Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice

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Literacy Research: Theory, Method, & Practice, an LRA journal, is a peer-reviewed publication exploring research & theory in literacy & literacy education from the Literacy Research Association.

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Graphic describing how parents noticed children switching between English and Spanish depending on the setting and encouraging Spanish use during family reunions and visits with relatives. Grayscale images show multigenerational family members together.

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Graphic featuring a bilingual parent quotation about family reunions where children adapt between English and Spanish depending on relatives present. English translation appears below. Grayscale image shows two children interacting playfully.

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Cover graphic for a Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Volume 74 article by Norma Monsivais Diers examining how English literacy practices at school affect family language policies among Latinx families. Four grayscale backpacks line the bottom of the green background.

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Graphic summarizing a study on how English-language literacy practices in schools affect family language policies among Latinx families. Text highlights parents’ reflections on children’s language choices, the importance of incorporating Spanish into daily routines, and reducing linguistic barriers.

Slide 1 Alt Text:
Title slide asking how educators foster students’ ability to analyze and resist systemic inequities. Authors Heather Dunham, Oluwaseun Ayobami Oti, and Alexis Lawton are listed alongside Literacy Research Association branding and a Volume 74 LRTMP banner.

Slide 2 Alt Text:
Blue-tinted classroom image with text explaining how literacy educators incorporate critical consciousness into elementary classrooms. “Critical consciousness” is bolded for emphasis.

Slide 1 (Title Slide)
Decorative title slide for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Vol. 74. Large centered text reads: “Supporting South Asian International Graduate Students’ Literate Identity Navigations” by Ankhi G. Thakurta and Nyitar M. Msursima. Background is parchment-textured with ornate South Asian-inspired floral and geometric borders in warm orange, red, and gold tones along the bottom.
Slide 2 (Context + Map)
Slide features a green map of South Asia labeled with countries including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. Text below reads: “While being an increasingly key group in the U.S. higher education landscape, South Asian international graduate students face barriers negotiating their identities on university campuses.” Decorative patterned borders frame the sides.

Slide 1 (Title)
Carousel introduction posing a question about moving teacher education beyond classrooms into multilingual community contexts.

Slide 2 (Purpose)
Slide outlining the FLOA initiative, which integrates community-based observation into teacher education to center multilingual families’ linguistic and cultural resources.

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Blue graphic: Text on small acts of courage in teaching; grayscale portrait of adult holding book.
Image 5 Right Half
Blue graphic: Text on reflection, empathy, action over time; grayscale portrait of adult with folded arms.

Image 1 Left Half
Blue graphic: “Finding Space for Critical Literacy in Classrooms,” Vol. 74 header; four grayscale portraits below.
Image 1 Right Half
Blue graphic: “Everyday, teachers find space to do what matters.” Grayscale portrait of man in glasses on right.

Graphic with a light tan background and teal decorative shapes announces “Submissions Open” for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 75. The header reads “Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Vol. 75.” Body text invites all presenters at the 2025 Literacy Research Association Conference to submit manuscripts based on their presentations for possible inclusion in LR:TMP. A bold red notice states “Due Date Extended!!! Manuscripts Now Due: Feb 9, 2026.” Two QR codes appear near the bottom, labeled “Manuscript Guidelines” (left) and “Submission Link” (right). Contact information at the bottom reads “Questions? Email: LRA_LRTMP@illinoisstate.edu"

A navy-blue announcement graphic with bold yellow text reading “Submissions Open” for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 75. Supporting text invites 2025 LRA Conference presenters to submit manuscripts based on their presentations, with a submission deadline of February 6, 2026. Two QR codes appear near the bottom, one labeled “Manuscript Guidelines” and the other “Submission Link.” An email address for questions is listed along the bottom. Decorative curved lines and subtle wave patterns frame the text.

An orange announcement graphic for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 75, featuring a large teal banner reading “Call for Reviewers.” Text below lists the review window as February 11 to March 13, 2026. A large QR code links to the reviewer sign-up page, with a web address provided as an alternative. The graphic notes that doctoral students are also welcome to volunteer. A faint illustrated pattern of diverse faces appears in the background as a decorative element.

Promotional graphic for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 75. Large red text reads ‘Submissions Open.’ Below, black text invites presenters from the 2025 Literacy Research Association Conference to submit manuscripts based on their presentations for possible inclusion in LR:TMP. Submission deadline is February 6, 2026. Two QR codes appear at the bottom, labeled ‘Manuscript Guidelines’ and ‘Submission Link.’ Contact email listed: LRA_LRTMP@illinoisstate.edu. Design features a cream background with colorful geometric border accents.

