Date of Award

1-24-2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching and Leadership

Advisor(s)

Jeffery Mangram

Keywords

Critical Narrative Analysis;Literacy Education;Teachers

Subject Categories

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study, grounded on New Literacy Studies and Critical Literacy theoretical frameworks, was to examine how Kosovar teachers understand and teach literacy. More specifically, this study examined the following research questions: (1) How do Kosovar teachers make sense of literacy? (2) How do these perspectives inform teachers’ pedagogical choices in relation to literacy? The study draws on the insights and experiences of five Kosovar teachers at a public school in Prishtina, the capital city of Kosova. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and participant observations and analyzed through the Critical Narrative Analysis methodological framework, looking at two displays of agency: grammatical agency and framing agency. The findings revealed that teachers understand literacy as standardized language teaching while expressing their morally contested views on literacy and language instruction in standardized Albanian in a Gheg-dominant society. Additionally, teachers perceived literacy as print-based and school-bound, constructing literacy as skills whose proximity to school grounds deemed them valuable. Moreover, teachers employed textbook-driven and blackboard-centered pedagogies in the teaching of literacy, further aligning themselves with a framework of literacy as print-based. These findings indicate a need for an expanded conceptualization of literacy, encompassing the multiple forms of literacy that go beyond the traditional ‘reading and writing’ understanding of literacy.

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Open Access

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