ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we examine children’s images of literacy as a window on their constructions of self. In the last decade, research concerning social identity and literacy practices suggests that students’ ideas of how reading and writing relate to various social identities may be highly significant in their participation and nonparticipation in school-based literacy (see, e.g., Cherland, 1994; Davies, 1993; Martino, 1995). The multiplicity of communication channels, in combination with increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in the world, make it critical to view students’ constructions of literacy in the broadest possible sense. Moreover, given that early experiences with literacy often lead students to form specific learner identities, understanding how young children construct self in relation to literacy is of particular concern. However, as noted by researchers such as Mirzoeff (1999), Pahl (2003), and Stein (2003), it is often difficult to elicit young children’s ideas and conceptualisations about complex topics by using traditional modes of inquiry such as talk or writing. In conducting research on children’s images of literacy, Kendrick and McKay (see, e.g., McKay & Kendrick, 2001; Kendrick & McKay, 2002, 2004) designed a unique research method that uses drawings as a tool for understanding
how children think about literacy in their lives. The inspiration for this research comes from lit-eracy researchers such as Britton, Halliday, Harste, Goodman, and Freire, whose work was grounded in valuing what learners know.
