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This thesis explores the issues surrounding the teaching of English to high school students in the province of Alberta. Its central premise is that high school students studying academic English are increasingly skeptical about the value of literature, and subsequently lack engagement with the subject area. In support of this contention is a review of the forces that have shaped canon formation and curriculum development since the mid-twentieth century, an interrogation of the documents, policies and precedents that guide the selection of texts in the classroom as well as instructional practices, and an examination of the limitations of continuing to employ the interpretive strategies of New Criticism as a primary method of explication. A selection of some of the most commonly taught texts in the province demonstrates the importance of disrupting the literal, common sense readings that often arise within the impartiality of New Criticism.

This study aims to show how teachers talk about their teaching with regards to gender in relation to literature.We have interviewed four teachers of Swedish for upper secondary school to discover how they feel about, and understand, the fact that gender is a factor in the teaching of literature and that they should present to the students literature written by both male and female authors. To analyze the interviews we use Sannersted's (1991) theory about teachers as street-level-bureaucrats ("närbyråkrater"). He states that teachers are persons who have to follow what politicians have decided but they are fairly free to choose how they do it, but to be able to follow a decision as closely as possible three qualifications have to be met. The teachers have to understand the decision, be able to follow it and want to follow it. We find that the teachers that we have interviewed are aware that they discuss gender issues with their students and they all claim that they present a variation of authors to their students. However, they all express concern that there might be some problems with regards to the material availble, it being very dominated by male authors.

The purpose of this essay was to compare the classic vampire narrative, Bram Stoker's Dracula, to a more contemporary vampire narrative using the first book, Twilight, in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series as a prime example.  By looking at the world of the vampire, the figure of the vampire and the interaction between the vampire and the main female characters in each respective story, the goal was to see how much the vampire narrative has evolved.  The argument was that the movement from Dracula to Twilight was from an archetypical, terrifying vampire to a more modern, sexually alluring and romantic vampire, where several aspects of terror have been removed.  What has been shown is that there are many aspects that have changed once terror is not the focal point. In addition, this essay also argued that in a classroom setting one could use a modern vampire narrative, such as Twilight, to activate pupils’ interest in vampires which would naturally segue into meaningful discussions, comparisons and analyses of the prototypical vampire narrative found in Dracula. As a result, this activity would also encourage students to read literature and explore new worlds

This dissertation seeks to explore the approaches used by teachers of English in upper secondary schools when teaching literature. According to the national syllabus for English literature is an element that must be included in the English courses B and C. More specifically, covering literature from different time periods is a requirement. Further requirements connected to the teaching of literature involve dealing with the cultural- and historical aspects of English speaking countries. For the purpose of this dissertation we chose Shakespeare as an example of one of many eligible authors. Shakespeare’s works embody this category by providing all three aforementioned elements stipulated in the syllabus in connection with teaching literature. The focus of this paper was the approaches utilized by the teachers who have chosen to cover the topic of Shakespeare. Suitable candidates were,therefore, selected to provide us with our findings through the qualitative method of interview. Our findings include all informants making reference to the same passage in the syllabus when justifying their choice of teaching Shakespeare. It was also ascertained that all interviewees consider establishing relevance of a topic essential in order to motivate their students to learn. Our conclusion is that most of the teachers involved in this study prefer a learner-centred, activity-based approach. When teaching Shakespeare the key according to our informants is variation.

<p>The dissertation Reading Texts or ”Reality” investigate teachers use of interpretive communities in teaching literature in secondary school. It discusses how different learning outcomes generates from three interpretory frames for reading. Teachers can be looked upon as critics when they show unexperienced readers why and how they read an interprete literary texts. In their teaching,they don´t relate only to their students but also to thier own conception of subject matter and to a broader discourse in society that deals with questions of why and how we read literature. Following voices of the discourse are included in the study: eight teachers, curriculum texts, a journal for the profession and a journal för scholors.</p><p>Teachers combine several aims in their teaching of literature. They use literature to discuss life, gender and problems related to young people, text as faction. But, they also try to teach their students about narrathology and how to understand and interpretate fictional texts, text as fiction and a world of signs. The curriculum, however, means that literature is read only to gain knowledge about the world,oneself and other people. A contradiction is that one of the criterias for assement includes knowledge of texts and methodology from the academic subject. One of the other voices in the discourse, a journal for scholors, talk about the literary texts but very seldom about teaching the texts. Another voice, a journal for teachers in Swedish, follows the curriculum closely and discusses reading literature as a way to get knowledge of the world.</p><p>Research in subject matter didactics can investigate teaching, relate different aims to different outcomes and show possibilities for teaching literature and reading comprehension. If we choose only one interpretive community, we get one kind of reading comprehension.If we combine two in a complex teaching strategy, we extend learning and reading comprehension of our students.</p>

