Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
Writing in Pictures: Perspectives on a Multicultural Photography and Literacy Program for
Youth in New York and Casablanca
Janine L. Nieroda-Madden
Doctoral Candidate, Syracuse University
jnieroda@syr.edu
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
Abstract
This paper presents findings from a six month formative design experiment in which the
researcher implemented a cross-cultural multi-genre writing program for students in a suburban
high school in northeastern, NY together with students in the Sidi Moumen region of
Casablanca, Morocco. The framework of a formative design experiment was utilized because of
its emphasis on research that is theoretically grounded and pedagogically goal oriented within
authentic instructional contexts (Bradley et al., 2012; Gavemeijer and Cobb, 2006; Reinking and
Bradley 2008; Reinking and Watkins, 2000). In this case, the instruction occurred in both on site
and digital collaborative spaces. Youth participants (a total of 100 from the high school in New
York and 70 from the community center in Casablanca) worked individually and in global teams
to extrapolate meaning from multiple self-selected identifying features of their respective
neighborhood/communities. Instructional practices rooted in culturally responsive pedagogy and
photo-elicitation pedagogy were employed throughout the duration of the program (Zenkov and
Harmon, 2009; Zenkov et al., 2012; Zenkov et al., 2013). Findings indicate implications for
literacy instruction in multilingual and multicultural digital spaces. In particular, methods of
engaging students in multicultural literacy can be bolstered through the use of photo-elicitation
pedagogy and can lead to positive outcomes in students’ composition process of both personal
narrative and digital short story.
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
Writing in Pictures: Perspectives on a Multicultural Photography and Literacy Program for
Youth in New York and Casablanca
Literacy education and international development are currently at a crossroads requiring
literacy researchers and educators to envision new pathways forward (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000;
Leander & Boldt, 2013). Presently, there is an urgent need for increasing capacity on a local,
national, and global scale to address the persistence of educational disparities particularly related
to literacy (Alvermann, 2008; Darling-Hammond, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 2006). Such a call to
action comes in direct response to economic, political, and social development which, taken
together with educational and technological advances, are rapidly changing the way the world
operates (Apple, 2010; Kincheloe, 2007; Sen, 1999).
This paper describes the preliminary findings of the first six months of a year-long
formative experiment documenting the planning and implementation of a photovoice crosscultural collaborative between a community center in Casablanca, Morocco and a public
secondary school in the northeast, USA (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2011; Wang & Burris, 1997).
This conference paper focuses upon the process of constructing the framework for the
intervention as part of the formative experiment. The emphasis is placed on the planning for the
intervention, rather than the findings for the year-long study which are forthcoming. The reason
for this is that the timeline of the intervention was adjusted since the acceptance of this
conference proposal.
This formative experiment and the project within it, entitled the Global Writers Project,
evolved from the premise that there is significant import in developing sustainable and reciprocal
relationships between educational organizations and the individuals within them (Paris, 2011).
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
The motivation for this collaboration emanates from previous findings which show that such
communication gives youth the opportunity to work with and share experiences with peers from
different ethnic and cultural backgrounds (Zenkov, Bell, Harmon, Ewaida, & Fell, 2011).
Exposure to other points of view could have great value to secondary school age youth
concerning both their personal and educational experiences at a critical stage of social and
cognitive development (Weis & Fine, 2001).
Additionally, the collaboration expands possibilities for increasing tolerance and
understanding particularly within a literacy context conducive to communication, articulating
points of view, and written expression (Johansen & Le, 2014). Engaging youth in learning
experiences which require problem solving and communication around issues of relevance to
their own lives-as well as of those different from themselves- could, in combination with the
aforementioned literacy practices, prove to be potent in its transformational effects.
This study possesses several lines of inquiry, but central to them all is to explore students’
overall process of and ability to critically analyze the value and importance of culture and
multicultural perspectives in their writing and in their lives. With this in mind, the research
questions for this study are:
1. How do students enact culture in their writing and their lives: what do they choose to
acknowledge, represent, recreate, and what meaning does it take on for them in their
multiple modes of composing: writing, video, photography?
2. Multimodality: which modalities do students gravitate toward throughout the duration of
this intervention and for what purposes?
3. Collaboration: what is the impact of cross-cultural collaboration on personal narrative
writing based on: frequency, duration, type, and purpose?
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
This study and the photography and literacy project located within it possess overlapping
theoretical and practical features. Consequently, I address the theoretical orientation of the
study within the review of related literature. The three overarching theoretical orientations
include critical multicultural education (Kincheloe & Steinberg, 2007; May, 1999),
multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000), and photovoice methodology (Wang & Burries,
1997). This study stems from a synthesis of these three areas of scholarship because they
each represent substantive theoretical foundations which possess meaningful import for
instruction.
Review of Related Literature
A substantial and profound body of literacy research has evolved to address the continual
need for transformative approaches to education that is culturally and contextually relevant to
youth (Haddix & Sealey- Ruiz, 2012; Kirkland, 2010; Sealey-Ruiz & Haddix, 2013; Zenkov,
Ewaida, Lynch, Bell, & Harmon, 2013). Such research has shown that engaging youth in
learning about multiple identities and social locations in an environment that supports dialogue
can have a substantial impact on students, teachers, and learning communities (Vasudevan,
DeJaynes, Schimier, 2010; Zenkov, Ewaida, Lynch, Bell, Harmon, Pellegrino, & Sell, 2013).
This type of education is also aimed at decreasing the prevalence of prejudice and violence in
schools and communities (Sirin & Fine, 2007). This is important for youth representative of all
races, ethnicities, and languages of origin, including Caucasian youth who represent the
