Abstract

HERAS, Ana Inés et al. Reading and Writing Practices with a Potential for Transformation. Collaborative Research in School, Hospital, Community and Working-Class Neighborhood Environments. Diálogos sobre educ. Temas actuales en investig. educ. [online]. 2021, vol.12, n.23, 00003.  Epub Dec 06, 2021. ISSN 2007-2171.  https://doi.org/10.32870/dse.v0i23.953.

In this paper we develop a conceptual framework for a collaborative research project called Literacy Practices and their Potential for Transformation. We first explain our theoretical and methodological approach, describing how we constructed a relevant framework over three years of exploratory work. We then analyze four different experiences currently being conducted in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We have identified this set of practices because, taken together, they allow us to a) show the notion of a potential for transformation when linked to reading and writing practices, b) to describe and analyze the central role of reading and writing in very different spaces, organizations and institutions with a common potential to question the established order and transform it, and c) to make visible how these practices appealed to different formats, supports, disciplines, and languages, and in doing so reshaped the very meaning of reading and writing. We conclude by underscoring the scope of our study insofar as the analysis of specific experiences leads us to insights on the transformational potential of reading and writing practices, and point out some of the limitations of our study and possible lines of further research.

Keywords : reading and writing practices; Buenos Aires; hospitals; schools; social and community organizations.