Conceptualisations of writing in the curricula and the teachers’ guides of Greek preschool education: a critical discourse analysis

Abstract

The goal of this article is to explore the conceptualisations of writing in the curricula and the teachers’ guides of Greek preschool education (4–6 years of age). Ivanič’s framework of the six discourses of writing (the skills discourse, the creativity discourse, the process discourse, the genre discourse, the social practices discourse and the sociopolitical discourse), which shows how writing is framed in literacy education, was used for the exploration of these conceptualisations. A document‐based investigation was conducted in order to collect all the relevant texts concerning early writing and critical discourse analysis was employed in the interest of identifying and relating discourses in two key policy documents focusing on features of vocabulary and propositional assumptions. A discourse of social practices was found in the first document while the same discourse with features of other discourses co‐occur in the second document. Since the relationship among the discourses in the latter text is implicit, specific assumptions should be made to maximise their coherence. Finally, I suggest that although the social practices discourse makes a step forward which has not been conducted decisively at an international level, its implicit relationship with the other discourses and especially with the sociopolitical discourse obstructs the constitution of a comprehensive writing pedagogy.

“I just want them to learn.” The intended role of Teacher’s Book shaped by its writer’s understanding of the local EFL teachers

“…Another role of TB as a mirror of social discourse was revealed by the text-based analysis research. Critical discourse analysis of the text in TB found that TB was the representation of the discursive discourse in a particular society or culture ( Tentolouris, 2020 ), mirroring the local educators’ beliefs and knowledge about EFL education and practice ( Koljonen et al, 2018 ) and even revealing a conflict between the stated values and goals and implied messages transmitted by its language and structure features ( Lechtenberg, 2020 ). TB’s role as social discourse presenter is indicated more in local curriculum materials.…”

“…Teacher’s Book (TB thereafter), also referred to as Teacher’s Guide (TG thereafter) ( Cox et al, 2019 ; Tentolouris, 2020 ), is an important type of curriculum resource in textbook packages. Extensive research has identified the impact of TB on teachers in which it provides curriculum resources and pedagogical support in planning and enacting teaching and scaffolds their reflection ( Koljonen et al, 2018 ; Cox et al, 2019 ; Sanchez Adorno, 2021 ).…”