dominant discourse of power and privilege (Ladson-Billings, 2014; Nieto, 2006; Derman-Sparks
& Ramsey, 2011). Additionally, learning about critical cultural perspectives in literacy contexts
and through organized dialogue programs supports students’ abilities to communicate with
people who share different points of view (Weis & Fine, 2001).
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
Furthermore, studies in the field of multiliteracies evince the power of transformative
learning in digital contexts. For example, studies have shown that students who publish work in
digital landscapes often experience an increase in motivation and investment in the writing
process due to interaction with an audience of their peers (Black, 2009; Chandler-Olcott &
Mahar, 2003; Kirkland, 2010). However, digital environments also present unique challenges as
miscommunication and misinterpretation can occur from the type of text, information, and
composition that is posted (Sealey-Ruiz & Haddix, 2013; West, 2008). This evinces a growing
need for more research that studies the intersections between digital and multicultural literacy in
ways that are dialogic and critically conscious.
Research located within a synergistic common ground for critical multicultural literacy
which attempts to understand the ways students make meaning of global and cultural identities in
a digital collaboration with peers possessing linguistic and cultural traits different from their own
remains to be explored. Therefore, this study seeks to offer an example of this type of literacy
instruction, while simultaneously, adding to and advancing previous theories in critical
multicultural education and multiliteracies (Alvermann, 2008; May, 1999; Cope & Kalantzis,
2000). Findings of this study may address methods to integrate a critical multicultural and
international development lens in designing and implementing literacy instruction that is crosscultural and collaboratively orchestrated in a digital context.
The multiple ways students interpret their identities as global learners provides a basis for
inquiry (Anderson-Levitt, 2012; Kress, 1996; Vasudevan, DeJaynes, & Schmier, 2010). The
assumptions associated with twenty-first century learners have, in many ways, created a
conglomerated persona of a student who can adeptly function in a variety of technologically
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
complex arenas just by virtue of their generation (Leander & Boldt, 2013). For this reason, there
is value in exploring the ways students define their own identities and create an understanding of
themselves in relationship to others (Haddix & Sealey-Ruiz, 2012; Ladson-Billings, 1996). This
is particularly salient in consideration of students’ ideas of local and global identity and the
literacy skills they, not just their teachers and policy makers, perceive as necessary in order to
thrive in such a technologically vibrant context (Kirkland, 2010; Vasudevan, DeJaynes, &
Schmier, 2010; Thomas, 2011).
Critical Multicultural Education
Critical multicultural education has evolved since its inception in the 1970’s from a focus
on cultural pluralism to a critical analysis of all areas and manifestations of diversity and equity
(Kincheloe & Steinberg; May, 1999). Critical multicultural education is a social justice oriented
humanizing approach to education which, together with a commitment to equal access to
structural and intellectual resources, applies to all areas of learning (Kumagai & Lypson, 2009;
Nieto, 2008). This approach to diversity is intended to be much more impactful than specialized
days in a curriculum devoted to ethnic “tidbits” and “cultural sensitivity” (Nieto, 2002/2003, p.
9). Critical multicultural education proactively engages educators and students in inquiry of
identity, assumptions, and dominant discourses of power and privilege (Conklin, 2008; Gay,
2010).
The core tenets of critical multicultural education acknowledge that culture and
education, in many ways, are intertwined. Culture is an integral part of education because it
contributes toward a framework for perceiving the world. Policy makers, educators, students, and
community members are interconnected within this educational framework. A critical approach
to multicultural education recognizes that creation and transmission of knowledge is not neutral
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
(Weis & Fine, 2001). Instead, value systems including assumptions of power, privilege, and truth
are both reinforced and challenged (Sleeter & Montecinos, 1999). Critical multicultural
education goes beyond passive coexistence to foster interaction among students in order to
cultivate a greater understanding through dialogue and mutual respect (Sirin & Fine, 2007).
In its original conception, multicultural education was critiqued for its simplistic view of
wider social and cultural powers at play in the creation and persistence of inequality (May,
1999). Therefore, a critical approach to multicultural education in not just about anti-racism but
various other identities such as gender, religion, and class, which based on context, can be
subject to rapid change in representation and conceptualization (Haddix & Price-Dennis, 2013;
Nieto, 2008).
Critical multicultural education is aligned with a social justice orientation of instructional
design and implementation. It therefore requires educators to embody an inquiry-based practice
that is consistently committed toward asking difficult questions of themselves and students alike
(Sealey-Ruiz & Haddix, 2013; Sleeter & Montecinos, 1999). These topics often challenge
stereotypes and other forms of discriminatory practices. This is done, in part, by building
capacity for a critical consciousness, care, and respect for the dignity of all people.
Literacy education that is grounded in a critical multicultural framework cultivates the
conditions necessary for students to engage in diverse expressions and responses to policies and
practices that may have an impact on their lives and communities (Fine, Torre, Burns, & Payne,
2007). Overall, the foundational and emergent scholarship for critical multicultural education is
imperative because it fosters nuanced inquiry into the theoretical and practical elements of
teaching within increasingly more complex multicultural and multilingual contexts for learning
(Kincheloe, 2007; May, 1999).
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
This study aligns with the tenet of critical multicultural education which incites educators
to conceive of culture as complex, nuanced, and tied to many areas of life (Anderson-Levitt,
2012). This study also furthers the call to integrate critical multicultural education into contexts
where white students from relatively privileged socio-economic backgrounds, who generally
possess cultural capital in a USA context, may not de facto receive this type of perspective.
Multiliteracies
Current research in education shows that the momentum of growth within an increasingly
interconnected and digital global landscape will continually exert profound consequences upon
literacy instruction (Alvermann, 2008; Alvermann & Eakle, 2007; Leander & Boldt, 2013). In
addition, technological advances are rapidly changing the ways literacy is conceptualized and
enacted in and out of classrooms (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000; Moje, Overby, Tysvaer, & Morris,
