Padua, 2024). During this workshop, aimed at a group of student-teachers, teachers, librarians, and other educators, we focused on images representing interactions between adults and children taken from Dutch, Italian, and Polish picturebooks. The focus on the visuals of picturebooks from different countries led to lively exchanges between the participants and to the development of their visual analysis skills. It showed us that the comparative reading of pictures is a stimulating activity fostering interest and pleasure in reading picturebooks.

Within and beyond academia: ecology of knowledges for teaching children’s literature

In this presentation, we will explore the diverse landscapes of knowledge surrounding the teaching of children’s literature, both within and beyond traditional academic settings. Drawing upon Visvanathan's (2009) reflections on cognitive (in)justice and the ecology of knowledges, we will examine how integrating different epistemologies can contribute to fostering a positive culture of reading among students.

Through our discussion, we seek to explore the interconnectedness of various forms of knowledge, considering the specific nature of children's literature scholarship in Latin America. This includes the role of scholarly research, pedagogical perspectives, and various marginal practices in shaping effective approaches to teaching children's literature. Central to our discussion is the experience of the "Diálogos Improbables" (Improbable Dialogues) reading club promoted by Colectivo La Lucila, where literary and theoretical texts are discussed. By engaging with diverse voices and viewpoints, "Diálogos Improbables" cultivates a holistic approach, building bridges between theories and artistic expressions. We will delve into the ways in which this initiative has contributed to challenging conventional associations between types of text and types of reading practices (e.g., theoretical texts associated with analytical reading, and literary texts linked to reading for pleasure).  

Recognising the intersectionality of academic and non-academic knowledge in promoting reading enjoyment allows us to bridge the gap between theory and practice, fostering environments where students are motivated to explore literature both inside and outside the classroom.

Education for librarian-teachers and reading promotion in Japan

Yuriko Nakamura will be speaking first about her own experience teaching reading-related courses in the librarianship programme at Rikkyo University and secondly, how we are promoting reading in schools and universities in Japan.  Over a hundred universities in Japan offer librarianship programmes, including Rikkyo University, a private Anglican university in Tokyo. Thousands of students receive Japanese national certificates for public librarians and librarian-teachers from the programmes, but many would not work in libraries and schools.  Professors and lecturers of those programmes are educating college students not only to become librarians and teachers but also to be good citizens, familiar with libraries, education, arts, and children’s literature. As educators, we struggle to focus on professional education in one sense, but we are placed in a position where we would be able to do a lot for college students and influence the future of reading in Japanese society. 

Engaging intercultural exchanges focusing on the visuals of international picturebooks

Grow is an initiative of three scholars with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds (coming from the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland) that aims to stimulate transnational dialogue and collaboration among young scholars, focusing on non-anglophone works and underrepresented research in international academia.

In our endeavours, we have experienced how focusing on the visuals of international picturebooks can lead to fun and engaging intercultural exchanges within university settings and beyond. One example of this was a workshop we guided at the Crossing Paths Conference (University of Padua, 2024). During this workshop, aimed at a group of student-teachers, teachers, librarians, and other educators, we focused on images representing interactions between adults and children taken from Dutch, Italian, and Polish picturebooks. The focus on the visuals of picturebooks from different countries led to lively exchanges between the participants and to the development of their visual analysis skills. It showed us that the comparative reading of pictures is a stimulating activity fostering interest and pleasure in reading picturebooks.