The dissertation Reading Texts or ”Reality” investigate teachers use of interpretive communities in teaching literature in secondary school. It discusses how different learning outcomes generates from three interpretory frames for reading. Teachers can be looked upon as critics when they show unexperienced readers why and how they read an interprete literary texts. In their teaching,they don´t relate only to their students but also to thier own conception of subject matter and to a broader discourse in society that deals with questions of why and how we read literature. Following voices of the discourse are included in the study: eight teachers, curriculum texts, a journal for the profession and a journal för scholors. Teachers combine several aims in their teaching of literature. They use literature to discuss life, gender and problems related to young people, text as faction. But, they also try to teach their students about narrathology and how to understand and interpretate fictional texts, text as fiction and a world of signs. The curriculum, however, means that literature is read only to gain knowledge about the world,oneself and other people. A contradiction is that one of the criterias for assement includes knowledge of texts and methodology from the academic subject. One of the other voices in the discourse, a journal for scholors, talk about the literary texts but very seldom about teaching the texts. Another voice, a journal for teachers in Swedish, follows the curriculum closely and discusses reading literature as a way to get knowledge of the world. Research in subject matter didactics can investigate teaching, relate different aims to different outcomes and show possibilities for teaching literature and reading comprehension. If we choose only one interpretive community, we get one kind of reading comprehension.If we combine two in a complex teaching strategy, we extend learning and reading comprehension of our students.

In this thesis I set out to study how the reading of fictional literature is viewed, legitimatized and operationalized in two educational domains: the recently revised steering documents that all Swedish teachers must relate to, as well as a selection of teaching materials designed for education in the Swedish language for upper secondary school. The teaching material I have studied has been recently updated in order to correspond with the new steering documents. I relate my analysis to previous research about the use of fiction in education, and I also combine my analysis of the two educational domains to see whether the underlying intentions of the steering documents have influenced the revision of the teaching material. The outcome indicates that the steering documents’ previous focus on culture has diminished although a certain insecurity as to how to use the concept and deal with the issue of whose culture should be taught can be identified. The hierarchy between different “subjects” within Swedish language education remains, as well as the ambivalent view on literary canon. The steering documents for upper secondary school Swedish remain remarkably uncritical where the reading of fiction is concerned. In my analysis of the teaching material, I find that while the new steering documents’ focus on methods and concepts from traditional literary criticism has affected the material, it has not resulted in an increase of text-centered assignments in the teaching material.

Abstract This study is based on my work as a secondary school teacher of literature and the Swedish language and rooted in my interest in developing knowledge about the importance of teaching literature in order to both cultivate young people’s reading habits and their view of themselves as readers. The more concrete purpose of this study is to examine a reading project that focuses on theories of literary perception and teaching literature. I examine four pupils who, in 2003, participated in the reading project as readers and compare this description with their view of themselves as readers seven years later. I complete the study by examining how they discuss reading and the teaching of literature. The method is qualitative and the empirics include materiel collected in two different time periods: first in 2003, in a class I taught in a secondary school; and second in 2010, when I examined four of the former pupils who participated in the project from 2003. The material contains documentation of the reading project, teacher’s notes and observations during the reading project, transcribed recordings of interviews, the pupils’ written reading logs and written inquiries about reading habits. The study shows a variety in literary perception among the pupils and attitudes towards reading. The study also shows that enlightened teaching can contribute to pupils’ motivation to read literature. One of the didactic challenges concerning these findings is that the teacher — before planning and executing the lesson — should be aware of the pupils’ reading habits and attitudes towards reading in order to be able to adjust the teaching process to the pupils’ conditions. The teacher should also be aware of the societal context of which pupils are a part and try to integrate the use of media other than literature. Finally, the teacher should be both skillful at utilizing different literature teaching methods and at choosing literature.

This essay discusses if teaching English literature in high school classes, in accordance with the socio-cultural learning theory, can be considered to promote language learning substantially better than teaching English literature in accordance with the transmission theory. This essay also investigates and compares how well teaching English literature, in accordance with each of these two learning theories, fulfills stipulations in the Swedish National Curriculum for high school courses English 5, 6 and 7. In order to show differences between the socio-cultural learning theory and the transmission theory there are presentations and discussions of different teaching strategies and learning tasks/exercises in accordance with each of these two learning theories. The base for argumentation in this essay is constituted by analytical and theoretical studies of teaching English literature in accordance with the socio-cultural learning theory and in accordance with the transmission theory. There are also theoretical studies of the Swedish National Curriculum (of high school courses English 5, 6 and 7) and previous empirical research and studies (which include teaching and/or language learning and the socio-cultural learning theory). This essay also includes a presentation and discussion of advantages and disadvantages for each learning theory.