Funds of courage: advancing social justice in children’s reading for pleasure

Abstract

Children’s reading for pleasure is associated with significant academic and personal benefits and is widely recognised as an effective way to leverage social change, yet in schools this is not fully capitalised upon. The authors connect extant research in this area to the seminal concepts of Funds of Knowledge and Funds of Identity to advance the notion of Funds of Courage and unify literature on dark Funds of Identity and subjective sense, in order to put forward a volitional reading agenda that resonates with the urgent need to innovate reading curricula. The authors argue that the twin psychological pillars of Funds of Courage–resilience and vulnerability–can enable teachers to progress children’s volitional reading practices more reciprocally and thus play a role in advancing social justice. In drawing on examples from recent work with both emergent and established readers, primarily focused on early years and early primary education in England, they seek to widen conceptual and practical understanding in this area.