2008). Presently, national and state standards emphasize cultural and global learning through
literature which may provide students with exposure to cultures that are different from their own
(Calkins, Ehrenworth, & Lehman, 2012). However, mere exposure may not be enough (DarlingHammond, 2010; Ladson- Billings, 2014; Nieto, 2000). It is imperative for educators to become
increasingly more committed to proactively cultivating a place of inquiry where diversity of
perspectives is valued and instruction is problem-based, fully immersive, and ultimately centered
upon the students as individuals (Ladson-Billings, 2014).
Digital tools and new literacies that produce and create knowledge are constantly
expanding. For example, blogs can include much more nuanced interactive features such as links
to video, photographs, and other internet based resources (Hicks, 2013; West, 2008). Rowsell
(2013) explores the innovations in the field of multimodality and literacy with an emphasis on
the ways that students may envision their learning as a method of active exploration in real life
contexts beyond the classroom in consideration of requisite knowledge for professional
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
expertise. In addition, studies show that students develop such knowledge in crossing over to
professional expertise in situations which require critical problem solving and collaboration
(Black, 2009). For example, Chandler-Olcott and Mahar (2003) found that students engage in
skill development by joining online forums which help propel their self-directed passion and
utility for the knowledge necessary to create new html code. Such skill acquisition also includes
the use of applications on cell phone, e-readers, and laptops to record images, audio, and video in
which students become the composers of their life narratives (Hicks, 2013). Consequently, this
creates another layer of possibility not only for the narration of students’ authentic life
experiences, but also, the representation of those life experiences (Black, 2009; West, 2008).
Photovoice Methodology
The photovoice methodology evolved from Wang and Burris’s (1994) photo novella
approach and is rooted within three theoretical perspectives including Freire’s (1970) concept of
critical pedagogy and empowerment education, feminist theory, and documentary photography.
The “voice” in photovoice comes from the acknowledgement that this is a methodology that
seeks to empower individuals who are often marginalized and silenced (Wang & Burris, 1994).
The photo novella process was implemented in Wang and Burris’ (1994) work with sixty-two
rural Chinese women in the area of reproductive health. Their findings indicated that the method
had implications for informing policy and contributing toward local changes of consciousness
regarding identity, equity, and empowerment.
Since its inception, the photovoice method has become an effective method to engage
predominantly marginalized populations in community planning and needs assessments which
have the power to bridge the dissonance between local concerns and national policy initiatives
(Gavin, 2003). In addition, the method has been used by international institutions such as
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
UNICEF in order to provide programs and create impactful sustainable policies for communities
and individuals suffering from discrimination, poverty, inadequate health care, and malnutrition
(Gavin, 2003). The photovoice method has also been used with indigenous populations in cross
cultural geographical studies in order to gain valuable information about land use and resource
management (Maclean & Woodward, 2013). In particular, Maclean and Woodward (2013) used
the photovoice method with Aboriginal tribal groups in the wetlands of Australia and as a result,
the tribal groups assisted in the facilitation of local problem solving for water shortages. Another
example is demonstrated by Ducre (2012) who conducted a photovoice study with African
American women in Syracuse, NY. This method was used to increase policy makers’
knowledge of local needs and concerns expressed by a variety of stakeholders, thereby bolstering
the effectiveness and sustainability of local public health programs (Ducre, 2012).
Wilson, Dasho, Martin, Wallerstein, Wang, and Minkler (2007) found that utilizing this
approach with a diverse group of underserved early adolescents in an afterschool program called
the “Youth Empowerment Strategies project” engaged participants in critical thinking through
free-writes which consequently expanded both individual and group awareness of assets and
challenges within their community. Additionally, Strack, Magill, and McDonagh (2004) used the
photovoice method in an afterschool program with youth residing in a multi-ethnic community in
Baltimore. Findings indicated that the photovoice method had a significant impact on the ways
students wrote about issues they found meaningful to their lives. The overall effect of the
photovoice program was that the youth felt empowered to continue their photography
investigations in order to write community action proposals for projects such as renovating an
abandoned shed near the school property which had previously been a common point for drug
use and violence.
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
The photovoice method was used by Zenkov and Harmon (2009) in secondary English
classrooms with the goal of supporting students toward a greater sense of agency and
responsibility in the generative and composition process in research and writing tasks. It also
proved to be an effective entry point for reluctant writers, particularly English Language
Learners, because it challenged deficit perspectives of student capabilities by repositioning them
as active rather than passive learners (Zenkov, Ewaida, Lynch, Bell, & Harmon, 2013). Overall,
the design of the photography and writing programs places students in a role of researcher to
read, write, and interpret text within their personal life experiences in order to further refine
skills within the classroom but there is also evidence that shows that students’ benefit from this
type of learning outside of school as well (Zenkov & Harmon, 2009).
The synthesis of photography and literacy instruction has continued to evolve within the
context of English language arts classrooms. According to Zenkov, Harmon, Ewaida, & Fell
(2011), the “Through Students’ Eyes” (TSE) project has had over 400 youth participants
representative of diverse racial and ethnic identities including African American, Caucasian,
Asian, and Latino/a males and females. The students lived in working poor neighborhoods where
school was often either not valued or mistrusted. The majority of the students were on a
trajectory to graduate high school, an accomplishment in which they would be the first in their
family to do so. Student participants often read three or four grades below benchmarks for grade
level achievement. Further, many students exhibited low levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy
in regard to writing. The teachers participating in the project included both public school
teachers and university professors. In addition, adult volunteers comprised of local
photographers, teachers in nearby school districts, and teacher candidates studying at the
