MANUEL LORENZO ALDEGUER (XAVIER SCHOOL INC)

INVESTIGATING STUDENT PERCEPTION OF DEVELOPING CRITICAL LITERACY IN A SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LITERATURE CLASS : CREATIVITY AND CRITICAL LITERACIES

Critical literacy (CL) is an essential skill for K-12 students to develop in the 21st century as it allows them to critique socially-constructed realities and participate in social transformation. As new technologies give students unprecedented levels of access to information, it is crucial for Filipino learners to learn how to critically consume and produce texts. The Department of Education has recognized the importance of CL in the past, but CL has not seen widespread integration in Philippine classrooms. Conducted in a Catholic, all-boys school in Metro Manila, this qualitative study investigated how senior high students perceived the explicit instruction of CL in their English Literature class. The study aimed to answer the following central research question: What are students’ lived experience of the critical literacy practices implemented for an English Literature class? Data was gathered through the collection of (20) reflective journals completed during the unit, and the conducting of semi-structured interviews with eight (8) students who submitted a journal. A grounded theory was then formulated from the data using thematic analysis. The study found that students' positive reception of CL can be attributed to their enjoyment of CL strategies and assessments, as well as their familiarity with CL concepts being tied to their formation as part of their Catholic education. It also highlighted the need for ELT students to be given the time and resources to develop their CL, and for teachers who implement CL strategies to familiarize themselves with learning materials that are most appropriate for their students.

Name: Manuel Lorenzo M. Aldeguer IV Sex: Male Nationality: Filipino Occupation: Teacher Educational Attainment: AB Literature (English), AB Interdisciplinary Studies Email: m.l.m.aldeguer@gmail.com ; manuelmaldegueriv@xs.edu.ph