The power of literature goes deeper than its ability to facilitate literacy skills development. Heading down my own research path to explore its transformative power, the work of Hoggan and Cranton (2014) highlighted the capacity of literature to reveal new and diverse perspectives, foster critical reflection and also promote and facilitate change. This was an echoing of insights gained throughout the subject, revealing that literature has vast and varied applications across the curriculum (Ross Johnson, 2014) and that literary learning enables students to deeply connect to subject content and themes in authentic and diverse ways.
What I have come to realise is that the inherent power of literature lies within the reader’s ability to relate to the narrative in some way. Resonating most was Bishop’s (1990) canonical article, which has continued to evolve in its understanding and application, where she highlighted the importance of stories that mirrored students’ own experience, reflected the lives of others and also enabled access to and immersion in other realities. This has directly impacted upon my own professional practice as TL, in the evaluation of my own collection development policies and procedures. Accordingly, I strive to ensure diverse representation through the selection of quality texts, so all students feel acknowledged and validated in their existence and experience. Furthermore, it is important to remember the valued lesson that multiple narratives and depth of diversity is imperative, as genuine representation cannot come from a single story (Caple & Tian, 2022).
I have benefited greatly from the exploration of different genres throughout the subject. Readings including Rodwell’s (2019) promotion on the use of historical fiction and Beeche’s (2021) argument for dystopian fiction, have helped to deepen my understanding of their valued use across the curriculum. This has contributed to my increased confidence and ability in being able to share and recommend diverse quality literature to classroom teachers, for the benefit of enhanced teaching and learning programs. In the discussion forums, I was able to share my experience of establishing a brand new genrefied school library (Brien, 2023a, December 23) as well as my efforts to include First Nations voices and perspectives in a respectful and authentic way (Brien, 2023b, December 23). I feel that I am now better equipped to more effectively and thoughtfully utilise the genrefied collections I have established.
Valuing the input of my peers, I was inspired by the contributions of Baseer (2024, January 2) and Smith (2024, January 7), who shared their suggestions of digital technologies for use within the classroom. This has prompted my own exploration into digital storytelling tools and apps that I hope to engage students with, in the library setting. Further to this, however, in her discussion of transliteracy and the impromptu learning that evolved during a science inquiry, Dalton-Strong’s (2014, January 1) post reminded me of the importance of the TL in collaborating with and supporting staff as the technology expert, in the information specialist role (Australian School Library Association, n.d.).
Literature, in its broad variety of genres and forms, can powerfully engage students in the development of rich and comprehensive insights and understandings. As the TL, I have an obligation to promote its use and ensure it is authentically embedded across the curriculum. It is only through engagement with quality literature, that its transformative power can be realised.
References
Australian School Library Association. (n.d.). What is a teacher librarian? https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian
Baseer, A. (2024, January 2). 5.1. [Discussion forum post]. ETL402 Interact 2 Discussion Board. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_68463_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_140364_1&forum_id=_329062_1&message_id=_4659956_1
Beeche, J. (2021). A case for dystopian fiction in primary schools. Scan, 5, 10-14. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/media/documents/vol-40/Scan_40-5_June2021_AEM.pdf
Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6(3), ix-xi.
Caple, H., & Tian, P. (2022). The need for diverse book collections. Connections, 122, 1-4. https://www.scisdata.com/media/2437/scis_connections_122_web.pdf
Dalton-Strong, H. (2024, January 1). 6.1 supporting literary learning. [Discussion forum post]. ETL402 Interact 2 Discussion Board. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_68463_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_140364_1&forum_id=_329063_1&message_id=_4659344_1
Hogan, C., & Cranton, P. (2014). Promoting transformative learning through reading fiction. Journal of Transformative Education, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344614561864
Rodwell, G. (2019). Using fiction to develop higher-order historical understanding. In T. Allender, A. Clark & R. Parkes (Eds.), Historical thinking for history teachers: A new approach to engaging students and developing historical consciousness, (pp. 194-207). Allen & Unwin.
Smith, M. (2024, January 7). 5.1. Digital publishing trends [Discussion forum post]. ETL402 Interact 2 Discussion Board. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_68463_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_140364_1&forum_id=_329062_1&message_id=_4663521_1
Ross Johnson, R. (2014). Literature, the curriculum and 21st-century literacy. In G. Winch, R. Ross Johnson, P. March, L. Ljungdahl & M. Holliday (Eds.), Literacy: Reading, writing and children’s literature (5th ed., pp. 472-491). Oxford University Press.