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
university offered assistance throughout the project’s implementation particularly during
conferences.
The Through Students’ Eyes project has also occurred as an international cross cultural
collaboration between students in Virginia and students in Sierra Leone thereby making it an
especially pertinent model to follow for my proposed study (Zenkov, et al., 2011). In this
iteration of the TSE project, students were asked to choose and write about two images per
session occurring bi-weekly for a total of three months. Students collaborated and shared their
work with one another on the social networking site, Ning, which helped to create a web-based
digital platform for the project. The TSE project has also taken place in ESOL English classes
where English Language Learners practiced the photo elicitation process up to two to three times
per week.
Overall, findings from the various iterations of the TSE project (Zenkov et al., 2011;
Zenkov et al., 2013) in multiple sites indicate that utilizing this method of instruction had
positive outcomes for students’ skill acquisition, increased self-esteem related to writing, built
rapport within the classroom as an environment of meaningful inquiry among students, and
cultivated positive and productive relationships between students and teachers.
The studies in photovoice and photo elicitation pedagogy demonstrate effective methods
for engaging people who are marginalized, silenced, or ignored (Freire, 1970). Possibilities for
expansion could exist in utilizing the three aforementioned goals of photovoice within an
instructional setting. Specifically, the three goals: 1) to enable people to record and reflect upon
their community’s strengths and concerns, 2) to promote critical dialogue and knowledge about
significant community issues through large and small group discussion of photographs, and 3) to
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
reach and inform policymakers-could be used to engage students in critical and empowering
pedagogy.
Zenkov, Ewaida, Lynch, Bell, Harmon, Pellegrino, & Sell (2013) propose a development
ethics lens for visually based research methods which is pertinent to this study in several ways.
First the critical stance within the research design of a formative experiment causes the
researcher to be reflexive about the intervention and the problem as it is locally, culturally, and
historically situated. Second, a commitment to educational equity comes with the
acknowledgement that knowledge and the act of knowledge transmission is rarely neutral. Third,
the problems that participants identify as important to them within a global, national, and local
perspective are intricate and complex. Therefore, the attempt to represent participants in the
research must acknowledge the multitude of complexities that exist. This is particularly salient
for research that takes place in underdeveloped and developing countries.
Method
The motivation for situating this study and accompanying project within the framework
of a formative experiment (Reinking & Bradley, 2008) is that this approach offers a systematic,
rigorous guide for data collection and analysis within an authentic learning environment with for
teachers and students. Formative experiments are part of a tradition in design based research
which is focused upon testing and refining theories through a methodological design to
accomplish specific goals (Brown, 1992; Gravemeijer & Cobb, 2006).
This type of research seeks to bridge the gap which often exists in education between
theory and practice (Reinking & Bradley, 2008). Consequently, formative experiments are
designed to employ systematic data collection and analysis in a way that is suitable to the
complexities of real instructional contexts (Reinking & Watkins, 2000). As previously
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
mentioned, the implementation of an intervention occurs within a discrete amount of time in
order to study the multiple ways that a pedagogical goal or set of pedagogical goals transform a
learning environment and impact delivery of instruction around an identified problem (Reinking
& Bradley, 2008; Bradley, Reinking, Colwell, Hall, Fisher, Frey, & Baumann, 2012).
By definition a formative experiment is composed of certain steps and utilizes a
particular vocabulary for these steps. Briefly, a formative experiment employs the use of an
“intervention” based on an identified problem within a specific instructional setting in
collaboration with teachers and students and participants (Reinking & Bradley, 2008). The
intervention occurs within a set period of time, often iteratively so that changes can be observed
over the course of that time with a carefully articulated pedagogical goal (Reinking & Bradley,
2008). This is a pedagogical goal that sometimes first emanates from the researcher’s
suggestions, but is more likely created in conjunction with input from the instructors
participating in the study.
Additionally, a formative experiment includes essential elements- that which help to
define the intervention as a uniquely designed instructional action (or set of actions) occurring
within a specific context over time- often to repeat in distinct iterative cycles within that time
(Reinking & Bradley, 2008). Adjustments to the implementation of the intervention are carefully
recorded within the data. Further, enhancing factors is the term given to the aspects of the
instructional environment or methods of implementation which contribute toward the realization
of the pedagogical goal (often these enhancing factors evolve over time). Inhibiting factors also
naturally evolve over time within the authentic learning environment and they indicate
difficulties or impediments to the realization of the intervention’s pedagogical goal. Inhibiting
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
factors often are the catalysts for the adjustments made during the iterative phases which occur
over the lifespan of the intervention (Reinking & Bradley, 2008).
The intervention for this formative experiment has a central pedagogical goal to inform
design, instruction, and evaluation. The pedagogical goal is to: increase students’ understanding
of and capacity for using critical multicultural perspectives in research, analysis, and writing –
specifically in a cross-cultural collaborative for literacy learning.
Essential elements within the formative experiment are essential because they represent
the unique characteristics of the intervention. Essential elements are the foremost defining
characteristics for the intervention that, if taken away, would render the intervention completely
unrecognizable from its original form (Bradley, et al., 2013). Modifications may occur for the
essential elements but not to the extent of complete removal (Reinking & Bradley, 2008). In this
case there are three essential elements: 1) instruction and implementation of the photovoice
method to support photo-based research; 2) utilization of the photo-based research methods to
create critical multicultural writing and dialogue among participants; 3) a digital collaborative
context (synchronous and asynchronous) for teaching and learning in order to generate
multimodal (use of photos, film, and writing) compositions on a shared web-based site.
