Acting on literacy curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood education

The eight published articles in this portfolio collectively constitute a reconceptualising of literacy curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood education, with an emphasis on the use of drama pedagogy. The portfolio includes a synthesis of the themes that unify the articles and a review of the qualitative research methods that inform the articles, namely theoretical/conceptual and case study research. In relation to literacy curriculum, the portfolio explicates an inclusive and extended definition of literacy which reflects the wide range of social and cultural practices that engage young students in their everyday lives. From a sociocultural perspective, the articles investigate current literacy practices involving spoken, written and visual modes of representation and highlight the prevalence of multimodal texts within the concept of multiliteracies. Reconceptualising literacy pedagogy is another major theme of the articles in the portfolio. The majority of articles explore the use of drama pedagogy for the teaching and learning of literacies in early childhood education. A second pedagogical strategy researched in the articles is the explicit teaching of knowledge about language to young school students. The portfolio is underpinned by the premise that the proposed reforms of literacy curriculum and pedagogy contribute to social justice in education by facilitating success in literacy for more young student