Date of Award

5-11-2025

Date Published

June 2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Reading and Language Arts

Advisor(s)

Kelly Chandler-Olcott

Keywords

critical narrative;identity;literacy;personalized learning;transformation

Abstract

This is a narrative case study of 20time or passion projects in English 8. The study explores how traditional educational hierarchies and practices, as well as perceptions of agency and competence, may be transformed in a personalized context by examining a single case comprising 17 students drawn from four sections of eighth grade English in which students are engaged in sustained 20time or passion projects as a fundamental part of their curriculum. The data comprise teacher, student, and administrative products, participant interviews and observations, and memos. Data analysis employs general qualitative methods and critical narrative analysis. This personalized, 20time thirdspace afforded students a location in which they integrated new and out-of-school literacies as they explored and developed their own passions, identities, and agency. For the teacher, the thirdspace location promoted personalization and relevance in a way that she felt was not supported by her existing curriculum. The students found an opportunity for growth in skills and confidence in an environment that supported their strengths and their identities. The researcher, a school administrator, found the location to be a place in which many normative and often oppressive school structures could be successfully challenged and sometimes overcome. In these ways, the thirdspace studied here was transformative of the students’ and teachers’ expectations of one another, themselves, and of literacy learning itself. Opportunities for making the model even more powerful and transformative are also explored.

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Open Access

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