This multiple case study investigated children's literacy development in the context of current pedagogical practices of their preschools in three selected communities in India.

Läs- och skrivsvårigheter är inte enbart ett växande problem i skolan utan även ett samhällsproblem. Den ökande kravbilden på läsförmåga i samhället bidrar till betydelsen av att utarbeta verkningsbara läs- och skrivstrategier bland elever med läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Samtidigt visar forskning att allt fler lärare känner en oro i att undervisa i lässtrategier, en oro som i mångt och mycket grundar sig i okunskap. Eftersom utvecklingen av lässtrategier utgör ett bedömningsunderlag i nationella provet i svenska och dessutom betonas i läroplanen (Lgy11) är det ett aktuellt forskningsämne som både belyses nationellt som internationellt. Forskning visar att det råder en slags konsensus kring vad som elever med god läsförmåga och läsförståelse har jämfört med vad elever med läs- och skrivsvårigheter inte har. Till exempel saknar de sistnämnda eleverna kompetens att göra inferenser och förutsäga kommande information i det de läser. Däremot går meningarna ibland isär vilka läs- och skrivstrategier som kan ha effekt för läs- och skrivutveckling och det är inte sällan brist på kunskap när det gäller att tillämpa läs- och skrivstrategier i praktiken.

Children with cerebral palsy in South Africa may face various challenges in their acquisition of literacy. In order to address these, an understanding of the nature of these challenges can be seen as the first step. Successful acquisition of literacy is not only determined by formal instruction. Studies have found that the development of literacy skills appear to be related to supportive home literacy environments and experiences. Specific aspects of home literacy experiences have been found to predict later literacy and language skills. The aim of this research is to describe the home literacy experiences of Zulu children with cerebral palsy aged four to six years and their peers without disabilities living in KwaZulu-Natal. Caregivers of 10 children with cerebral palsy and caregivers of 10 children without disabilities, matched for age and gender, were selected from various preschools and schools within KwaZulu-Natal to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed based on a previous study and is based on five domains of home literacy experiences which include: (1) the child’s literacy experiences and interest, (2) materials and caregiver activities for child literacy development, (3) shared storybook reading, (4) caregiver’s own literacy materials and activities, and, (5) caregiver’s expectations of their child’s literacy development. The results obtained indicated that, in general, the home literacy experiences of the two groups did not differ for most of the home literacy experience aspects. Both groups of caregivers engaged in literacy mediating activities with their children. There were similar trends in the frequency that the child and the caregivers in both groups engaged in literacy practices, which shows that both groups of children had literate role models to demonstrate literacy experiences. Both groups had relatively high expectations of their children’s literacy development. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups regarding the reported level of active involved in some of the activities engaged in during shared storybook reading and in children’s interest in literacy activities. Children with cerebral palsy were reportedly less actively involved during certain shared storybook reading activities and less interested in literacy activities. The study highlights the nature of the home literacy experiences and some of the areas that need consideration in the literacy development of children with cerebral palsy. Suggestions for future research are provided. / Mini Dissertation (M(AAC))--University of Pretoria, 2017. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / M(AAC) / Unrestricted

I arbetet analyseras en samling barnbrev som skrevs till tidningen Jultomten under några år vid sekelskiftet 1900. Dessa brev har undersökts med avseende på barnens tex- och bildreception. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och syftar till att förstå vilka identifikationsytor som uppstår vid läsningen och i själva responsen, samt, vidare, hur dessa handlingar stimulerar barnens läsupplevelse och literacyutveckling. Resultatet visar bland annat att barnens reception av text och bild berör de sammanhang och företeelser som är förknippade med barnens egen erfarenhetsvärld. Engagemang, inlevelse och social kontext byggs upp av barnets erfarenheter, personliga associationer och konkreta upplevelser. Slutligen hävdas det också att det är rimligt att anta att dessa rön kan överföras och vara giltiga även i en samtidskontext.Nyckelord: barnbrev, bild, engagemang, fritidens läsning, inlevelse, literacyutveckling, perspektivering, social kontext / AbstractThis paper is a qualitative study of children´s letters to the editor of Jultomten, during a period of three years at the turn of the century 1900. The letters are analyzed with the aim of increasing the understanding of how children identify with the characters in texts and illustrations, and how their appreciation and involvement enhances their literacy development. The result indicates that children´s reception of the illustrated journal concerns the areas and subjects that are connected to their own experiences. Involvement, empathy and the social context are constructed through the children´s own experiences and living conditions. Finally, it is argued that the findings can be transferred and be valid in expanding children´s literacy development today.Keywords: children´s letters, involvement, illustrations, literacy development, the social context

