About

Denise Dávila is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a children's literature and literacy education researcher who works alongside communities to study children's home, family, and local literacy practices. Her research investigates opportunities for alignment between children's out-of-school literacy practices and the in-school literacy instruction children receive. Dr. Dávila's work has been recognized by the Hispanic Issues Research group of the American Education Research Association (AERA), and she was a fellow with the Cultivating New Voices of Scholars of Color program of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). She received the Alan C. Purves Award for her article in Research in the Teaching of English, which was judged to have the greatest impact on educational practice. As a children's literature scholar, she has served on numerous committees for national and regional book awards, including the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Book Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Orbis Pictus Award, the Geisel Award, the Charlotte Huck Award, and the Georgia Children's Book Award. Her research focuses on children's literature and the home literacy practices of families with young children in under-resourced communities.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Political Science
• Epistemology
• Psychology
• Linguistics
• Pedagogy
• Artificial Intelligence
• Philosophy
• Art
• Aesthetics
• Literature
• Law
• Anthropology

Selected publications

• Evaluating the Narrative Authenticity of Informational Nonfiction for Children

  The Reading Teacher · 2022 · 2 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Psychology
  • Literature

  Abstract In informational texts, when the identities of the narrators are inconsistent with the identities of the writers, can such text be classified as nonfiction? In this article, we examine the relationship between the writer and the narrator of informational nonfiction books in alignment with the ELA Common Core State Standards for reading in grades K – 5. We discuss a trade book series that is widely distributed and accepted as nonfiction even when the narrator’s age, ethnicity, and identities significantly differ from the writer. Specifically, we describe our approach to evaluating the “Holidays Around the World” series published by National Geographic, one of the most widely recognized and trusted brands in children’s nonfiction.

  DOI

• The Tacit Censorship of Youth Literature: A Taxonomy of Text Selection Stances

  Children s Literature in Education · 2022 · 13 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Computer Science
  DOI

• Spiritual and religious meaning making in language and literacy studies: global perspectives on teaching, learning, curriculum and policy

  English Teaching Practice & Critique · 2022 · 10 citations

  • Sociology
  • Sociology
  • Pedagogy

  Purpose In an editorial introduction essay for the special issue on Religion, Literacies, and English Education in Global Dialogue, the editors frame papers in the special issue in dialogue with previous scholarly literature around three central lines of inquiry: How do children, youth and families navigate relationships among religion, spirituality, language and literacy? What challenges are faced by language and literacy teachers and teacher educators around the globe who seek to respond to diverse religious and spiritual perspectives in their work? And what opportunities do teachers seize or create toward this end? How are developments of language and literacy theory, policy, curriculum and ritual entangled with race and religion? Design/methodology/approach Taking an essayist, humanistic approach, this paper summarizes, interprets and comments on previous scholarly works to frame the articles published in the special issue “Religion, Literacies, and English Education in Global Dialogue” in relation to the field and in relation to one another. Findings Denise Dávila, Matthew Deroo and Ilhan Mohamud reveal the relationships young people and families forge and navigate among spiritual literacies and literatures, digital technologies and ethnic identities. Heidi Hadley, Jennifer Wargo and Erin McNeill illuminate how teachers’ vocations, as well as their pedagogical goals and curricular artifacts, can become deeply entangled with religious and spiritual sense-making. Kasun Gajasinghe and Priyanka Jayakodi expand perspectives on both the ritualization and racialization of religion through nationalist policies surrounding national anthem performances in Sri Lanka. Anne Whitney and Suresh Canagarajah discuss how spiritual commitments, communities and experiences interact with their scholarly trajectories. Research limitations/implications The essay concludes with a discussion of scholarly capacity building that may be needed for conducting research on religion and spirituality in relation to languages, literacies and English education on a global scale. Practical implications The second section of the essay discusses challenges faced by language and literacy teachers and teacher educators around the globe who seek to integrate diverse religious and spiritual perspectives into their work. It foregrounds how many teachers and teacher educators work within contexts where ethnoreligious nationalism is on the rise. It highlights the need for language and literacy educators to develop curiosity and basic knowledge about diverse religions. Further it calls for teacher educators to engage with teacher candidates’ religious identities and sense-making. Social implications Because it considers religious and spiritual sense-making in relation to language and literacy education, the social implications of this work are significant and wide-reaching. For examples, the paper questions the conceit of secularism within education, pushing readers to consider their own spiritual and religious identifications and influences when they work across religious differences. Originality/value This paper identifies, interprets and assesses current threads of work on religious and spiritual sense-making within scholarship on languages, literacies and English education.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Jennifer M. Graff

  8 shared

• Mary Ann Cappiello

  4 shared

• Amina Chaudhri

  Northeastern Illinois University

  3 shared

• Julie Waugh

  3 shared

• Lisa Patrick

  3 shared

• Mary M. Juzwik

  3 shared

• Allison Volz

  3 shared

• Daryl Grabarek

  3 shared

Labs

• Children's Literature and Literacy Education Research LabPI

Awards & honors

• Hispanic Issues Research group of the American Education Res…
• Fellow with the Cultivating New Voices of Scholars of Color…
• Alan C. Purves Award for her article in Research in the Teac…

Similar researchers at University of Texas at Austin

• Carlos Caldash-218
• Thomas J. Hughesh-154
• George Georgiouh-107
• Keith Johnstonh-106
• Jeffrey Andrewsh-104