Dr. Rachel Heydon, PhD

Professor - Curriculum Studies and Studies in Applied Linguistics

Dr. Rachel Heydon, PhD

Professor - Curriculum Studies and Studies in Applied Linguistics

In The News

Recent Publications

Selected Books Authored

Heydon, R., McTavish, M., & Bainbridge, J. (2021).  Constructing meanings: Literacies pedagogies K-8 (7 th ed.). Nelson.  

Heydon, R., & O’Neill, S. (2016).  Why multimodal literacy matters: (Re)conceptualizing literacy

and wellbeing through singing-infused multimodal, intergenerational curricula. Sense.

Heydon, R. (2013).  Learning at the ends of life: Children, elders, and literacies in intergenerational curriculum. University of Toronto Press.   

Selected Books Edited

Heydon, R., Fancourt, D., & Cohen, A. J. (Eds.). (2020).  Routledge companion to interdisciplinary studies in singing: Vol 3. Well-being. Routledge.  

Hamilton, M., Heydon, R., Hibbert, K., & Stooke, R. (Eds.). (2015).  Negotiating spaces for literacy learning: Multimodality and governmentality. Bloomsbury.   

Selected Edited Encyclopedias

Heydon, R. (Regional Ed.), & Waniganayake, M. (Ed.-in-Chief). (2018-2020). Set:  Early childhood (Volume: Canada).  Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies. London: Bloomsbury.    

Heydon, R. (Regional Ed.), Menter, I., & Tatto, M. T. (Eds.-in-Chief). (2018-2020). Set:  Primary education (Volume: Canada).  Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies. London: Bloomsbury.   

Heydon, R. (Regional Ed.), Tatto, M. T., & Menter, I (Eds.-in-Chief). (2018-2020). Set:  Secondary education (Volume: Canada).  Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies. London: Bloomsbury.   

Heydon, R. (Regional Ed.), & Jacob, W. J. (Ed.-in-Chief). (2018-2020). Set:  Higher education (Volume: Canada).  Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies. London: Bloomsbury.   

Heydon, R. (Regional Ed.), & Corsaro, W. (Ed.-in-Chief). 2018-2020). Set:  Childhood (Volume: Canada).  Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies. London: Bloomsbury.   

Heydon, R. (Regional Ed.), & Tilleczek, K. (Ed.-in-Chief). (2018-2020). Set:  Youth (Volume:

Canada).  Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies. London: Bloomsbury.  

Selected Chapters in Books

Heydon, R., McKee, L., & O’Neill, S. (2020). Connecting intergenerational voices: Curricula to foster the wellbeing of young children and elders. In R. Heydon, D. Fancourt, & A. J. Cohen (Eds.),  Routledge companion to interdisciplinary studies in singing: Vol. 3. Well-being. Routledge.  

Heydon, R., & Davies, E. (2020). Experience. In J. Wearing, M. Ingersoll, C. DeLuca, B. Bolden, H. Ogden, & T. Christou (Eds.),  Key concepts in curriculum studies: Perspectives on the fundamentals (pp. 90-95). Routledge.  

Khattar, R., Heydon, R., Cooper, E., & Callaghan, K. (2019). Embedding families and communities: Policy intersecting with pedagogy. In L. Gibbs & M. Gasper (Eds.),  Thinking about pedagogy in early education: Policy intersecting pedagogy. Routledge.  

McKee, L., Heydon, R., & Davies, E. (2019). Making spaces in professional learning for  

democratic literacy education in the early years. In M. Hamilton & L. Tett (Eds.),  Resisting the neo-liberal discourse in education: Local, national and transnational perspective (pp. 57-74). Policy Press.  

Heydon, R., & Davies, E. (2019). Intergenerationaling: Children, elders, and researchers making meaning. In D. Hodgins (Ed.),  Feminist research for 21 st-century childhoods  (pp. 63-72) Bloomsbury.   

Heydon, R., & Du, X. (2019). This is the stuff that identities are made of: Children learning with grandparents and other elders. In N. Kucirkova, J. Rowsell, & G. Falloon (Eds.),  The Routledge international handbook of learning with technology in early childhood (pp. 217-233) . Routledge.  

Heydon, R., & Gagliardi, L.-M. (2019). Reconceptualizing early childhood art: The lessons of intergenerational art curricula and postdevelopmental theorizing. In J. Osgood & M. Sakr (Eds.),  Postdevelopmental approaches to childhood art (pp. 87-110). Bloomsbury.   

