| dc.description.abstract | There is a large body of research within literary theory which explores
conceptions of'text' and textual practices. However, school teachers'
conceptions of texts and textual practices remain a relatively unexplored
area. Curriculum reform in Scotland has focused on the development of a
competencies-based curriculum, with particular attention given to
interdisciplinary learning. This has encouraged the professional
development of secondary school teachers' approaches to teaching
methodologies and learning and assessment; but there exists a current gap
in the literature of the voice of practising teachers of history and English in
secondary school on their beliefs about texts and textual practices in their
own subject areas.
This study has set out to examine the beliefs of practising teachers about
how they orientate and frame pupils' engagement with language patterns,
structures and themes. In doing so, comparisons and contrasts have been
drawn between conceptions and practices in the two subjects of English and
History, thereby enabling the distinctive purposes and values of each subject
to stand out in sharper relief.
A key consideration in this study was to examine good practice. Therefore
the teachers selected for interview were chosen on the basis of their
reputation as skilled practitioners who teach primarily through the medium
of texts. This thesis reports on a series of ten extensive, semi-structured,
focused interviews with five principal teachers of English and five principal
teachers of history who taught in schools across Scotland in varying socio¬
economic areas. Interpretative phenomenological analysis of interview
transcripts revealed three central themes: what the teachers regarded as the
purpose of their subject in the secondary curriculum; conceptions of'text'
and textual practices; and their beliefs concerning specific attitudes and
dispositions that were viewed to be important to the learner's developing
conception of literary and historical purposes and practices.
What emerged from this study was a range of views on how to prepare
pupils for textual engagement with literary and historical texts; approaches
to positioning pupils within the world of historical texts and develop ways of
being with literary texts, relating to the contextualization process, emerged
as significantly contrasting between subject disciplines. The teachers also
revealed their commitment to certain interpretative practices that were
seen to unleash the transformative power of language and to contribute to
the development of selfhood. Key matters to emerge from this study were
the teachers' representations of dynamic ways of being with, and knowing
about, literary and historical texts, both within the worlds of the texts and
also in the way in which pupils then come to 'read' the world itself.
The phenomenological nature of textual engagement is presented in terms
of the way in which the teachers believed that certain textual practices
contributed to the structuring of human consciousness. Epistemological and
ontological shaping; analytical distancing; acquiring and deploying a
language of analysis; and the positioning and framing of pupils' engagement
with texts were seen to be fundamental to the processes involved in reading
literary and historical texts. The transformative power of language was
identified as key in developing pupils' existential and ethical awareness for
history as well as for English. Perspective-shifting, developing empathic
awareness and experiencing ontological and epistemological disturbance
emerged as factors that featured in the teachers' pedagogical approaches to
developing critical stances.
Whilst the study reported here is on a small-scale, it has provided a fine¬
grained delineation of how a set of accomplished teachers view the
purposes and practices of secondary school English and History, thereby
contributing to knowledge of a relatively unexplored area. The key findings
of the thesis can also serve to stimulate reflection and debate over the
purposes of school-level History and English, providing a means for English
and history school teachers and post-graduate education tutors (PGDE) to
consider closely how they engage pupils with literary and historical texts in
order to develop learners as empathic readers, social critics and literary
apprentices. In doing so, it is the intention of this study to delineate to a
finer degree the comparisons and contrasts in these subject specialists'
conceptions and beliefs about the purposes and practices of their subject
disciplines. Due attention will therefore be given to the distinct nature of
each epistemic discipline and to the pedagogical beliefs of each
community of practice. It will be argued that whilst some of these
findings could contribute to future discussions on approaches to
interdisciplinary learning, the complexities attached to each community's
pedagogical practices and epistemic goals will require more translation
within and between each community of practice. | en |
