Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
12-2021
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph. D.
Department
Elementary, Middle & Secondary Teacher Education
Degree Program
Curriculum and Instruction, PhD
Committee Chair
Flint, Amy Seely
Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)
Chisholm, James
Committee Member
Chisholm, James
Committee Member
Whitmore, Kathryn F.
Committee Member
Olinger, Andrea
Author's Keywords
voice; children's literature; higher education; identity; disruptions; meaning making
Abstract
Voice is a concept that is both highly sought after and elusive in education. While schools aim to foster students’ voices, many academic structures inadvertently conceal their voices and in turn their identities. Definitions of voice have been assumed, vague, or looked at as a writing trait, with little consideration of voices’ dynamic and mediated structures. Drawing on scholarship grounded in sociocultural theories and dialogism (e.g., Bakhtin, 1986; Engeström; 1987, Leont’ev, 1981; Rosenblatt, 1978; Vygotsky, 1978), I contribute a new, tangible definition of voice, in which voice is a dynamic happening, continually negotiated and constructed. This dissertation explores students’ voices, advancing theoretical and empirical approaches to studying voice. Specifically, this study examines how undergraduates manifest their voices and how their voices shift in a children’s literature course. Through qualitative analyses of students’ academic writing, discussions, and reflections I illuminate various resources and structures students employed when manifesting their voice. I describe how students’ voice shifts due to disruptions—events that create instability to students’ predominant way of thinking in a given context. Additionally, I illustrate factors that both conceal and contribute to students’ voices in academic settings, such as students’ racial and gendered identities, group dynamics, and students’ desire to be seen as knowledgeable. This dissertation argues for classrooms to engage students in routine dialogic interaction to expand students’ voices, and to consider the implications students’ racial and gendered identities have on the production of their voices.
Recommended Citation
Fletcher, Lauren Elizabeth, "Manifestations of students’ voices: Examining shifts, academic demands, and identity work in how students make themselves understood." (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3773.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/3773
Included in
Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching Commons, Higher Education Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
