SCHOOL LITERACY AS A CATALYST: A PORTRAIT FROM MULTILINGUAL, LOW-EDUCATED HOMES IN TURKEY by BÜNSER DİLARA KOÇBAŞ DEMİR A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Language and Literacy Education) The University of British Columbia (Vancouver) November 2016 © Bünser Dilara Koçbaş Demir, 2016 Abstract This study examines the catalyzing effect of school literacies to initiate changes in the two multilingual and un- or under-schooled families at a period of time when the focal children started school in Turkey. My research draws particularly upon four interrelated theoretical perspectives. First, the sociocultural-historical theory emphasizes the social, cultural, and historical basis of social interaction and literacy activities (Rogoff, 2003; Vygotsky, 1978). The ecological theory promotes the idea that literacy and literacy activities are determined by overlapping social and cultural niches (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; 2000; 2005). Finally, I focus on the applications of critical approaches to literacy studies, such as critical pedagogy theory (Freire & Macedo, 1987) and the sociocritical literacy framework (Gutiérrez, 2005; 2008; Gutiérrez, Rymes & Larson, 1995) to argue for links between social power and literacy and literacy activities. As for the methodological approach, this study can be defined as a case study using ethnographic techniques (Dyson & Genishi, 2005). The data were collected through semi- structured interviews and participatory observations both in the homes and in the school. Data analysis includes discourse analysis to identify salient themes about how language is used to perform social identities and social activities (Gee, 2005; Marshall & Rossman, 2011). The findings point out that, first, the religious literacy skills in one focal family were recontextualized to make some connections with school, which was not a familiar domain for the family. Second, I provide evidence for the ways in which school-based abilities determined the categories of identity as forms of favorable and unfavorable self-definition for the focal participants, providing the focal children with a space to challenge the authority of their parents. This qualitative study is an attempt to understand how focal participants took positions, and ii negotiated their identities with one another based on their abilities to read and write. My study will shed light on the educational experiences of children, together with their families, who are marginalized as a result of having little or no formal education and speaking minority languages. iii Preface This dissertation is an original intellectual product of the author, B. D. Koçbaş Demir. The fieldwork reported in Chapters 4-5 was covered by UBC Ethics Certificate number H13- 02425. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Preface............................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. xiii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ............................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 2 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................... 2 Research Context ........................................................................................................................ 5 The larger context of Turkey .................................................................................................. 5 The languages of Turkey. ....................................................................................................... 6 The issue of language policy in Turkish history ..................................................................... 7 The current socio-linguistic situation in Turkey ................................................................... 12 Language maintenance and shift ........................................................................................... 15 Educational circumstances experienced by multilingual population .................................... 19 Current debates about educating bilingual children: A dilemma about L1 and L2 .............. 23 Migration and social exclusion among multilingual populations ......................................... 26 Rationale for the Study ............................................................................................................. 28 Significance............................................................................................................................... 31 Limitations of the Study............................................................................................................ 32 The qualitative nature of the study........................................................................................ 33 Researcher bias ..................................................................................................................... 33 v Absence of men..................................................................................................................... 35 Definitions................................................................................................................................. 35 Definition of “culture” .......................................................................................................... 36 Definition of “literacy events” .............................................................................................. 37 Definition of “literacy practices” .......................................................................................... 38 Overview of the Chapters ......................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................... 41 Sociocultural-Historical Perspectives on Learning and Literacy.............................................. 41 The primacy of social interactions in children’s learning ..................................................... 42 Semiotic mediation ............................................................................................................... 46 The interrelatedness of different contexts ............................................................................. 47 Bakhtin’s “Social languages” ............................................................................................... 48 The utterance ..................................................................................................................... 49 Authorial intent ................................................................................................................. 51 Social languages and D/discourse ......................................................................................... 51 Communities of practice ....................................................................................................... 53 The relevance of sociocultural-historical theory to my research .......................................... 54 Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory ........................................................................................ 55 Process .................................................................................................................................. 56 Person .................................................................................................................................... 57 Context .................................................................................................................................. 58 Time ...................................................................................................................................... 60 The relevance of ecological theory to my research .............................................................. 62 Critical Theories........................................................................................................................ 64 Critical pedagogy theory ....................................................................................................... 66 vi Gutiérrez’s sociocritical literacy theory ................................................................................ 71 Scripts and counterscripts in sociocritical literacy theory .................................................... 72 An Abstract of the Theoretical Perspectives ............................................................................. 75 Chapter