Participants and Setting
The Global Writers Project has three settings including a suburban high school in New
York (Sydney High School), a community center in Casablanca (the Casablanca Youth
Leadership Center also abbreviated as CYLC), and a digital site to provide a web-based platform
for collaboration. The participants include approximately 100 students age 15-20 combined from
both settings, as well as three teachers, one English language arts teacher at the suburban high
school in New York and two facilitators from the community center in Casablanca.
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
The two contexts for learning are necessary in order to observe a simultaneous interplay
with students applying what they learn in a formal educational environment to their lives outside
of school, and then in the other context, what they learn outside of school applied to their formal
schooling. The rationale for the two settings in this study is multifaceted. From a global
perspective, the settings represent two different parts of the world. The United States is a
developed democratic nation in the western hemisphere with a great deal of international
prowess but a high incidence of national income and educational inequality (Darling-Hammond,
2010). Morocco is a developing country in Northern Africa with a constitutional monarchy ruled
by a Muslim king who has had family lineage traced back to the indigenous Arab tribes of the
Berbers (CIA World Factbook, 2013).
Morocco’s linguistic diversity is impactful to literacy and education reform. While
Moroccan Arabic is the official form of Arabic, there are several others spoken by groups
dispersed throughout the 16 geographical regions of the country (Dardour, 2000; Ezzaki, 1993).
In addition, the impact of French colonization remains significant in that it is valued within the
formal education system, universities, and the business and development sector. This is in great
contrast to Berber languages, at least two of which, Ghomara and Senhaja de Srair, have gone
extinct (Lavy & Spratt, 1997).
Arabic has many socio-cultural and historical ties of great significance thereby creating
and reinforcing identity (Ezzaki & Wagner, 1992). Hassaniyya Arabic, also known as Moor, is
predominantly spoken in southern Morocco. Judeo-Moroccan Arabic is much less common and
spoken by a minority of Moroccans. Standard Arabic is predominantly used throughout the
Middle East and North Africa and this dialect is used most commonly in media and television.
There are at least three predominant dialects of Berber still of use in specific geographical
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contexts: Tachelhit; Tarifit; and Central Atlas Tamazight (Spratt, Seckinger, & Wagner, 1991).
Spanish is spoken, in various degrees of fluency, largely attributed to its close geographical
proximity to Morocco.
Participating Educational Organizations
The educational organizations participating in the Global Writers Project represent
different geographic and demographic characteristics. The suburban New York school has a
mission articulating a commitment to educational excellence and offers many advanced
placement courses for college credit. In addition, the school offers recreational programs in the
arts, science and technology, sports, and community service clubs. The school contains grades
10-12 with an average of 450 students per grade level for an approximate total of 1, 310 students.
Among the total population who attend, approximately 96% of the students identify as white
native speakers of English (Sydney High School district website). In addition, 23% of the total
student body is eligible for free lunch. Further, 97% of the students graduate with a New York
state Regents level diploma (a distinction given to students who pass all of their Regents exams
in each subject).
The community center in Casablanca is regarded as a hallmark in the greater Casablanca
area because of its quality educational and recreational programs for diverse youth who speak
Arabic, French, and English (Mazria-Katz, 2009). The multifaceted goals of the community
center are to provide youth with a thriving place of educational enrichment and mentorship
despite pervasive challenges, including high incidences of drug abuse and violence, in its
surrounding neighborhoods (center’s Facebook page). The rapid development of Casablanca’s
urban center caused a massive displacement of people from their homes to the outskirts of the
city’s boundaries (Davies, 2009). As a result, the suburb where the cultural center is located was
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the site of haphazard underdevelopment which precipitated its currently high incidence of
poverty, disease, and violence (Mazria-Katz, 2009).
Implementing the Intervention
The initial construct of the study and overall design of the intervention for the Global
Writers Project was informed by previous studies in photovoice which explore the ways that
participants engage in participatory community planning and needs assessments (Wang &
Burries, 1997). For this reason, the writing prompts first focus upon self-reflection and evolve
gradually in order to provide opportunities for participants to develop a line of inquiry which
may lead them toward initiating further writing to have an impact on their school and/or local
communities (Ladson-Billings, 2014; Paris, 2012; Thomas, 2011).
The digital aspect of the collaboration is vital in the Global Writers Project. The use of
technology is meant to be fully integrated into instruction to maximize students’ capabilities and
skill development for the writing tasks (Hicks, 2013; Rowsell, 2013). By fully integrated, I mean
that the use of digital cameras, video, blog posts, and web chat will be a central part of the
instructional sequence for the writing program. This is important because students will have
various levels of prior experience with photography, video, writing, and web chat collaboration.
It is critical to provide equal opportunities for all students to develop and express their writing
skills within a multicultural and digital space (West, 2008).
Multicultural literacy is referred to here as the instruction of reading, writing, and other
texts such as film, photographs, music within secondary English classrooms explicitly addressing
cultural practices, ethnicity, language including official languages as well as languages of origin,
and social norms which often include contextualized meanings and local values regarding
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gender, socio-economic status, religion, sexual orientation, and race (Ladson-Billings, 2014;
Paris, 2012; Nieto, 2000).
There are three iterative cycles lasting a total of approximately six weeks each planned
for the intervention of this formative experiment. The purpose of iterative cycles is to provide
baseline data, create a systematic approach to data collection and analysis that may inform
necessary adjustments and modifications to the intervention (Bradley et al., 2013; Gravemeijer &
Cobb, 2006). The instructional time will occur one to two times per week for 40 minutes with
both sets of participants at the two different sites.
Overall the photo based research and cultural inquiry toward the students’ composition of
and adapted form of auto-ethnography will be focused upon these three questions:

