This change in admissions requirements immediately affected the size and shape of the Red Hons program (See Figure 1 below). I felt that a greater understanding of the literacy experiences that students brought to the Red Hons program ie.
Framing a response
The aim of those of us who teach in, and are involved in the ongoing development of the LILT module, is to provide our students with an experience of 'transformative learning' ie. and very importantly, how 'transformational' we their experience of the Red Hons degree to be.
The structure of this thesis
Field
34; I call each of these sea fields, that is, an autonomous universe, a kind of arena in which people play a game with certain rules, rules that differ from those of the game played in the neighboring space. And yet we do not feel this man of the past because he is rooted in us.
Habitus
In the context of this research, I thought I might be able to identify quite specific and different "ways of knowing" with which my students engaged in their life worlds and draw on them to change and modify processes. of teaching, learning and assessment. in the LILT module. However, to a very large extent, I attribute this inability on my part to recognize the potential differences existing in 'knowing' to the deeply ingrained nature of my habitus and my ways of knowing, which simply prevent me from I 'see' the other's reality as it should be seen.
Capital
One of the most contested and critical forms of cultural capital, but one that is integral to symbolic power and its recognition in the fields, is that of 'literacy' capital. This 'ideological' model of literacy (Rruga, 1995:89) highlights the importance of the role that language plays in matters of dominance, subjugation and social emancipation.
The contribution of Critical Linguistics
It is crucial that the process of knowledge creation, which is the "core business" of universities, remains in the hands of a few, as this is the only way to retain power. But what can I specifically teach my students to identify as key elements and understandings of writing in the context of an LILT module that will introduce them to a wider academic 'community of practice'.
A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies
The overview that I have given here of NLG's contribution to Critical Language Pedagogy is just that – an overview. As previously mentioned, a critique of their relevance to the context of the REd (Hons) will be provided in Chapter 5.
Conclusion
Broadly speaking, it is the 'rigor' of the research (in scientific/rationalist terms) that is questioned. The data for this piece of research was mainly collected from the first three of the following sources. An explanation for the minimal use of the last source (cyber conversations) is presented later in this chapter.
Section B of the questionnaire contained four open-ended questions for students to answer [In Appendix B]. Three of the students who were part of the original 'source' group agreed to continue the process as if they were 'subjects'. The second part of the data collection process involved students writing a Short History of Literary Life (hereafter referred to as LLH).
Presentation and Analysis of data
Introduction
- Student A
- Student B
- Student C
- Student E
50% of this assignment asked for students' 'own' experience, something that was all identified in the interview as one of the 'enabling' features of their RED Hons. The most striking revelation about this student's literacy practices came at the very end of the interview. Which was just as well, as Student C emerged as an insightful and helpful critic of the ROO Hons programme.
However, in the early days of the program, she was really just 'managing', that is, holding her own, but without much confidence. Most things allowed me to continue with the course. Of the five students in the department, Student C scored the highest result for LILT: 73%.
Tabulated and collated data
- Literate Life Histories
The very different answers to this question again suggest that the fault lies in its wording. With the current delivery model in the Red Hons programme, it is generally accepted that there is no scope for project submissions. However, the fact that these students raised the issue here reminded me of the importance of this process and prompted me to go back to the drawing board and look for ways to incorporate at least some elements of it into the current model.
This section provides a more detailed commentary on the role LLHs played in this study and the difference in contexts between this study and my first use of LLHs in the LILT module. The fact that the students did not submit the LLH, even though they agreed to participate fully in the research process, and that those who did were "thin" and without any deep reflection suggests to me that my contextualization assignments and my ability to provide students in it may have been inadequate. In the case of the LLHs, I contextualized the activity on the handout I gave the students, believing that this was all they needed to engage with the task.
The search for commonalities
A final commonality is that all students in the study described their Red Hons experience as empowering and would recommend the program to friends and colleagues. Therefore, the additional "Included Terms" for this field are my reading of the attitudes and positions articulated by the students in the interviews, which reflect a place of powerlessness despite claims to be empowered. Given the limitations of the context of this study, and the data collected for it, debating further meanings of empowerment is inappropriate in my opinion.
In the last section of this chapter, I worked to link the discussions I started here to aspects of the theoretical framework established in Chapter 2. Elements of the NLG's work will be addressed again in the final chapter of this thesis, as they are more relevant. appropriate for considerations of 'the way forward'. My perception of the students in this study is therefore that they stepped outside at least two 'sets' of 'communities of practice', ie.
