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Given the challenges facing the South African education system, suburban schools are often assumed to be sites of excellence, and therefore seldom the objects of research. This notion, as well as the persistently poor literacy rates in South African primary schools and the need for more research on the teaching and learning of writing at the upper-primary level across school systems, motivates this case study. This research maintains a sociocultural view of literacy and learning. The linguistic ethnographic approach, carried out with classroom observations, field notes, video-recording and semi-structured interviews, necessitated particular attention to the specific practices of this 'niche' (Nystrand, Gamoran & Carbonaro, 1998) environment. Therefore, although I planned to analyse classroom discourses and students' writing to determine if and how students identify as writers, the teacher's profound disengagement with her pedagogy, her dominant procedural discourse and the closing down of opportunities for her students to take up positions as writers needed to be centred. This focus was particularly important, as in the broader context of her school and the South African education system, Miss King is perceived to be a 'good teacher;' this notion was substantiated by the feedback Miss King received from the Department of Basic Education representative who inspected the school during my field work. Critical Discourse Analysis (Gee, 2008; Janks, 1997; Rogers et al., 2005), Positioning Theory (Davies & Harré, 1990) and Ivanič's (2004) Discourses of Writing were used as conceptual resources in the analysis of the data gathered. These tools enabled an examination of how the participants in a Grade 6 classroom use and navigate discourses to position themselves and others. The teacher self positioned as the authoritative 'knower' through her use of monologic speaking turns and a restrictive Initiation-Response-Evaluation discoursal structure. Despite her assessment driven language and her insistence on students using the process approach when writing, her disengagement from her pedagogy, inability to talk about her learners as writers and unnecessarily prescriptive parameters for compositions, demanded an adaptation of Ivanič's Discourses of Writing framework; in order to capture the superficiality of her discourse, I have added a 'procedural discourse' category. Through this discourse, Miss King can be seen to position her students as nonwriters. In spite of the limiting opportunities to engage meaningfully with their teacher and their learning, the students' abilities to reposition themselves illustrate their continued agency in this space. That they control the classroom discourses during writing sessions, after the teacher delivers her introductions, demonstrates their power in this classroom, their ability to manage their teacher. Still, that some students are able to resist Miss King's positioning to maintain identities as writers occurs despite her pedagogy, not because of it; and those who struggle to reposition themselves are unfairly denied access to identities that should be open to them within the space of the classroom.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-54).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--York University, 2003. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-165). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ82911.

O processo de alfabetização de uma pessoa, ainda nos dias atuais, é algo intrigante, fascinante e, por vezes, misterioso. Inúmeras são as publicações a respeito do tema, porém novos questionamentos surgem e mobilizam novas investigações, novas hipóteses. A presente pesquisa foi inicialmente motivada pelo intrigante questionamento: crianças que convivem diariamente com suas famílias tem maior facilidade de aprendizagem durante o processo de alfabetização? Para tentar respondê-lo, o caminho percorrido foi o de confrontar-se com a realidade de uma sala de alfabetização diferente: situada numa instituição filantrópica, sem fins lucrativos, com crianças de cinco e seis anos em situação de risco. Algumas dessas crianças permaneciam na instituição durante a semana e só iam para suas casas aos finais de semana. Outras apenas passavam o dia na escola, iam para suas casas à noite. Esta instituição foi responsável por suprir as necessidades dessas crianças em diversos âmbitos: social, cultural, de saúde, de alimentação, de moradia, de segurança e o mais importante: no âmbito educacional, fornecendo os elementos necessários para o favorecimento do processo de alfabetização da criança. O contato com essas crianças teve duração de um ano letivo, suficiente para visualizar ações e até estabelecer algumas relações. Na tentativa de compreender aquilo que foi observado, buscou-se o aporte teórico fornecido pelas publicações de Emilia Ferreiro, Ana Teberosky e Magda Soares, no que diz respeito ao processo de alfabetização especificamente e, para compreender o conceito de família, buscou-se aporte em Philippe Áries, que demonstra a historicidade deste conceito através de uma análise iconográfica e Françoise Héritier, que procura delinear o conceito sob a ótica da Antropologia, desmistificando o mito da família desestruturada, assim como Lévi-Strauss e As estruturas elementares do parentesco. Para tratar da interação entre as duas instituições, o principal autor foi Vygotsky. Após alguns encontros e desencontros, foi possível estabelecer a relação entre os dois conceitos e até encontrar um novo elemento: as funções que a família desempenha. Sem pretensão de esgotar o tema o presente trabalho sugere novos olhares e questionamentos para a o tema da relação família-escola. / Ones literacy learning process, yet in our days, is something intriguing, fascinating and, sometimes, mysterious. There are a vast number of publications on this theme, however new questionings arise and mobilize new researches, new hypothesis. This research was initially motivated by the intriguing questioning: Do children who daily live together with their families have more ease of learning during their literacy learning process? To answer this, the chosen path was to face the reality of a different classroom: located in a non profit charity institution, composed by children between five and six years old, on risk conditions. Some of them stayed at the institution during the whole week and came back home on weekends. Others stayed during the day and came back home at night. This institution was responsible for supplying their needs on many scopes: social, cultural, health, living, security and the most important: the educational scope, providing them with the necessary elements for their literacy learning favoring. The one school year length interaction with these children was enough to identify many actions and even establish some relations. In attempt to understand what was observed, theoretical support found on publications from Emilia Ferreiro, Ana Teberosky and Magda Soares, was sought, specifically in what relates to literacy learning process. Moreover, to comprehend the familys concept, support was sought on Phillippe Áries, which demonstrates this concepts historicity through an iconographic analysis, and on Françoise Héritier, which delineates the concept under the Anthropologys view, demystifying the myth of unstructured family, as well as Lévi-Strauss and The elementary structures of kinship. To handle with the interaction among these two institutions, the main author was Vygotsky. After some matches and mismatches, it was possible to establish the relation among the two concepts and even find a new element: the functions that the family performs. This present work suggests new views and questionings on the family-school relation theme, without the pretension to exhaust it.