This thesis offers a sociocritical (Collin, Guichon et Ntébutsé, 2015) and ergonomic (Bertin, 2015; Caws & Hamel, 2016; Rabardel, 1995) analysis of an online language learning activity using Twitter, in order to better understand the complex network of variables influencing the success or failure this digital platform in an educational context. Since the creation of Twitter in 2006, researchers in technology-mediated education have been re-purposing the platform for language learning in order to understand its impact on the learner experience (Hattem & Lomicka, 2016). Most studies investigate the benefits of using Twitter as a way to expose students to real-life social interaction (Reinhardt, 2019); they suggest that this social network motivates students (Albadi, 2016), providing the opportunity for language contextualisation (Antenos-Conforti, 2009), digital literacy development and learner autonomy (Leis, 2014). However, in doing so, many of these studies rely on a deterministic approach, assuming that Twitter has inherent educational potential that can be equally accessed by all students when it is asked of them (Collin et al.). Instead, this thesis deconstructs a network of factors and perceptions acting on a student’s ability and willingness to use Twitter to learn French. In particular, this thesis focuses on the participation and the experience of 10 first-year university French students that were invited to publish tweets and to interact with their peers on Twitter over a period of one semester (12 weeks). Drawing from direct observations, interviews and survey data, the results of my mixed-method case study indicate a possible correlation between learner beliefs, participation, and experience, thus highlighting the importance of designing digital learning activities around the diverse needs and perspectives of learners, rather than the expected outcomes that Twitter can offer. / Graduate

This thesis explored how students with exceptionalities learned literacy skills in an online learning environment and how the teacher was supported in the online classroom environment through professional development. Analysis of classroom observations and interviews with a teacher resulted in five findings: (1) There was limited professional development for teaching exceptional education students online. (2) Meeting exceptional student educational needs in the online environment was challenging for the teacher. (3) During the teacher's online lessons, there were some elements of literacy present such as comprehension and real-world examples. (4) The teacher missed out on some key components for literacy development with exceptional students in an online learning environment. (5) The exceptional students in the online learning environment did not have access to classroom tools.

