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Title: | Poetry teaching in Malta : the interplay between teachers' beliefs and practices |
Other Titles: | International perspectives on the teaching of literature in schools |
Authors: | Xerri, Daniel |
Keywords: | Poetry -- Study and teaching -- Malta English literature -- Study and teaching -- Malta Comparative education |
Issue Date: | 2018 |
Publisher: | Routledge |
Citation: | Xerri, D. (2018). Poetry teaching in Malta: The interplay between teachers' beliefs and practices. In A. Goodwyn, C. Durrant, L. Reid & L. Scherff (Eds.), International perspectives on the teaching of literature in schools (pp. 133-141). London and New York: Routledge. |
Abstract: | Most research on poetry education identifies curricular and assessment constraints as the main factor for a lack of engagement with poetry on behalf of teachers and students (Benton, 2000; Dymoke, 2001, 2002, 2012; O'Neill, 2006). While it is undeniable that assessment plays a significant role in shaping classroom practices, to point an accusatory finger solely at assessment is to ignore its collusion with the shared beliefs held by teachers and students (Xerri, 2013a). Rather than on its own, it is in combination with these beliefs that assessment plays a pivotal role in moulding engagement with poetry. As shown by comparative research (Peel, Patterson, & Gerlach, 2000), beliefs about English have played an important role in the formation of the subject due to how they determine classroom practices. Hence, it is helpful to start by defining these constructs and identifying the possible links between them. Borg (2001) defines a belief as 'a proposition which may be consciously or unconsciously held, is evaluative in that it is accepted as true by the individual, and is therefore imbued with emotive commitment; further, it serves as a guide to thought and behaviour' (p. 186). According to the American Psychological Association (2009), a belief is 'acceptance of the truth, reality, or validity of something ... particularly in the absence of substantiation' (p. 54). Beliefs help to form practices. For example, a review commissioned by the Sutton Trust, an educational think tank in the UK, found that one of the six components of effective teaching consists of teacher beliefs due to some evidence of impact on student outcomes (Coe, Aloisi, Higgins, & Elliot Major, 2014, p. 3). Practice is defined as 'doing, performance, action' but it 'can also take the form of habitualized and institutionalized ways of doing something. This applies to all professional activities (e.g. teaching)' (Collins & O'Brien, 2011, pp. 362-363). Research indicates that in many international contexts the interplay between beliefs and practices seems quite significant (OECD, 2009). This chapter seeks to explore how teachers' beliefs are related to their practices within the context of poetry education. While poetry education lacks substantial research in this area (Wilson, 2010; Xerri, 2015), teachers' beliefs and practices and the relationship between them have been scrutinized by a wide range of studies in the field of language learning and teaching (e.g. Uysal & Bardakci, 2014). Given that such research is to a large extent missing from the field of poetry education, this chapter seeks to shed some light on teachers' beliefs about poetry and how these affect their practices. |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/114481 |
ISBN: | 9781138227217 |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - CenELP |
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Poetry_teaching_in_Malta.pdf Restricted Access | 256.72 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
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