186 pages
244 x 170mm
Due October 2010

This book shows how identity texts have been used as a central focus for effective and inspirational pedagogy in multilingual school contexts that is engaging students around the world.

The term identity texts was first used by the Canada-wide Multiliteracies Project to describe a variety of creative work by students, including collaborative inquiry, literary narratives, dramatic and multimodal performances, led by classroom teachers. Jim Cummins and Margaret Early describe their nature, the ways in which they relate to broader orientations to pedagogy and consider two pedagogical frameworks within which they have been integrated.

This is followed by brief case studies of identity text construction by educators and students in schools in parts of North America, in Burkina Faso and Rwanda in Africa, and in Ireland. The identity texts produced held up a mirror to the students which reflected their identities back in a positive light. The closing chapters elaborate on their central role in bilingual instructional strategies and highlight future projects generated by brainstorming among the contributors to this volume.

Identity Texts is essential reading for everyone concerned with developing appropriate pedagogy for schools and for all who work with multilingual children.