A group of people smiling and stacking their hands together in front of a large rainbow Pride flag. The image sets a tone of connection and collective care. Overlaid text introduces Mollie V. Blackburn’s ideas about fostering talk across differences. A dotted yellow path leads toward a “next” arrow.

Several hands raise a small rainbow Pride flag against a soft sky background. The image visually supports the idea of inviting, affirming, and bolstering talk across differences. Decorative dotted arrows point toward the text explaining what this kind of talk is.

Bright, inviting graphic with a teal grid background announcing a Call for Reviewers for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 75. A bold orange banner centers the call, with the review window listed below and a large QR code providing direct access to details. The bottom text notes that doctoral students are also welcome to volunteer.

Graphic announcing the Friendly Review for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 75. The header reads “Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 75.” Large green text in the center says “FRIENDLY REVIEW.” Below it, the section titled “Author Eligibility” lists:

Grad Student or Early Career Scholar

Presenting at 2025 LRA Conference

Plan to submit work for LR:TMP, Vol. 75

Never before published in LR:TMP

A red banner across the bottom reads: “Due Date extended to Friday, Oct. 31.”
At the bottom of the image, there’s a note: “For more info / to sign up visit https://about.illinoisstate.edu/lrtmp
or scan,” followed by a QR code on the right. The design features soft green and tan abstract shapes along the bottom.

A graphic which states “Call for Mentors” for Volume 75 of Literacy Research: Theory, Method, Practice. A and a QR code linking to a sign-up page is provided. Also listed is a link to sign up https://about.illinoisstate.edu/lrtmp/

A graphic providing information about Friendly Review processes for Volume 75 of Literacy Research: Theory, Method, Practice. A list of author eligibility criteria, a QR code linking to a sign-up page is provided. Also listed is a link to sign up https://about.illinoisstate.edu/lrtmp/

Text on a light background of jigsaw puzzle piece Flattening Hierarchies and Encouraging Reflection: Systems Maps as a Local Literacy Practice Gretchen S. Goode, Laurie MacGillivray, Margie Sauceda Curwen, Amy Lassiter Ardell, Leslee K. Bailey-Tarbett

In this study, authors explore systems thinking maps as a local literacy practice in a systems thinking professional development institute for PreK-8 teachers. Employing a case study approach, the authors investigated the mapping of literacy events. Their findings highlight the potential of systems thinking maps to foster collective understandings of systems thinking, deepen understandings via the co-construction of dynamic texts, and imagine pedagogical possibilities.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab
Check out Volume 73!

An infographic titled "Theorizing Digital Dialogic Comprehension Pedagogy with Rural Primary Teachers: A Relational Praxis of Knowledge, Space, and Time" by Janet Kim Outlaw and Jill F. Grifenhagen. It presents five key discussion points, each in a colored box with matching icons:
1. Green box (with dialogue icon): “Comprehension is more than a product of reading, but is a process of co-constructing knowledge plurality through dialogic discourse.”
2. Orange box (with circular community icon): “Culture and community are integral in forming dialogic discourse for individual and collective transformations.”
3. Blue box (with puzzle piece and book icon): “Pedagogical synergies exist between talk, reading, comprehension, and writing.”
4. Red box (with four interlocking hands icon): “Professional development on participatory and community-engaged approaches for dialogic pedagogies is needed.”
5. Purple box (with layered discourse lines icon): “Dialogic comprehension pedagogy is a praxis of perceiving and enacting upon multiple voices and knowledges within sociocultural particularities.”
Below the discussion points, a flowchart displays two processes:
• “Perceiving Dialogism in Comprehension: Espousing Dialogic Stances” (linked to comprehension, knowledges, and voices).
• “Enacting Dialogism in Comprehension: Responding to Particularities” (linked to instructional contexts, digital discourses, and pandemic times).
At the bottom, text encourages viewers to explore Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice with a QR code and social media handles (@LRTMP on BlueSky, Facebook, and Instagram). The graphic credits the Education Now Lab at Illinois State University. The background is soft yellow with colorful, rounded rectangles for each discussion point.

