Transcultural Literacies

Canada is more diverse than ever before, and the application of transcultural literacies in Canadian classrooms is needed for the successful growth of students and teachers alike. In this edited volume, world-renowned educators offer unique perspectives on the impact of race, culture, and identity in the classroom. With an interdisciplinary approach, this book investigates not only how teachers can design learning spaces to accommodate diverse students, but also how they can build literacy programs to complement and further develop the varied strengths, skills, and experiences of those students. Educators will learn to better understand the trajectories of immigration: how immigrant students often enter the classroom after living in multiple places, acquiring several languages, and forming memories of places that are different from Canadian socio-cultural and geographic landscapes.Examining the roles of both teachers and students in transcultural language learning, this text will benefit students in teacher education programs and in graduate-level education studies that focus on language and literacy, diversity, and global citizenship.Featurescontextualizes places and spaces that are very different from the geographic and socio-cultural terrain of Canada, preparing educators to design learning spaces for students who have such varied experiencesidentifies how educators can build literacy programs around the strengths, linguistic diversity, and experiences of their studentsincludes pedagogical features such as chapter previews and visual organizers that introduce students to the ideas and concepts presented in each chapter, further recommend readings and websites, and guiding discussion questions

"A timely, engaging read--a call to action for re-visioning socially just teaching and learning. The contributors challenge us to disrupt taken-for-granted assumptions not only about transcultural literacies, but also about how classrooms work and what goes on in them. The book's practical and theory-rich discussions demonstrate that transcultural literacies are about our way of being in relationship with others and in the world, where learning embraces imagination, empathy, wholeness, respect, connection, counter-hegemonic thought and practice, and hope."--Dr. Susan M. Brigham, Professor, Faculty of Education, Mount Saint Vincent University "A timely invitation to dialogue about one of the most challenging questions in contemporary schooling: How do we decolonize education to promote inclusive learning and teaching? Drawing on exciting literacy research across a range of transcultural contexts, the contributors to this volume offer valuable insights for both classrooms and communities."--Dr. Bonny Norton (FRSC), Professor and Distinguished University Scholar, Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia "This book provides an important update for critical educational theory by turning to transcultural literacies. It is grounded in an accessible overview of concepts and practices and weaves through a range of educators' personal experiences. The book will be useful to teacher education programs and relevant also to graduate programs in areas such as education, sociology, anthropology, and political science."--John Ippolito, Faculty of Education, York University