Individual Pathways to Literacy Engagement: Three Portraits

This article examines conceptualizations of engagement during literacy learning within an ethnographic case study of a grade two classroom. Specifically, three student portraits are shared, revealing three unique journeys towards engagement. For Spike, it was a path of success where he often determined the direction. For Jasper, the path was bumpy and filled with compliance rather than involvement. For Avery, the path was elusive and filled with struggle, though not for lack of desire. A framework for literacy engagement is presented that considers four filters through which we perceive and thereby recognize a space for individual paths.