Text on a light background of jigsaw puzzle piece Theorizing Digital Dialogic Comprehension Pedagogy with Rural Primary Teachers: A Relational Praxis of Knowledge, Space, and Time Janet Kim Outlaw, Jill F. Grifenhagen

This grounded theory study explored how primary-grade teachers perceive and enact dialogic English Language Arts (ELA) comprehension pedagogy in the novel context of pandemic-induced digital learning. By collecting digital artifacts of ELA comprehension instruction and conducting virtual interviews with nine diverse rural primary teachers teaching digitally during the coronavirus disease pandemic, the authors present an emergent substantive theory which represents connected, iterative processes of teachers perceiving and enacting dialogic, digital instruction.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab
Check out Volume 73!

A green slide with a wavy design with text that reads “Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Experiences at the Intersection of Culturally Sustaining and Historically Responsive Pedagogies, Early Literacy, and the Science of Reading by Molly Claire Marek & Vickie C. Godfrey.” The right side of the slide contains text “. How can teachers sustain the lifeways of children and communities? Young learners' literacy experiences are informed by their relationships with family, and individual interests. So, teachers can: Recognize learners' identities and interests as important for designing instruction. Learn and center instruction around learners' families and lives. Attend to aspects of individual interests and collective elements of learners' cultures.

A digital announcement for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 74 displays a Due Date Extended! message in large, bold text. It invites presenters from the 2024 LRA Conference to submit manuscripts for possible inclusion in the journal. The new submission deadline is emphasized in red: Monday, February 10, 2025. Below the text, two QR codes are labeled Manuscript Guidelines and Submission Link. At the bottom, a contact email for questions is provided: LRA_LRTMP@illinoisstate.edu. The background is a soft textured gray, and the text is styled in a professional serif font.

Text on a light background of books arranged diagonally Elementary Preservice Teachers' Experiences at The Intersection Of Culturally Sustaining and Historically Responsive Pedagogies, Early Literacy, And The Science Of Reading Molly Claire Marek, Vickie C. Godfrey

This phenomenological study focuses on preservice teachers' (PST) experiences mentoring early elementary readers. Thematic results illustrate how PSTs sustained the lifeways of children through literacy as a social practice, created space for code-based and meaning-making skills, and learned to teach responsively. The authors discuss implications for a comprehensive approach to prepare teachers of elementary literacy: one that fosters knowledge of the written code while contextualizing knowledge in children's cultures, communities, and experiences.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab
Check out Volume 73!

Text on a light background of bookshelves “We Don’t Talk About Race In The Classroom”: Chinese Dual Language Bilingual Education Teachers’ Raciolinguistic Ideologies, Critical Consciousness Evasion, and Language And Literacy Instructional Practices Nuo Xu, Verónica E. Valdez

Drawing on a raciolinguistic perspective and theoretical constructs of critical consciousness, this study examines Chinese dual language bilingual education (DLBE) teachers' lived experiences and the raciolinguistic ideologies shaping their perceived language and literacy pedagogy. Findings reveal that teachers' diverse experiences itnfluenced their ideologies toward language, race, and their language and literacy instructional practices. The authors argue for need to support Chinese DLBE teachers' examinations of their raciolinguistic ideologies.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab
Check out Volume 73!

A graphic announcing that submissions are open for Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice, Volume 74. The title 'SUBMISSIONS OPEN' is prominently displayed in large red font. Below it reads: 'We invite all presenters at the 2024 LRA Conference to submit manuscripts based on their presentations for possible inclusion in LR:TMP.'

The submission deadline is listed as 'February 7, 2025' in bold. Two QR codes are included at the bottom: one labeled 'Manuscript Guidelines' and the other 'Submission Link.'

The graphic also includes the email address for questions: LRA_LRTMP@illinoisstate.edu. The background features bookshelves on the sides, framing the content.

Text on a light background of books arranged diagonally Revisiting Validity in Research with Multilingual Learners: Moving From a Monolingual to a Multilingual Lens on Research Quality Christopher J. Wagner

The article explores how current paradigms of validity might be reconceptualized in research with multilingual learners. The author presents three ways that current monolingual paradigms of validity should be expanded in research with multilingual learners to work toward multilingual conceptualizations of research quality. This article then offers guidance to aid other researchers in taking up issues of validity in the design and reporting of research with multilingual learners.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab
Check out Volume 73!

