This study examines the experiences of teachers and students in secondary English classes, as they engage in the reading of contemporary adolescent fiction, when such fiction is set as a class text. This study also includes an examination of students' perceptions of such reading, and of reading in general. The aim of the study is to add to the knowledge about what actually goes on inside English classrooms during the teaching of literature, and within that field, to specify how teacher-student interaction in the classroom defines and positions the kinds of meanings that are made of literary texts. Therefore, this study focuses on the teaching of units of work related to the reading of adolescent fiction novels by three South Australian English teachers, based in three different metropolitan schools.The central focus is on the teachers? plans for these units of work, and on the outcomes: that is, on teacher-student interactions during the time spent in class on the novel, and on students? written and oral responses. Thus this study also focuses on the learning that took place in these classrooms, as students made meaning from their reading.In the review of the literature, the role of the literary novel as the class ?set text? in its several historical contexts is examined, as well as current theories of reading, of pedagogy, and of literary criticism. Finally this study is placed in the context of other related studies and its contribution to the field explained.An interpretive approach is employed and methods of educational ethnography are used to what was visualised from the outset would be qualitative research in the form of case studies. Some quantification is used in this research to report on a small-scale survey, using a questionnaire to create a ?readers? profile of the cohort of student-informants as a whole. Metaphors were used to encapsulate the teachers? teaching styles, and their intentions and practices analysed to uncover the underlying theories on which these intentions and practices were based. Throughout, but especially in the final chapter, the related notions of ?enjoyment? and ?the teaching of reading? at secondary school levels, as well as the concept of reflectivity, are examined for their impact on reading pedagogy. Finally, some suggestions are made for possible and desirable future research and teacher professional development. / thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2002.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/173382 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Van der Hoeven, Sieta |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | © 2002 Sieta van der Hoeven |
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