In this study I describe the context and environment in which students in three undergraduate literature classrooms in a mid-western parochial university \"acquired a sense of literature,\" as well as the role played by their teachers in the process. As qualitative research, the study seeks to provide additional insight and understanding of the process of acquiring literary competence. While participant observation and interview were the principal methods used in gathering data, the data also included the use of documents. I examined course syllabi, students' journals, students' written work, and school documents. I also observed each of the three classes at least ten class periods. Each of the three teacher sand one student from each class were interviewed several times. The teacher interviews elicited information that placed such elements as teacher's theoretical framework and pedagogical practices in perspective. Interviews with the students, among other things, sought their views and opinions about literary theory and competence, and their expectations about the class. The study points out several factors that appeared to influence how students develop a sense of literary competence. These include the class environment, class size, the pedagogical method adopted by the teacher, and the text used for the class. Other specific ways in which teachers affected the acculturation process are also discussed. The study concludes by raising some concerns that emerged from the study about the teaching of literature.
","abstract_html":"<p>In this study I describe the context and environment in which students in three undergraduate literature classrooms in a mid-western parochial university "acquired a sense of literature," as well as the role played by their teachers in the process. As qualitative research, the study seeks to provide additional insight and understanding of the process of acquiring literary competence. While participant observation and interview were the principal methods used in gathering data, the data also included the use of documents. I examined course syllabi, students' journals, students' written work, and school documents. I also observed each of the three classes at least ten class periods. Each of the three teacher sand one student from each class were interviewed several times. The teacher interviews elicited information that placed such elements as teacher's theoretical framework and pedagogical practices in perspective. Interviews with the students, among other things, sought their views and opinions about literary theory and competence, and their expectations about the class. The study points out several factors that appeared to influence how students develop a sense of literary competence. These include the class environment, class size, the pedagogical method adopted by the teacher, and the text used for the class. Other specific ways in which teachers affected the acculturation process are also discussed. The study concludes by raising some concerns that emerged from the study about the teaching of literature.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Quartey, Matthew Justice"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Leadership PhD","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["William H. Green","Paul S. Brantley","Delmer Davis"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1992,"date_issued":"1992-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1992-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:53:52Z","subjects":["Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Methods"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/644","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["William H. Green","Paul S. Brantley","Delmer Davis"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Quartey, Matthew Justice"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Leadership PhD"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Methods"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/644"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this study I describe the context and environment in which students in three undergraduate literature classrooms in a mid-western parochial university \"acquired a sense of literature,\" as well as the role played by their teachers in the process. As qualitative research, the study seeks to provide additional insight and understanding of the process of acquiring literary competence. While participant observation and interview were the principal methods used in gathering data, the data also included the use of documents. I examined course syllabi, students' journals, students' written work, and school documents. I also observed each of the three classes at least ten class periods. Each of the three teacher sand one student from each class were interviewed several times. The teacher interviews elicited information that placed such elements as teacher's theoretical framework and pedagogical practices in perspective. Interviews with the students, among other things, sought their views and opinions about literary theory and competence, and their expectations about the class. The study points out several factors that appeared to influence how students develop a sense of literary competence. These include the class environment, class size, the pedagogical method adopted by the teacher, and the text used for the class. Other specific ways in which teachers affected the acculturation process are also discussed. The study concludes by raising some concerns that emerged from the study about the teaching of literature.
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"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/644"],"dc:subject":["Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Methods"],"dc:title":["The Student, the Teacher, and the Text : an Ethnography of the Literary Acculturation Process in Three Undergraduate Literature Classrooms"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Leadership PhD"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:53:52Z"}