O processo de alfabetização de uma pessoa, ainda nos dias atuais, é algo intrigante, fascinante e, por vezes, misterioso. Inúmeras são as publicações a respeito do tema, porém novos questionamentos surgem e mobilizam novas investigações, novas hipóteses. A presente pesquisa foi inicialmente motivada pelo intrigante questionamento: crianças que convivem diariamente com suas famílias tem maior facilidade de aprendizagem durante o processo de alfabetização? Para tentar respondê-lo, o caminho percorrido foi o de confrontar-se com a realidade de uma sala de alfabetização diferente: situada numa instituição filantrópica, sem fins lucrativos, com crianças de cinco e seis anos em situação de risco. Algumas dessas crianças permaneciam na instituição durante a semana e só iam para suas casas aos finais de semana. Outras apenas passavam o dia na escola, iam para suas casas à noite. Esta instituição foi responsável por suprir as necessidades dessas crianças em diversos âmbitos: social, cultural, de saúde, de alimentação, de moradia, de segurança e o mais importante: no âmbito educacional, fornecendo os elementos necessários para o favorecimento do processo de alfabetização da criança. O contato com essas crianças teve duração de um ano letivo, suficiente para visualizar ações e até estabelecer algumas relações. Na tentativa de compreender aquilo que foi observado, buscou-se o aporte teórico fornecido pelas publicações de Emilia Ferreiro, Ana Teberosky e Magda Soares, no que diz respeito ao processo de alfabetização especificamente e, para compreender o conceito de família, buscou-se aporte em Philippe Áries, que demonstra a historicidade deste conceito através de uma análise iconográfica e Françoise Héritier, que procura delinear o conceito sob a ótica da Antropologia, desmistificando o mito da família desestruturada, assim como Lévi-Strauss e As estruturas elementares do parentesco. Para tratar da interação entre as duas instituições, o principal autor foi Vygotsky. Após alguns encontros e desencontros, foi possível estabelecer a relação entre os dois conceitos e até encontrar um novo elemento: as funções que a família desempenha. Sem pretensão de esgotar o tema o presente trabalho sugere novos olhares e questionamentos para a o tema da relação família-escola. / Ones literacy learning process, yet in our days, is something intriguing, fascinating and, sometimes, mysterious. There are a vast number of publications on this theme, however new questionings arise and mobilize new researches, new hypothesis. This research was initially motivated by the intriguing questioning: Do children who daily live together with their families have more ease of learning during their literacy learning process? To answer this, the chosen path was to face the reality of a different classroom: located in a non profit charity institution, composed by children between five and six years old, on risk conditions. Some of them stayed at the institution during the whole week and came back home on weekends. Others stayed during the day and came back home at night. This institution was responsible for supplying their needs on many scopes: social, cultural, health, living, security and the most important: the educational scope, providing them with the necessary elements for their literacy learning favoring. The one school year length interaction with these children was enough to identify many actions and even establish some relations. In attempt to understand what was observed, theoretical support found on publications from Emilia Ferreiro, Ana Teberosky and Magda Soares, was sought, specifically in what relates to literacy learning process. Moreover, to comprehend the familys concept, support was sought on Phillippe Áries, which demonstrates this concepts historicity through an iconographic analysis, and on Françoise Héritier, which delineates the concept under the Anthropologys view, demystifying the myth of unstructured family, as well as Lévi-Strauss and The elementary structures of kinship. To handle with the interaction among these two institutions, the main author was Vygotsky. After some matches and mismatches, it was possible to establish the relation among the two concepts and even find a new element: the functions that the family performs. This present work suggests new views and questionings on the family-school relation theme, without the pretension to exhaust it.

Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap om lärares syn på sitt arbete med läsundervisning i årskurs 1. Syftet besvaras genom frågeställningarna: Hur uppger lärarna att de genomför läsundervisning? Vilka läsinlärningsmetoder uppger lärarna att de använder i undervisningen? Hur beskriver lärarna sin betydelse för elevers läsinlärning? Studien har en sociokulturell ansats och speglar således Vygotskijs tankar om lärande och utveckling. Undersökningsmetoden är kvalitativ och bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra lärare för närvarande verksamma i årskurs 1. Resultatet visar att lärarna kombinerar flera metoder i läsundervisningen med syfte att eleverna ska få både fonologisk lästräning och helordsträning. Undervisningen har inslag av bokstavsgenomgångar, samtal, läsning, skrivning och på olika sätt arbete med utgångspunkt från en läsebok. Resultatet visar även att lärare behöver vara kunniga och positiva förebilder som motiverar eleverna till läsning. Lärare ska även kunna ge elever utmaningar efter var de befinner sig i sin läsutveckling för att ge alla elever rätt förutsättningar att utvecklas. / The aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge about teachers’ views on their work with literacy learning. The research questions are: How do the teachers describe that they conduct reading lessons? What literacy learning methods do these teachers use in class? How do the teachers describe their own importance as a teacher for the literacy learning of the pupils? This study is based on a socio-cultural perspective on learning and reflects the ideas of Vygotskij on learning and development. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with four teachers currently active in grade 1. The results show that the teachers combine several different methods in their literacy instruction with the purpose to give the pupils both phonological reading practice and whole words trainings. The instructions have elements such as learning the alphabet, conversations, reading, writing and, in various ways, work based on a textbook. The results show that the teachers need to be knowledgeable and positive role models in order to motivate their pupils to read. Furthermore, the teachers must be able to provide their pupils with challenges adapted to their reading competence in order to give all pupils the right conditions for development.

The literacy experiences of a small group of culturally-diverse children were examined in this study. The experiences, too, were diverse – and influential. The children, five girls aged four – five years, attended the same Preschool, in an inner suburb of a large city in Australia. Data were gathered at home, during the last two months of the preschool year and, for three of the children, during writing sessions in the first six months of Year One. Vygotskian ideas on meaning-making were integrated with other perspectives on development, literacy learning and teaching from a sociocultural, theoretical framework. The purpose was to identify dimensions of children’s literacy experiences and provide insight into ways in which children negotiate culture, literacy, and schooling, challenge current perspectives, contribute to research knowledge and determine how teachers might take account of cultural diversity in classrooms to better support children in literacy learning. A grounded theory method was employed using multiple data collection tools and techniques in both home and school contexts. Data were coded using a process of constant comparison to identify features, characteristics and dimensions of children’s literacy experiences. Independent inter-rater agreement on the coding of features at home, Preschool and school was 98.4%. Findings included a variety of values, beliefs and perspectives amongst parents and between teachers in relation to literacy learning, roles and relationships, and home-school connections. Children’s literacy experiences at home differed in terms of nature, frequency and resources and experiences in each of the settings were very different. A major finding was that children acted as agents of their own learning: mixing, transferring, trying out, adapting, and experimenting to determine appropriate practices and make decisions including when to exercise choice to enact agency. These assimilation and accommodation adaptations were identified as akin to code-switching, labelled as culture-switching, and identified as areas requiring further research.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-176). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

This thesis focuses on nine children’s use of texts and literacy learning, both inside and outside of school, in a multilingual and multicultural setting in Sweden. The study investigates and maps texts that children encounter and use in their everyday lives, and explores what they do with them. The study also aims to investigate the conditions and possibilities of local literacies, exploring children’s meaning-making, identity-making and literacy learning through texts. By using an ethnographic approach involving participant observations, group and individual interviews, surveys and photographs, extended empirical data have been collected. Theoretically and in analysing empirical material, the study draws on research from New Literacy Studies and critical literacy. Concepts from the Four Resources Model (Luke & Freebody, 1999) as well as literary envisioning (Langer, 1995, 2011) and hermeneutic perspectives (Gadamer, 1975; Ricoeur, 1984, 1982) have inspired the analysis of the empirical material. The outcomes of the study may be used as a basis for the educational development of literacy learning during the middle school years 3–5. The repertoire of texts outside of school can be described as multi-faceted and multimodal and involves a massive amount of information. At the same time, inside school, major emphasis is put on formal training in skills such as spelling and grammar, while the repertoires of coding, functional use, meaning making and the critique of texts are altogether unorchestrated. The overall conclusion of the thesis is that literacy education must create opportunities for children to develop and build on their chronological memories of books, films, computer games and chatting on the Internet, so that they can view themselves as readers, meaning-makers and citizens that are able to critique, question, change and redesign texts.