Reading for Cultural Meanings:
A literacy toolkit for English teachers to use when selecting prose texts for diverse students in secondary schools
Dr Melissa Jogie, University of Roehampton
The cultural diversity of UK school pupils has been steadily increasing, with the proportion of minority pupils doubling from 15% to 30% in the period from 2006-2019 (UK Department for Education, 2019). Broad research underscores the importance of mediating between students’ cultural diversity and the meanings which are derived from the resources they engage with in classrooms (Blake, 1998; Bliss & Bacljia, 2020; Ebe, 2012; Friese, Alvermann, Parkes, Rezak, 2008).
Where cultural gaps between teachers, curriculum and students are addressed and built into learning interactions, students tend to be more encouraged and engaged (Jogie, 2017). This in turn leads to greater levels of overall achievement and a stronger basis for school inclusivity. Conversely, there are situations where dominant cultures are presented in content or teachers’ attitudes, either directly or indirectly, which minority students are unable to connect with (Jogie, 2015). This may leave students feeling conflicted and disengaged, and can lead to wider behavioural issues, alienation, and stereotype bias (Glock, Kovacs, & Pit-ten Cate, 2019; Janmaat, 2015).
While there is much scholarship on cultural mediation with respect to learning English as an additional language (Ebe, 2010), the topic of literacy for diverse English-proficient students is under-researched (Johnston & Mangat, 2012). This study seeks to investigate English teachers’ approaches to cultural mediation between literary texts and their students in secondary school at the KS3 level (secondary school Years 7-9).
The KS3 level (Years 7-9) has been chosen because – as argued in a previous UKLA study ‘What literature texts are being taught in Years 7 to 9?’ (Kneen et al, 2019) – it represents a period of teacher autonomy for the choices of texts. While the National Curriculum for KS3 advocates both English and “seminal world” literary texts (UK Department for Education, 2014), teachers’ ultimate success at cultural mediation depends on the balance they choose between ‘heritage’ versus ‘analytical’ views of the values promoted in each text (Fleming & Stevens, 2015). Furthermore, their classroom strategies to elicit cultural meanings from texts can be broadly categorised as being dialogic, responsive, multicultural, or postcolonial, each of which has nuanced implications for students’ own interpretations of texts (Berryman, SooHoo & Nevin, 2013; Hudson, 2003).
This investigation will explore the above elements of teachers’ approaches to cultural mediation and may have an impact on the promotion of world literature, long-term literacy planning for cultural inclusivity within secondary curricula (years 7-9), and on teachers’ own standards for professional development.
Research Aims:
1. How do English teachers approach mediating culture within current prose texts used to teach diverse English proficient students from Years 7-9?
2. How are cultural meanings deciphered theoretically through teachers’ close reading of unseen texts?
3. What patterns (if any) can be drawn between the theoretical process for mediating culture and the current range of prose texts taught across Years 7-9 to diverse English proficient students?
4. How can a toolkit for text selection be constructed to facilitate cultural mediation for secondary English education to help scope long term literacy plans?
Outputs:
In March 2022 a livestream presentation was delivered on the survey responses of 251 English teachers from across England. To watch the recording click here: (17) How do English teachers approach contentious issues in literary texts? – YouTube
For access to publications and information about the outputs from this research please visit: https://www.melissajogie.com/literacy-toolkit or follow Melissa Jogie on Twitter @Mjple