Föreliggande licentiatuppsats undersöker skolors arbete avseende litteracitetsutveckling för flerspråkiga elever, med utgångspunkt i ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på undervisning och lärande. Syftet var att undersöka och bidra med kunskap om skolors arbete för att utveckla litteracitetsförmåga hos flerspråkiga elever som möter svårigheter i läs- och skrivutvecklingsprocessen, en kunskap som behöver utvecklas för att bidra till en likvärdig utbildning. Licentiatuppsatsen utgår från två forskningsfrågor, varav den första forskningsfrågan undersöker hur skolorna i en kommun arbetar med litteracitetsutveckling med särskilt fokus på flerspråkiga elever i specifika svårigheter med läsning och skrivning. Den andra forskningsfrågan handlar om hur förutsättningar skapas för litteracitetsutveckling hos flerspråkiga elever som möter svårigheter med läsning och skrivning på en skola som fått goda omdömen inom detta område, enligt en rapport från Skolinspektionen.Licentiatuppsatsen baseras på två studier, en webbaserad enkätstudie i en svensk kommun (Studie I) och en fallstudie på en skola i ett flerspråkigt område i en svensk kommun (Studie II). Fallstudien (Studie II), som bygger på metodtriangulering, omfattar deltagande observationer, intervjuer och dokumentanalyser. Analysen av enkätresultatet (Studie I) indikerar att det finns en tonvikt på kartläggning och träning av kodknäckande aspekter på andraspråket svenska och att det finns ett behov av att utveckla skolornas arbete med att tillvarata flerspråkiga elevers språkliga resurser vid identifiering av läs- och skrivsvårigheter.I studie II visar resultatet att litteracitetsundervisningen innehöll olika aspekter av läs- och skrivförmåga och ett flerspråkigt perspektiv på litteracitetsundervisning framträdde. Lärarna visade ett starkt engagemang för elevernas läs- och skrivutveckling och använde varierade uttryckssätt och arbetsmetoder för att utveckla elevernas litteracitetsförmåga. / This licentiate thesis examines schools’ literacy work for multilingual students, taking the sociocultural perspective of teaching and learning as point of departure. The purpose is to investigate and contribute knowledge about schools’ work to develop literacy skills in multilingual students who experience challenges with reading and writing. This knowledge needs to be developed to contribute to equity in education. The research is based on two research questions. The first investigates how, according to the schools in a municipality, report that literacy practices have been designed with a particular focus on multilingual students experiencing specific difficulties with reading and writing. The second question concerns how conditions are created for literacy development in multilingual students who encounter difficulties with reading and writing, in a school that has received good ratings in this field according to a School Inspectorate report. The licentiate thesis is based on two studies, a web-based questionnaire study in one Swedish municipality (Study I) and a case study in a school in a multilingual area in one Swedish municipality (Study II). In the thesis, a theoretical framework model has been developed based on Luke and Freebody’s four resources model (1997, 1999) and Cummins’ theoretical work on multilingual students’ literacy development (2000, 2016). This integrated model has been used for the analysis in Study II and has been further elaborated and explained in the licentiate thesis. The case study (Study II), using methodological triangulation, includes participant observations, interviews and document analyses. The analysis of the questionnaire data (Study I) indicates an emphasis on code-breaking aspects in the mapping and training of literacy skills in most schools. The results show that there is a need to develop schools’ efforts to utilise the linguistic resources of multilingual pupils when identifying literacy difficulties and also to develop cooperation with mother tongue teachers and study coaches. In Study II, literacy teaching included different aspects of literacy and emphasised a multilingual perspective on literacy teaching. The teachers demonstrated a strong commitment to the students’ literacy development and used a wide range of expressions and working methods to maximise the students’ literacy skills. The findings also indicate that the teachers’ efforts to identify emerging difficulties in reading and writing, based on close monitoring, resulted in supporting measures at an early stage, which may have prevented literacy difficulties. The findings further indicate that the school leaders’ organisation of resources and approaches to multilingualism influenced towards, and in different ways created conditions for, relational leadership and differentiated teaching, and provided support within the classroom in the literacy teaching to multilingual pupils.

Early Childhood educators agree on the significant influence of a parent on a child’s literacy development. The environment a parent provides, in addition to the opportunities a child has in the early years, have a major influence on a child’s literacy development. This study sought to determine how parents in a low-income socioeconomic group perceived literacy development and how their preschool-age children performed on an emergent literacy assessment. The 64 study participants were recruited from a Head Start program in the central Appalachian Mountains. An overwhelming majority of participants were mother/child dyads, every participant spoke English as a primary language, and the majority of the participants identified their race as white. Participants were asked to complete a demographic survey and a questionnaire. The questionnaire was used to identify parents as either having a more emergent or more traditional perception of literacy development. This data was used to determine if identifying characteristics, such as education level or caregiver role, have an influence on a parent’s perceptions (emergent or traditional) of literacy development. Additionally, parents were asked to document the 5 most important things they are doing to help their child become a successful reader. It was concluded that no significant relationship exists between the parental perceptions and the child’s emergent literacy skills. The significance of this finding is two-fold. First, parent trainings in literacy development must focus on specific skills or methods that parents need to encourage literacy development, instead of the theoretical approach behind literacy development. Additionally, the sample overwhelmingly reported “reading to their child” as something they value; therefore, parent trainings should focus on how to share stories with a child, instead of simply asserting the necessity of reading to a child.

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