Where and how can you/do you locate manifestations of culture in your community and
in your life?

What meaning can you make of the cultural phenomena that you are observing from an
insider’s perspective (emic), as well as, an outsider’s perspective (etic)? Does shifting the
focus on perspective impact or alter the meaning of what you are observing?

What do you learn from your global partners about their responses to these questions
(stated above)? What stands out to you as evincing the importance of culture, community,
identity from an insider’s (emic) and outsider’s (etic) perspective for them?
These three questions comprise the core of the photo-based and critical cultural perspectives
research as they emphasize synthesis and reflection upon multicultural perspectives. These
questions are aligned with the pedagogical goal as well as the study’s research questions more
broadly. In particular, the third question will be repeated at several critical points through the
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
intervention-specifically, at the beginning and end of the three phases in the intervention, as well
as, in conversation and conferences with students throughout the photo exploration.
Students kept a journal for the Global Writers Project where they record their responses
to the prompts. In addition, students were encouraged to use this journal as a photographic
journalist or embedded researcher would in order to record any thoughts, questions, or insights
that arise as a result of their experiences both in and out of instructional time. The cumulative
result of this writing will be pertinent to the capstone projects for individual auto-ethnography as
well as the global writer’s group collaborative in which students will compose relational autoethnographies (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2011). It may also prove to be a meaningful place for
students to create, compose, and reflect upon their experiences during the project.
The additional questions that will be used as a catalyst for research and discussion are
informed by Thomas (2011) in her exploration of geography, identity, and composition with
urban youth. The questions are adapted slightly to suit the context for the Global Writers
Project. These include the following:

