Critical Discourse Analysis in Literacy Education: A Review of the Literature

Rebecca Rogers, Inda Schaenen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

<div class="line" id="line-35"> This article is a critical, integrative literature review of scholarship in literacy studies from 2004 to 2012 that draws on critical discourse analysis (CDA). We discuss key issues, trends, and criticisms in the field. Our methodology was carried out in three stages. First, we searched educational databases to locate literacy&hyphen;focused CDA scholarship. Second, we completed an analytic review template for each article and encoded this data into a digital spreadsheet to assess macrotrends in the field. Third, we developed schemata to interpret the complexity of issues related to research design. Our examination of 76 literacy&hyphen;focused empirical studies and theoretical papers in scholarly journals reveals trends in the questions that researchers find interesting enough to pursue, the theories they find useful, and the kinds of interactions that capture their attention. Our findings demonstrate that CDA scholarship has been conducted in many areas of literacy studies, including policy, academic writing, the preparation of literacy teachers, professional development, textbook content, curricular design, assessment, and bilingual education. We explore four foundational areas in the field that are especially ripe for debate and critique: context, reflexivity, social action, and deconstructive&ndash;reconstructive stance toward inquiry. In the discussion, we compare the findings of this literature review with an earlier review published in 2005, reflecting on three decades of CDA in literacy studies. We identify directions for future scholarship.</div>
Original languageAmerican English
JournalReading Research Quarterly
Volume49
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2014

Disciplines

  • Psychology
  • Curriculum and Instruction

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