Exploring Digital Out-Of-School Identity
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Exploring Digital Out-of-School Identity Construction And Multiliteracy Practices Of Two Teenagers: A European Case Study Julia Rodríguez A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the UCL Institute of Education for the degree of Doctor in Education (EdD International) 2018 1 DECLARATION I, Julia Rodríguez confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signed: Julia Rodríguez 2 ‘If you want to ask questions about literacy, don’t look at reading and writing in themselves, but as they are embedded within specific social practices’. ‘If we want to study literacy, we are led inevitably to the full array of semiotic resources with which people mean and be’. (Gee, 1999, p. 159) 3 ABSTRACT Teenagers’ online activities can reveal rich and varied literacy behaviours. While these teenagers may experience cultural and linguistic diversity out of school, and construct identity digitally using their literacy skills in a highly productive and engaged fashion, they may struggle to express their literacies and identities in school settings. When viewed through a New Literacies (Gee, 2000; Street, 1995) and Multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000) perspective, closer analysis of the predispositions, social attitudes, and activities of these teenagers reveal significant educational advantages that may go largely undetected by educators in the classroom. This thesis presents two ethnographic case studies, involving two teenagers, who actively sought out and engaged in online spaces where they could establish identities, practice multimodal literacies, and seek out affinity groups in keeping with their personal interests and abilities. Findings reveal that out-of-school literacy practices are sophisticated, multimodal, meaningful, real and important for identity construction in teenagers. Identities online and offline melt in a way that differentiation is non-existent for them, also literacy and identity practices seem not to be bound in this study to the physical place in which they occur, but to the actual opportunities to develop and implement these practices. They are not linked either to generational gaps or digital native divides. This research is of significance to educators as it demonstrates the manner in which digital technologies used by teenagers in out-of-school settings can inform multiliteracy practices in the classroom through the 4 recognition of the role they already play in teenagers’ literacy and identity construction. Keywords: Multiliteracies, Multimodality, Digital Identity Construction, Out- of-School Practices 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has been in my particular case a solitary endeavour due to the nature of my research, nevertheless I would like to acknowledge the encouragement of my EdD colleagues, who have always been willing to share their doctoral experiences. A special thanks to Johanna Fitzgerald for her kindness, advice and words of support towards the accomplishment of this thesis. This study has meant a learning experience for me in scholarly and in how to make sense of an idea, make it mature and relate it to a specific research framework and to the literature in the field. Apart from my family, I think my supervisor Dr. Norbert Pachler has been the most important person in my life for the last five years. My gratitude for his patience, frequent Skype conferences, corrections, and for believing I had something of value to contribute to the academia world. To my husband, for dealing with my whimsical moods and with the long hours spent in front of my computer away from him. To my two girls, who have made this piece of research possible by sharing with me many aspects of their personal lives as teenagers that were at times difficult to share with a mother and even more difficult with a mother as a researcher. To my mother, who passed away in September 2016, when I was in the middle of writing this thesis for giving me the opportunity to pursue an education and believing that it was the most important thing she could pass on me. To all the dear friends that have supported me and in particular to my best friend Cristina for encouraging me to keep on working. To my dogs for spending so many hours lying by my side in patient support and lacking so many long 6 walks! Finally, I would like to acknowledge myself, for accomplishing this project and writing this thesis despite everything that has come on the way. The EdD has been a ‘long path’, my own, with many ups and downs through which I believe I have become a better researcher, teacher and parent. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION..................................................................................................................... 2 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 6 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 10 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. 11 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... 13 LIST OF APPENDICES ...................................................................................................... 14 ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................................. 14 GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS ............................................................................................ 16 THE 2,000 WORD STATEMENT ................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER ONE: TEENAGERS DIGITAL LITERACY AND IDENTITY PRACTICES IN OUT OF SCHOOL SETTINGS...................................................................................... 28 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 28 1.1 RESEARCH RATIONALE ..................................................................................................................... 34 1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY .......................................................................................................................... 39 1.3 RESEARCH CONTEXT ......................................................................................................................... 44 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.......................................................................................................... 47 1.5 PERSONAL STANCE ............................................................................................................................ 50 1.6 INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION OF THE STUDY ............................................................................. 51 1.7 ORDER AND OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS ......................................................................................... 54 1.8 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................. 55 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 56 2.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 56 2.1 SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES OF LITERACY: NEW LITERACIES, MULTILITERACIES AND MULTIMODALITY ....................................................................................................................................... 59 2.1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 59 2.1.1 The New Literacy Studies (NLS) .................................................................................... 61 2.1.2 Multiliteracies ......................................................................................................................... 64 2.1.3 Multimodality ......................................................................................................................... 71 2.2 IDENTITY AND DIGITAL IDENTITIES.............................................................................................. 75 2.2.1 Teenagers’ Identity .............................................................................................................. 75 2.2.2 Digital Identities, Multiple Identities ........................................................................... 83 2.3 OUT OF SCHOOL DIGITAL PRACTICES ........................................................................................... 88 2.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES..................................................................................... 96 2.5 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS ............................................................................................................... 97 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 102 3.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 102 3.1 METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE AND POSITION OF PARENT AS RESEARCHER