Phenomenology and Literacy Studies

We ground our discussion of phenomenology and literacy studies in a study of the Intergenerational Multimodal Literacy Programme. The programme brought together one kindergarten class from a school in Ontario, Canada with elder partners to engage in the creation and sharing of multimodal ensembles that featured art, singing and digital media. A study objective was to understand the constituents of curricula that can create opportunities for participant wellbeing by expanding their communication and identity options. Thirteen children (ages 3.8-5 years) and seven elder participants aided by the children’s teachers met once every two weeks over most of a school year for intergenerational sessions at a Rest Home near the school. The programme’s curriculum was premised on previous intergenerational multimodal curricula (e.g. Heydon 2013; Heydon and O’Neill 2014) but adapted by the school, Rest Home and research partners to respond to local needs and desires. Given that the programme was being run during school time, for instance, the curriculum had to address mandated literacy outcomes from a programmatic kindergarten curriculum (Ontario Ministry of Education 2006), and the partners had perceived a need to (re)connect community members in a rural setting that had recently experienced attrition and economic hardship. The partners reckoned that connections between people might be fostered and maintained even beyond the programme boundaries should participants expand their facility with various modes and media, most notably iPads. The programme thus purchased iPads for all of the participants who received support to use them both in and outside of the programme.