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Teaching literature in the multicultural classroom

Funding year: 
2007
Duration:
2 years
Organisation: 
University of Waikato
Sector: 
School sector
Project start date: 
January 2007
Project end date: 
January 2009
Principal investigator(s): 
Terry Locke
Research team members: 
Gail Cawkwell & Emilie Sila’ila’i, with Alison Cleary, Willem de Beer, Sandy Harris, Elizabeth Lumby, David Riley, Janet Sturgess, and Julie-Ann Thumath
Research partners: 
University of Waikato School of Education, with Henderson Intermediate School, Wymondley School, Somerville School, and Macleans College

Project Description

The project Teaching Literature in the Multicultural Classroom focused on ways in which pupils engaged with literary texts in primary and second classrooms which were multicultural and multilingual in their composition. The word “engage”, as used here, had two facets. One was attitudinal. Did pupils enjoy responding to and composing literary texts? The other was practice related. What specific practices did teachers engage students in to facilitate their response to literary texts and to foster acts of literary composition?

This collaborative research project was made up of a team of four primary/ intermediate teachers and four secondary teachers, who worked with three university-based researchers over a period of two years in seven schools (three primary/ intermediate and four secondary).