Julia Lynch Conducts Research to Advance Rural Literacy

Dr. Julia Lynch, assistant professor of Language & Literacy at UNCW’s Watson College of Education was recently recognized at UNCW’s Research and Innovation Celebration for her outstanding record of peer-reviewed journal publications. Her research focuses on enhancing literacy in rural communities.

“The overall goal of my research is to strengthen literacy teaching and learning in rural communities by developing culturally sustaining, arts-inquiry, and community-rooted literacy practices that affirm students’ identities and support culturally and linguistically diverse learners,” Dr. Lynch said.

One of her recent projects, Understanding Rural Teachers' Culturally Sustaining Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices, uses quilting as both metaphor and method to explore how teachers in rural communities define and enact culturally sustaining practices. Drawing from arts-based and narrative inquiry traditions, the study engaged eight educators from rural districts in the American Southeast who shared their experiences through collage-making, storytelling, and reflective dialogue.

The research revealed that teachers define culturally sustaining practice through student-centered success, the art of teaching, and relationships—and that their professional identities are shaped by experience, accountability pressures, attention to culture, and familiarity with place and community. The findings highlight how art-informed inquiry can illuminate the emotional and intellectual demands of teaching and demonstrate the importance of place-conscious, community-rooted approaches in developing culturally responsive and resilient educators.

Dr. Lynch’s work contributes to the growing scholarship on culturally sustaining pedagogy and arts-based research, showing how critical reflection and community engagement can transform teacher preparation and classroom practice—especially in rural contexts often overlooked in educational research.

Before joining UNCW in 2022, Dr. Lynch taught K–5 in under-resourced rural schools serving Black, Latiné, Indigenous, and multilingual students. A Black Poet-Scholar, she originally served as a faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership where she taught in the Curriculum & Instruction concentration. Dr. Lynch currently teaches in WCE’s Language and Literacy program.

“My research is driven by a commitment to honoring the lived experiences, languages, and literacies of students in under-resourced rural communities,” she said. “I focus on building teachers’ capacity to develop and nurture culturally sustaining literacy practices, grounded in the belief that children come to school with rich literacy knowledge, skills, and abilities. My work centers on helping educators recognize, value, and build on these strengths to create meaningful and robust literacy environments.”