Heydon, R., Zhang, Z., & Bocazar, B. (2017). Ethical curricula through responsive, multimodal literacy and pedagogy: Illustrations from a Kindergarten classroom curriculum. In C. Forlin & A. Gajewski (Eds.),  International perspectives on inclusive education: Ethics, equity, and inclusive education (pp. 189-213). Emerald Publishing Limited.   

Zhang, Z., & Heydon, R. (2017). Being open to the other: K-12 teachers’ multimodal reflections on Hong Kong curricula. In S. Choo, R. Vinz, D. Sawch, & A. Villanueva (Eds.),  Educating for twenty-first century global capacities: International perspectives and practices (pp. 425-445). Springer.   

Heydon, R., & O’Neill, S. (2017). Children, elders, and multimodal arts curricula: Semiotic possibilities and the imperative of relationship. In M. Narey (Ed.),  Multimodal perspectives of language, literacy, and learning in early childhood: The creative and critical “art” of making meaning (pp. 149-167). Springer.  

Du, X., Stooke, R., & Heydon, R. (2016). Ordinary objects tell extraordinary stories: Chinese children’s multimodal literacy explorations. In W. Ma & G. Li (Eds.),  Beyond test scores: Understanding the hearts and minds of Chinese students in K-12 schools a global context (pp. 41-54) . Routledge.  

Heydon, R., & Rowsell, J. (2015). Phenomenology and literacy studies. In K. Pahl & J. Rowsell (Eds.),  Routledge  handbook of literacy studies (pp. 454-471). Routledge.  

Selected Journal Articles

Heydon, R., Stooke, R., Cameron, A. C., Cooper, E., & O’Neill, S. (2020). Making visible the literacy practices of elders through the  Day in the Life methodology: Considerations for literacy education across the lifespan.    Literacy, 54(2), 60-68. 

McKee, L., & Heydon, R. (2020). “Enabled to play, enabled to explore”: Children’s civic engagement, literacies, and teacher professional learning.  Discourse:  Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2020.1769939

Heydon, R. (2019). From the guest editor: Reconceptualizing children, teaching, and learning through inter/intragenerational educational opportunities.  Journal of Childhood Studies, 44(5), 66-70.  

Malins, P., Heydon, R., & Cooper, E. (3 December 2019). Gender and sexual identities in early childhood curricula: The case of Canada.  British Educational Research Association (BERA) Blog.  https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/gender-and-sexual-identities-in-early-childhood-curricula-the-case-ofcanada

Zhang, Z., Heydon, R., Li, W., & Malins, P. (2019). Literacies and identities in transnational

education: A case study of literacy curricula in a Canadian transnational education program in China.  Curriculum Journal, 31(1), 132-156.

Moffatt, L., Heydon, R., & Iannacci, L. (2019). Helping out, signing up, and sitting down: The cultural production of read alouds in three kindergarten classrooms.  Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 19(2), 147-174.

Heydon, R., McKee, L., & O’Neill, S. (2017/2018). Singing our song: An exploratory case study

of singing as a multimodal literacy practice in an intergenerational program.  Literacy 52(3), 128-136.  

Heydon, R., McKee, L., & Daly, B. (2017). iPads and paintbrushes: An exploratory case study of integrating digital media as placed resources in an intergenerational art class.  Language and Education, 31(4), 351-373.  

Heydon, R., Cooper, E., & Tran, A. (2017). Literacy lessons: Core concepts from multiliteracies for language teachers in contemporary times.  Contact: TESL Ontario.http://contact.teslontario.org/literacy-lessons/  

Loerts, T., & Heydon, R. (2017). Multimodal literacy learning opportunities within a grade six classroom literacy curriculum: Constraints and enablers.  Education 3-1345(4), 490-503.  

Heydon, R., McKee, L., & Phillips, L. (2016). The affordances and constraints of visual methods in early childhood education research: Talking points from the field.  Journal of Childhood Studies, 41(3) 5-17.  

Zhang, Z., & Heydon, R. (2016). The changing landscape of literacy curriculum in a Sino-Canada transnational education programme: An actor-network theory informed case study.  Journal of Curriculum Studies, 48(4), 547-564.  

Heydon, R., Moffatt, L., & Iannacci, L. (2015). 'Every day he has a dream to tell': Classroom literacy curriculum in a full-day kindergarten.  Journal of Curriculum Studies, 47(2), 171-202.  

McKee, L., & Heydon, R. (2015). Orchestrating literacies: Print literacy learning opportunities within multimodal intergenerational ensembles.  Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 15(2), 227-255.