What challenges are unique to your neighborhood? Where is privilege located?
Where and how do privilege and challenge intersect?

Which areas are unique? Which might interest a newcomer? Which are most beloved
and sacred?
In addition to the questions from Thomas (2011), each iterative cycle will contain one
teacher-initiated prompt. The protocol for the students’ responses will be a written reflection of
approximately two-three paragraphs in addition to 25 photos or video clips (with an emphasis on
photo journalism or as an engaging documentary). This writing will occur at the start of each
class session. In addition, students will brainstorm a list of topics and come to a consensus on the
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
three that they would like to include so that there is one student-initiated prompt per phase of the
intervention as well. This is important because it is aligned with critical pedagogy and
empowerment education (Freire, 1970).
The intervention is designed so that teachers will conference with students in a way that
is aligned with the photo elicitation instructional practices established by Zenkov et al. (2011) for
the Through Students’ Eyes Project. In addition, the photovoice strategy called the SHOWeD
technique which was established by Wilson, Dasho, Martin, Wallerstein, Wang, and Minkler
(2007) will be used for cultivating inquiry around the students’ photography exploration in
conjunction with free-write responses.
Wilson et al. (2007) found that utilizing this approach with a diverse group of
underserved early adolescents in an afterschool program called the “Youth Empowerment
Strategies project” engaged participants in critical thinking through free-writes which
consequently expanded both individual and group awareness of assets and challenges within
their community.
Strack et al., 2004 recommend that a youth photovoice curriculum should be four to six
months in duration. In addition, Strack et al., 2004 emphasize team building to create a
collaborative atmosphere that is intentional about honoring multiple points of view and hands-on
activities to be incorporated in each session such as problem solving around an issue that arises
as a result of the photography and writing explorations. It is also recommended that more than
one teacher or facilitator be in the room so that students have access to greater amounts of
individual, paired, and small group instruction. The preparation for an exhibit is essential as it
adds value to the work and legitimizes the importance of expanding experiential learning
opportunities beyond the classroom and into the community.
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
first iterative cycle (6 class sessions). The first iterative cycle within the Global Writers
Project will focus on building relationships, establishing trust, and generating ideas in
collaboration with the students for future topics as the focus of the photography and writing. For
example, the initial implementation of this project in late spring of 2014 revealed that topics such
as food, music, art, and the story of one’s name generated high levels of interest and enthusiasm
among the students.
These topics are not meant to be an oversimplification of the concept of culture, but rather
proved to be ways for students to explore the literal and symbolic manifestations of their identity
(Nieto, 2000). In addition, instruction will focus on techniques in photography so that students
can experiment with perspective, point of view, and light. Instruction will also be focused upon
capturing video footage in a way that could show students’ perspectives as journalists and
documentary film makers. The teacher initiated prompt for the first cycle is, “An Ordinary Day
in an Extraordinary Life.” The focus for this topic is for students to contemplate what they
consider to be both the mundane and meaningful moments of a typical day. This is a minidocumentary in which students narrate their life experience in a series of pictures or film clips
from morning to night in the span of just one day. This may be a piece of creative non-fiction in
the sense that students may choose to highlight or recreate certain events which have previously
occurred. The focus of the inquiry is to start with students’ interpretation of self and cultivate an
exploration that extends to community and global perspectives.
second iterative cycle (six class sessions). The second iterative cycle of the project will
consist of students’ generating ideas and coming to a consensus for three additional topics to
explore. Again, the duration of instructional and workshop time will last approximately two
weeks for each topic. The choices that students make as well as the ways in which they build
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
consensus in order to whittle a list down to three topics will be important to document and could
yield valuable insight toward emergent thematic trends for data analysis. The teacher initiated
prompt for the second cycle is, “Some people see me as…, but who I really am is…” The
rationale for including this prompt is that it is meant to foster the type of self-reflection and
critical investigation that students will use for the entirety of the project. This is a multi-layered
reflection in the sense that students must ponder who they are and how they might be perceived
by others.
third iterative cycle (six class sessions). The third iterative cycle of the project will focus
upon the collaboration among students for preparation for an exhibit to showcase their work.
Additionally, during this cycle, students will compose a digital short story in the genre of
creative non-fiction. Groups of students from Sydney High School and the Casablanca Youth
Leadership Center will write short chapters of one-two pages in length about a pivotal episode
which weaves their individual personal narratives together as interconnected in some way. The
story is digital because it will be published within an anthology which will be posted to password
protected blog site. These stories will include both Arabic and English translations, students’
photographs, and film footage to immerse students in digital and multicultural literacy learning.
The teacher initiated prompt for the third iteration is, “When one door closes, another
opens” In this prompt students are asked to consider their physical environment as both a literal
and symbolic space. The architecture in both locations will be unique, however commonalities
may also be found. Doors are also symbolic for obstacles students have faced or anticipate facing
in the future. Students will be asked to make the connection between their physical environment
and their life experience by capturing images to show the story of obstacles, opportunities, and
resilience. Focusing on one cultural artifact such as a door also establishes a basis of comparison
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
to lead toward students’ interpretations of meaning and cross-cultural analysis (Pahl & Rowsell,
2011).
Data Collection and Analysis
The theoretical foundation established by critical multicultural education, multiliteracies,
and photovoice methodology will provide affordances toward a rich perspective in which to
guide this study’s data collection and analysis. In addition, this depth of perspective will help me
to further determine the appropriateness of categories that may best inform the enhancing and
inhibiting factors of the intervention.
Summary of Data Collection
Student Participants
Teacher Participants
Digital Site