Text on a light background of jigsaw puzzle piece The Discursive Journey of Meta-Awareness: Literacy (Teacher) Identity Within Preservice Teacher Preparation Heather Dunham, Kerry H. Alexander, Emily P. McDonald

In this instrumental case study, authors aim to determine the relationship(s) between meta-awareness and preservice literacy teachers' identities through how they demonstrate their knowledge of literacy instruction and envision future literacy practices. The findings include preservice teachers' demonstration of their meta-awareness of literacy by using evaluative language, explicit memories, and content appropriation. The authors discover that recontextualizing one's past experiences as a reader and writer facilitates a move toward agentic redress and responsive instruction.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab
Check out Volume 73!

Text on a light background of bookshelves Evidence of Emergent Expertise in Early-Career Teachers’ Information Literacy Practices on TeachersPayTeachers Gillian E. Mertens, Brittany Adams

This study analyzed teachers' behaviors as information literacy practices to gain insight into how teachers use their information literacy skills and their knowledge oft pedagogical practices to find supplementary classroom resources in online educational marketplaces. Findings revealed that the teachers were strategic as they searched for resources, and examined if resources were appropriate for their students, feasible to implement, and formatted in, ways that students could process.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab

Check out Volume 73!

Text on a light background of books arranged diagonally Beyond Lip Service: Decolonizing Children’s Literature for Promoting Racial Pride, Equity, Achievement, and Liberation (REAL)* Donna Y. Ford

This article discusses the importance of gifted and talented education (GATE) students being taught Black history and culture that centers diverse literature that recognizes, respects, and celebrates similarities and differences within and across cultures. Many GATE students are avid readers and can benefit from an education that includes diverse literature. The author uses Racial Pride, Equity, Achievement, and Liberation (REAL) to underscore the monumental need for multicultural children's literature and articulates that it can and must be decolonized.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab
Check out Volume 73!

Text on a light background of bookshelves In-Service Educators Making Sense of Risky Literature: The Cultural Politics of Positioning (Con)Texts During a Yearlong Antibias, Anti-Racist Book Club Kierstin Giunco, Kyle P. Smith, Jon M. Wargo

Drawing on positioning theory, the authors illustrate how the broader national movement to ban books and censor particular topics has manifested in localized storylines shaping teachers' engagement with so-called risky children's literature. In response, they call for facilitators of anti-bias, anti-racist professional learning to collaborate with educators in order to understand how these narratives can be positioned as both barriers to and opportunities for institutional change.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab

Check out Volume 73!

Text on a light background of bookshelves In-Service Educators Making Sense of Risky Literature: The Cultural Politics of Positioning (Con)Texts During a Yearlong Antibias, Anti-Racist Book Club Kierstin Giunco, Kyle P. Smith, Jon M. Wargo

Drawing on positioning theory, the authors illustrate how the broader national movement to ban books and censor particular topics has manifested in localized storylines shaping teachers' engagement with so-called risky children's literature. In response, they call for facilitators of anti-bias, anti-racist professional learning to collaborate with educators in order to understand how these narratives can be positioned as both barriers to and opportunities for institutional change.

Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Bluesky @LRTMP Facebook LRTMP Instagram @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab
Check out Volume 73!

A carousel post comprised of eight slides. Slide 8 - QR code to the journal LRTMP with the text Check Out Literacy Research: Theory, Method & Practice Instagram @LRA_LRTMP Facebook @LRTMP Bluesky @LR_TMP Created in partnership with the Education Now Lab about.illinoisstate.edu/edunowlab

A carousel post comprised of eight slides. Slide 6 How do we host a culturally relevant book club? Image of Asian American mother pointing to something her daughter is writing on a table. Mother is mouth is open like she is saying something. Text reads: • Parents and educators connect to plan a series of book club sessions.
• Educators work with parents to select culturally relevant books which highlight various aspects of culture including but not limited to cultural and family traditions and language.
• Educators plan guidance and prompts in the pre-, during-, and after-reading phases of the reading sessions.

A carousel post comprised of eight slides. Slide 4 - Half of an image finished on the next slide. Image of an Asian American mother and child reading a book with the child pointing to something on the page. Half of the title of How Would We Host a Culturally Relevant Book Club Text reads: In this study, Dr. Ling Hao facilitated parent-child conversations within six Chinese or Chinese American families in an Online Family Book Club using culturally relevant fictional texts that depicted Chinese cultural practices and heritage and/or Asian people. The texts addressed Chinese culture, tradition, customs, or Chinese written language and explored holidays, foods, language, family traditions, and cultural heritage. In each session, parents assisted their children and interacted with them as Dr. Hao read the book aloud. The use of Chinese and English during these sessions encouraged parents' and children's translanguaging practices.