ABSTRACT
Although arguably not yet mainstream, dialogic pedagogy has become more visible within the field of literacy over the past few decades (Brindley, Juzwik & Whitehurst, 2016). Building on theorists such as Bakhtin, Freire, and Buber, literacy researchers often focus on classroom talk that is rich in joint inquiry, open and vigorous exchange of ideas, and engagement with other voices and selves. The increased visibility of dialogic literacy pedagogy raises the stakes around clearly articulating what scholars mean by it, particularly given that it carries the echoes of such varied voices and traditions. Our goal in this chapter is not to limit the field’s vision to a single conception but to build clarity around possible conceptions and to begin to tease out what these might mean – individually and in dialogue with one another – for classroom literacy teaching. Importantly, we resist over-simplifying dialogic literacy pedagogies to “accessible features alone” (Howe & Mercer, 2016) and instead map a terrain of value-oriented practices.