Transformation or reproduction? Concluding thoughts
But it is also central to powerful social and political discourses outside the university. I have already stated earlier in this thesis that the students in this study share a common perception of their experience of the REd Hons programme, and especially the LILT module, as 'successful' and 'empowering'. And although these observations can be made on the basis of the students in this study, my extensive experience with similar students over several years of participation in the REd Hons program supports these conclusions.
The current 'delivery model' of the REd Hons program consists of three and a half contact sessions per module per semester. However, the NLG framework can be adopted as the overarching conceptual structure of the REd Hons curriculum. It is this, I argue, that makes their ideas relevant to the context of this study, and the structure of the REd Hons program that has subsequently developed.
Problems with the research process
Many of the 'silences' and gaps in the transcripts of the interviews in this research could have been 'filled' and explored by another round of interviews. In the case of the emails cited here, I hesitate to take everything said at face value. As mentioned earlier, it is important for the discussion around future research options in relation to this study, to trace some of the developments that have taken place in the ROO Hons.
However, what this research has elicited for me are a number of concerns and questions relating to the students who participated in this study (in Year 1 in 1998), those currently on the program (2001) and the changing context of the program itself as described in the previous section. What was the 'literacy trajectory' of the students who formed the subject group in this study, since their return to their professional contexts. How will the students evaluate the value of the LILT module, and the RED Hons in general, three to four months after completing the course?
Conclusion
1997) 'Literacy and Bourdieu's sociological theory: a reframing' Language and Education, VoU1, No.2. 1996) Critical Ethnography in Educational Research New York and London. The Politics of Writing London and New York Routledge Cleary, L. 1991) From the Other Side of the Desk Portsmouth Boynton Cook. eds) (1997) Knowledge, Identity and Curriculum Transformation in Africa Cape Town Maskew Miller Longman. 1994) 4th Edition Research Methods in Education London and New York Routledge. eds) (2000) Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures London and New York Routledge.
A (1999) Language in Learning and Teaching (LILT) Learning GuidePietermaritzburg University of Natal Press. 1989/9) Critical Linguistics and Language Teaching Critical Arts 4. The Art of Case Study Research London Sage in Bassey, M. 1999) Case Study Research in Educational Settings Buckingham, Philadelphia Open University Press. 1984) Literacy in Theory and Practice London Cambridge University Press Street, BV 1995) Social Literacy: Critical Approaches to Literacy in Development, Ethnography and Education London and New York Longman.
WRITING EXPERIENCES LILT QUESTIONNAIRE
At school, what kinds of tasks require you to do extended, structured writing? Examples might be: letters to the Governing Body, or a report to the
At home, what kinds of tasks require you to do extended, structured writing?
When we talk about 'types of writing' here, we mean literally every time you use a pen. So, in school, even writing comments on student work, filling in a log, or writing notes on the board would count as a 'type of writing'. Outside of school, making a grocery list, signing for a package at the post office, writing personal letters or poems, signing a child's homework book would all count as 'types of writing'.
So it doesn't matter how small or short the piece of writing is - it all counts as 'writing'.
When you were assessed during your diploma! undergraduate years, what did your lecturers comment on the most in your written assignments - the
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TIMES AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
LANGUAGE IN LEARNING AND TEACHING (LILT) RESEARCH PROJECT - 1999
PART ONE: QUESTIONNAIRE
Which of the following types of writing do you most often do outside of a work or university context, e.g. What types of writing you do privately/personally have helped you cope with the tasks in the LILT module. How would you like your understanding of the main concepts and principles of the LILT module to be assessed, i.e.
Do you think that a special type of writing skills development program should be included in the first year of B.Ed program? If so, please explain your answer, giving examples of what you think should be covered. Were there clear indications of the standard of work and writing style expected of you at LILT.
PART TWO: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE (LITERATE LIFE HISTORY)
GUIDING QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PERSONAL WRITING NARRATIVE
Which of the complete combination contains the best selection of reasons for group work in the context of the LILT course'?. What is the motivation given in this series of lessons for the choice of the theme 'Patterns'? Which of the outcomes in your list would be particularly relevant to your students' language development?
Explain how the way we used group work in these lessons contributes to the language development of the learners. What is the attitude towards the use of the mother tongue in the English classes in your school. Good understanding of the way in which the concepts are concepts explained and the reasons given for them.
