NSA award: Critical multimodal literacy in early childhood education: exploring the role of visuals in representing child refugees in Australian children’s picture books

This paper presents findings from a small study that analysed the potential of picture books for developing young children’s Critical Multimodal Literacy (CML) in early childhood settings. It has been well documented that picture books are used to explore complex social issues; however, many studies have examined the linguistic and written aspects alone rather than visuals, and these studies have focused primarily on books for primary-school-aged (5-12 years) children. Research to date has generally considered critical and multimodal literacy in isolation, and studies of critical literacy have rarely considered the years prior to school. Consequently, research about visuals as an integral part of picture books has been limited. Yet, in Early Childhood, where children are mainly visual learners, it is imperative that this gap is addressed. Findings from this study revealed that illustrators and authors used more than one visual-word interactivity to expand each meaning. Additionally, often the verbal component contradicted the visual depiction, and the visual component provided alternative information beyond the scope of the verbal mode alone. The contradiction creates tension and ambiguity, where young children are actively positioned in a more interpretative role. The findings may support teachers looking to develop their capacity to foster critical multimodal literacy in young children through picture books. They may also inform curriculum design and future research aimed at promoting critical multimodal literacy in the prior-to-school years.