Pre-Program interview

writing prompts

Instructional planning
notes; participant
observation notes during
class sessions;
instructional debrief
meetings

pod-casts of instructors
conducting mini-lessons
on writing and/or
photography

project calendars
Post-program interview

students’ photographs;
students' video;

students’ writing
including responses to the
weekly prompts and drafts
of the autoethnography;

multimedia clips such as
links to articles, videos,
music, or photographs
that pertain to the weekly
topic

Students’ collaborative,
digital conversations (in
writing as message posts)


Baseline data from two
writing samples: a
response to a topic of
significance to them; a
reflection how to define
and interpret the meaning
of culture
Work generated during
the intervention including
photographs, video
footage, written
responses, and dialogue
during one-to-one
conferences
Final work products for
autoethnography and
exhibit

Post- program individual
interview

Post-program focus group

Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca

Post-program writing
samples: a response to a
topic of significance to
them; a reflection how to
define and interpret the
meaning of culture
in peer editing global
partner teams.

Transcripts from Skype
sessions
Data Analysis
Data analysis for this year-long formative experiment is ongoing. I am currently utilizing
a strategy aligned with a grounded theory analysis (Creswell, 2013). This type of qualitative
analysis is an appropriate choice for several reasons. A grounded theory of analysis seeks to
develop a model of the processes around a central phenomenon that emerges from the data
(Creswell, 2013). I am currently utilizing a coding strategy starting with open coding, then
progressing to axial coding, and selective coding. I started with open coding in order to develop
categories of information related to the research questions, pedagogical goal, and essential
elements. I am using this method for field notes, the student data, teacher data, and data collected
from the digital site. In addition, I will use the constant comparative method to continually look
for instances that represent the categories identified (Creswell, 2013). I will create subcategories
referred to as “properties” to classify and define multiple perspectives related to the categories.
These properties will be further dimensionalized in a process that will yield a series of
themes related to the categories (Creswell, 2013). These emergent themes will help me to
characterize developments in the data that address the original research questions wherein I may
be able to understand the processes related to the enhancing and inhibiting factors for the
pedagogical goals. In addition, I will cross reference these emerging themes with the two
research questions, as well as the questions established by Reinking and Bradley (2008) for data
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
collection in a formative experiment to develop an idea for a central phenomenon from these
emergent themes (Creswell, 2013).
Once the emerging themes from the data are established, I will use axial coding to form
interconnecting links between the central phenomenon, research questions, and the data
collection questions pertinent to a formative experiment. At that point, I will be able to consider
the causal conditions of the central phenomenon and develop a graphic to portray a theory for the
various processes I see emerge in the data. These links will then be used in the selective coding
process to build a story around the emergent themes in the data (Creswell, 2013). This will
eventually be portrayed in a diagram to show the contextualized conditions related to the central
phenomenon in the data (Creswell, 2013).
Preliminary Findings
Preliminary findings from the first six months of this year-long formative experiment
indicate the importance of balancing strategically planned, as well as, spontaneously adaptive coteaching and co-planning. This has particular importance given the international context for
collaboration among all participants. Teachers documented decisions which were made during
instruction in debrief sessions with particular emphasis on why changes were necessary at the
time, the import such changes had on lesson implementation, and the future steps to be taken for
the next class session.
Results from the data show evidence in the transformative impact the collaboration had had
on the dynamic between teachers and students. For example, teachers actively encouraged
students to see themselves as leaders in the program overall. Teachers consulted with students as
innovators, leaders, and users of digital technology. The students’ insights guided instructional
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
planning and delivery with emphasis on what is current, user-friendly, and of high interest to the
students.
Overall, findings thus far point to possibilities for this project to be replicated in other
contexts with other individuals in a variety of instructional roles. The element of collaboration in
instructional design and implementation may prove to be particularly beneficial across
disciplines and content areas, classrooms within the same school and same grade level, or with
other classes in other districts.
Limitations
There are limitations to this study. This study represents one isolated example of
collaboration between two specific educational organizations and the teachers and students
within. In this case, the study will occur between a large suburban high school in New York and
a community center in Morocco. The study’s findings could therefore vary given another set of
circumstances for context and location as well as the addition of other collaborative partners
from various educational organizations. Further, the study draws from findings given the
particular context without having a basis for comparison such as a treatment group which would
receive variations of the intervention or a control group which would not be involved in the
intervention at all. In this way, this current study will not be able to draw causal links as
conclusive evidence of significant difference to the students’ learning outcomes.
The study is created from a set of particular conditions established by the researcher. This
means that there are alternatives and possibilities that could occur given another set of
conditions. Differentiations in the conditions could prove to be more effective in answering the
study’s initial research questions. The study is also limited by time constraints on a daily and
weekly basis for the amount of instructional time devoted to the project. The interview data as
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
well as the survey data will result from the researcher’s questions and therefore there are inherent
limitations in the interpretation of questions (within the interviews and survey) for the
participants.
Implications
This study’s findings may address a present need in the field of literacy education for
more research that documents and observes how students communicate and work together in
digital landscapes when there are geographical and cultural differences among them. This also
must be done in such a way that critically investigates how students make meaning of their
identities and try to understand one another. This study incites the student participants to
navigate the difficult conversations around such global and national forces of power, privilege,
prejudice, and conflict (Kumaiga & Lypson, 2009; Weis & Fine, 2001).
Focusing on community especially through exploratory action research utilizing
photography has shown import in students’ investment and growth in writing (Zenkov &
Harmon, 2009). Photovoice methodology has had profound results in the field of public health
which may also be readily taken up within education and specifically within literacy contexts
(Wang & Burris, 1997). The reason for this is that literacy educational contexts place emphasis
on critical analysis and a synthesis of perspectives in research, writing, and communication also
conducive to a photovoice exploration (Wilson, Dasho, Martin, Wallerstein, Wang, & Minkler,
2007). Literacy contexts are also often conducive to critical self-analysis- intentionally
examining methods of metacognition in reading comprehension, meaning making, and the
composition process all within a broader context of culture and identity (Haddix & Price-Dennis,
2013).
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
This study is unique in that it utilizes the photovoice methodology with youth who not
only explore their own communities, but engage in a critical dialogue with peers from another
part of the world. The pedagogical goal of this study therefore endeavors to explore the ways
students create multimodal narratives of identity and culture in respect to their school,
community, and the world. The intersection or points of juncture which occur in a learning
environment for literacy, learning, and composition could be considered the foundation upon
which later action projects may manifest. This study is timely because it proactively addresses
the prescient findings of previous research calling for more critically and culturally conscious
literacy instruction in a digital, expansive, interconnected world.
Conclusion
The study addresses students’ critical multicultural literacy because it examines the ways
that students make meaning of the concept of culture as it is applied in literature and real life
experience. The emphasis is placed on students’ life experiences as a way to cultivate an
exploration of self, other, and world. Findings from this study show that there is further potential
for exploring the use of photovoice in a multicultural and digital instructional setting. Further
iterations of this study demonstrate an increase capacity to effectively collaborate with culturally
and linguistically diverse peers.
Engaging youth in conversations about critical cultural perspectives could increase
students’ abilities to communicate with people who share different points of view. Asking youth
to critically investigate their multiple identities and social locations in an environment that
supports dialogue can have transformational effects for students, teachers, and learning
communities.
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
Multicultural Literacy for Youth Writers in New York and Casablanca
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