Wednesday, May 31, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Patel Auditorium
“Research For, By, and With Us: Constructing Caribbean-Based Knowledges for Literacy Education with Caribbean-Origin Youth“
Who is writing the story of Caribbean-origin people’s literacies and languages as they unfold in and beyond the Caribbean? What images are being circulated about Caribbean-origin people’s literacies and languages? What can be learned from these narratives that may transform literacy teaching and learning in the Caribbean, and, more broadly, for Caribbean-originated youth? What new stories, images, and insights are need to energize innovative thinking and practice pertaining to literacy pedagogy with Caribbean-origin youth?
In this Keynote, Dr. Allison Skerrett examines extant research on the language and literacy practices of transnational Caribbean-originated people. She makes observations about the identities and biographies of those conducting this research, and the nature of their inquiries, to consider the importance of researcher identity in educational research that is focused on Caribbean-origin peoples and contexts. Using the case of one of her research projects, Skerrett examines the promise and pitfalls of researcher identity and biography when doing research situated in the Caribbean region with Caribbean-origin youth. She offers up a model of research for critical examination—one that bridges research and practice, classroom-based research and teaching, and that positions youth as agentive partners in research and classroom teaching and learning. This talk will contribute to the conversation about how the RISE project may continue to transform educational research and practice in the Caribbean region by building the capacity of Caribbean-origin scholars for conducting research in and with Caribbean contexts and peoples.
