The application of cognitive poetics to the primary school reading experience

Abstract

This thesis examines the reading experiences of Key Stage 2 students, through a cognitive poetic lens. Cognitive poetics is a strand of stylistics that helps us to understand the reading process. This is particularly useful given the current state of English education, where scores, tests, de-contextualised grammar and linguistic analysis dominates the field. This thesis champions authentic reading as a way of challenging these distorted priorities and seeks to reflect and engage with an individual’s own interpretation and reading of the text. Legitimising individual students’ responses, with the use of cognitive poetics, has allowed me to unearth the elements of English and reading I believe are particularly salient. The thesis details the findings of my ethnographic investigation of a school advocating for reading for pleasure, authenticity and personal response. It draws on two cognitive poetic frameworks (schema theory and text-world theory) to examine the potential of individual student textual interpretation, the aspects of their background knowledge that had contributed to these interpretations, and the process of their eventual understanding. This research is especially valuable in highlighting the potential of cognitive poetics as a ‘lens’ through which to view reading practices in schools. The relevance of this research is undeniable when situated alongside current debates in the field of English - including arguments surrounding a ‘best’ pedagogical practice, the effects, value and importance of reading, and the current content and culture of English in the classroom.