The research programme Disciplinary literacy and inclusive teaching (LIT) explores the multidimensional nature of language and literacy in teaching and learning processes. The program is a collaboration between about 20 researchers and PhD students in several research areas in the educational research field. Each such area consists of one or more research project that are described on this website.
The aim is to gain a better understanding of the development of literacy in science, mathematics, social sciences and in academic levels through the study of schools, in which teachers, students, and learning materials interact. An important assumption is that an explicit and expanded perspective on literacy implies increased opportunities for inclusive education for all students.
In addition to the general characteristics of literacy, each subject area has its own specific functional language use that is typical for that field, both in terms of oral and written aspects. This means that we discern specific text genres and discourses in different content areas, whereas the multimodal nature of texts have a crucial impact on the students’ learning processes. The construction of meaning takes place not only through verbal resources, but also through images, graphs and diagrams. The identification of subject-specific characteristics at the level of texts, concepts, vocabulary, and communicative practices, including multimodality, creates opportunities to involve subject teachers in different areas in the teaching of language and literacy skills. An important hypothesis in this context is that an increased multimodal awareness among subject teachers may result in increased opportunities for learning and inclusive education for all students.
Another important focus is on multilingual classrooms, where students and teachers face specific challenges in learning, mainly because the instructional language and scientific languages in different subject areas place high demands on them. Therefore, the program aims to contribute to a deepened understanding and development of theory on the crucial role of language in learning for all students. Further, to contribute to new multidisciplinary research constellations, innovations, scientific publications and new insights. It also aims to contribute to improved quality of education in different subjects’ areas through providing practical insights for teachers and university educators on literacy demands and the ways these can be addressed in order to enhance the learning processes for all students.
