Are we there yet? Onto-epistemological qualitative language and literacy research

Through a rich, albeit short, history of rigorous and rich qualitative research, our understanding of language and literacy has deepened and broadened. Building on this strong foundation, using a forward-looking approach, we focused on where the field is going by exploring the moments featured in contemporary qualitative research. A review of studies published in the past 5 years revealed a growing number of studies situated in an onto-epistemological perspective. The studies featured in this piece capture the ways in which literacy is more deeply understood when the researcher is not separated from the researched and how the nature of reality and of knowing cannot be considered separately nor truly understood unless the reality of the learner, from the learner's perspective, is at the heart of the research. These qualitative studies exemplify researchers seeking to understand language and literacy phenomena by demonstrating clear commitments to social justice, equity and empowerment, dissolving and crossing boundaries, probing intersectionalities, and interrogating the intra-activity of people, materials, time, and place.