Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe holistic nature of literary knowledge : a perspective of authorial meaning and legitimate significance as a unique aesthetic experience( 1986)Literary knowledge represents the state of affairs in the holistic nature of literature. Within the scheme of co-ordinates that constitute the holistic nature of literature, legitimate aesthetic experience cannot occur unless a valid interpretation of meaning is considered as the probable intention of the author. Understanding meaning initiates legitimate aesthetic experience as opposed to an aesthetic awareness that inadvertently distorts authorial intention to satisfy wishfulfilment gratification of the audience. Validity in interpretation implies satisfying the conditions of knowledge, in that agreement in .judgements about literature is possible. Yet, though meaning may satisfy the conditions of objectivity, each legitimate aesthetic experience is peculiar to the individual's empathic relationship to the valid interpretation. . The significance of the text may be an ineffable aesthetic experience which is a self-evident form of knowledge. The synthesis of Hirsch's theory of 'meaning and 'significance' with Hirst's belief that literature is ? 'unique form of knowledge' gives a dual nature to, and foundation for, the epistemological status of literature. Consequently, there is justification for teaching literary knowledge in texts and procedural knowledge for construal of valid interpretation. Interpretation and criticism have different functions. One attempts to give coherence and objectivity to textual meaning, while criticism imbues a valid interpretation with a 'unique' knowledge that is relative to the dynamic of history and the dialectic of criticism. If students are to perceive in some degree the holistic nature of literary knowledge, then trainee teachers ought to be familiar with the synthesis of Hirsch and Hirst which is a primary principle both in the construal of textual meaning and in the attempt to express legitimate aesthetic experience.
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ItemThe selection and role of literary texts in the ESL classroom( 1995)This study investigated five secondary teachers selection of literary texts and perception of the role literature plays in the ESL language classroom. The teachers were chosen from four schools in the Melbourne metropolitan area and were interviewed individually except for one school where two teachers were interviewed for the research. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed and formed the main body of data As supplementary data interviews were also conducted with ten students (one 'good student and one weak student chosen by each teacher). The case studies revealed that criteria for text selection were related to considerations for students needs features of the text the teachers preferences in reading practical issues related to the availability of text and examination requirements. The research confirmed the perceptions of writers on this area who have maintained that literature is often used as a context for generating language activities and for imparting knowledge about the target culture The data also found that literature was used to affirm the students own cultural identities.
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ItemPersonal knowledge and the teaching of literature( 1981)The study explores the place of pupils' personal response in the teaching of literature. The same short story was taught by a different teacher to each of four year-eight classes. The classes were taped, the students' written work was collected and the teachers were interviewed about a number of issues relating to English teaching and the development of personal response. The teachers' comments and practice were juxtaposed against central tenets of Michael Polanyi's thought, with a view to identifying the degree to which his account of "personal knowledge" accorded with intuitive practice of good teachers. His ideas were found to have considerable relevance to the teaching of literature. In an effort to relate classroom strategies to pupils' personal responses, Roy Thomas' adaptation of Eisner's objectives, and his own notion of a "teaching point" were employed as a framework for comparison. While these tools of analysis proved ultimately inadequate in accounting for all the elements contributing to such engagement, they did make possible the identification of a number of important features of classroom practice. The study closes with some general observations about strategies, attitudes, values and beliefs, likely to result in a deeper awareness of the text and in a personal engagement with it.