Developing Academic Literacies in Times of Change Scaffolding Literacies Acquisition with the ...

244 Pages·2012·3 MB·English

by  Charles Karoro

Linköping Studies in Behavioural Science No 164

Developing Academic Literacies in Times of Change
Scaffolding Literacies Acquisition with the Curriculum and ICT in Rwandan Tertiary Education
Author
Charles Karoro Muhirwe
Academic dissertation
Academic dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Linköping University to be publicly defended
on Wednesday September 19, 2012 at 13.00 in room I: 101 house I Campus Valla, Department of Behavioural Sciences and
Learning.
Abstract
Inspired by the Bologna Process and other globalising influences from modern higher education, and driven by
policy reform for national development after the ravages of the 1994 conflict and genocide, Rwanda’s tertiary
education has embarked on a number of policy reforms that have ushered in expectations, requirements and
demands that call for both reinvigorated and new academic literacies in undergraduate study since 2007. With its
aim of producing a highly skilled human resource as a panacea for Rwanda’s social and economic development
deficits, the tertiary education curriculum is more than never before focused on outcomes that are linked to
further education and the labour market. However, one of the problems to contend with is academic and
professional under- preparedness of students entering and exiting undergraduate study, respectively.
Theoretically these developments involve distancing oneself from a previous pedagogy whereby the teacher
imparts knowledge to the student but instead places greater responsibility on the student to search for knowledge
either individually or in a group, as well as critically examine and be able to argue a point of view in writing and
through other modes of communication. Therefore, this study has been informed especially by the New Literacy
Studies and the Academic Literacies Approach to understanding the development of tertiary academic literacies.
The study has also been inspired by the concept of educational scaffolding. It is against this backdrop that my
study set out to investigate the academic literacies requested in undergraduate study, and to explore approaches
adopted by tertiary learning institutions in the country to embed academic literacies acquisition into the
mainstream curriculum over the last decade. Furthermore, the study sought to explore how technology is
integrated at different levels to support the acquisition of academic literacies, including technological and
information literacies. In order to achieve the aforementioned, the study embarked on a qualitative blend of
cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. Principal data were gathered from official documents obtained
from the government and tertiary learning institutions. Drawing on the synergies of qualitative content analysis
and intertextual analysis, the documentary data were analysed and then qualitatively interpreted. The data were
supplemented by a couple of questionnaire mini-surveys which were also subjected to qualitative analysis. The
findings indicate that a new and expanded definition of literacy in the 21st century implies students’
development of a set of interrelated and transferable academic competences which are elaborated in the thesis.
Curriculum discourses show that there is a shift of curricular and pedagogical emphasis from general linguistic
competence as a vehicle for developing academic literacies to a more integrated embedment of a number of
literacies including English for Specific Purposes (ESP), study skills, as well as information, communication and
technological literacies. Regarding the use of ICT as a scaffolding tool for learning, findings show that the use of
technologies has the potential to support students’ processes of academic literacies development from a highly
dependent level to a more autonomous level, given that the ICT integration policies and strategies could fully
materialise.
Key Words: Academic literacies, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), scaffolding, curriculum embedment,
ICT, tertiary education, Rwanda
Institutionen Beteendevetenskap och Lärande
Linköpings universitet, 581 83 Linköping, Sverige
ISBN 978-91-7519-841-5 ISSN 1654-2029
Linköping Studies in Behavioural Science No 164

Att utveckla akademisk literacy i tider av förändring
Kursplaner och IKT som stöd för tillägnan av literacy inom högre utbildning i Rwanda
Charles Karoro Muhirwe
Akademisk avhandling
som för avläggande av filosofie doktorsexamen vid Linköpings universitet kommer att offentligt försvaras i sal I: 101, Hus I,
Campus Valla , onsdagen den 19 september 2012, kl. 13.00.
Abstract
Inspirerad av Bologna Processen och andra globala strömningar inom modern högskolepedagogik har man i
Rwanda inlett en mängd policy reformer inom högre utbildning för att skapa nationell utveckling efter den
förödande konflikten och folkmordet 1994. Sedan 2007 ställs nya förväntningar och krav på studenter inom den
grundläggande högskoleutbildningen som skapar behov av att förstärka det som i forskningen benämns som
’new literacies’. Teoretiskt tar denna strömning avstånd från en tidigare pedagogik där läraren ger studenten
kunskap och lägger i stället ett allt större ansvar på studenten att enskilt eller i grupp kunna söka kunskap,
kritiskt granska och kunna argumentera för en ståndpunkt i skrift. Utbildning, och särskilt högre utbildning, ses
som ett universalmedel för att råda bot för Rwandas sociala och ekonomiska underutveckling. Nya krav ställs
också på att utbildningen både ska ha ett relevant akademiskt ämnesinnehåll som kan leda till fortsatt utbildning
och vara anpassad till en kommande yrkespraktik. Detta ställer i sin tur krav på att blivande studenter är väl
förberedda när de går in i utbildningen och att de vid genomförda studier har både akademisk kunskap och är
förberedda för en yrkesprofession.
Mot denna bakgrund är syftet med denna studie att undersöka vilka krav på ’academic literacy’ som har ställts på
studenter i Rwanda över tid. Det sätt på vilket stöd för sådana kunskapskrav integreras i den allmänna
kursplanen under det senaste årtiondet och hur kunskap i och om IKT kan integreras för att ge stöd i att uppnå
kursplanens mål har också undersökts. Data består huvudsakligen av insamlade officiella dokument från
regeringen samt ett tvärsnitt av institutioner för högre utbildning. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys och
intertextuell analys har dokumenten tolkats för att se vilka centrala förändringar vad gäller ’academic literacy’
som skett över tid. Datainsamlingen kompletterades med mindre enkätstudier som också analyserats kvalitativt.
Studien visar att en ny och utvidgad definition av ’academic literacy’ vuxit fram under 2000-talet som innebär att
studenter behöver utveckla ny akademisk kompetens som är relaterad till och kan överföras mellan olika
områden. Diskursen i de dokument som studerats visar att det skett en förändring som innebär att allmän språklig
kompetens inte räcker som medel för att utveckla ’academic literacies’ utan den har utvidgats till att även
integrera ämnesspecifik språkkunskap, olika former av studieteknik och IKT. När det gäller IKT som stödjande
redskap för lärande visar studien att givet att politiska beslut och strategier för IKT-användning kan genomföras,
förväntas användningen av dessa redskap ha en potential att stödja studenterna i den process som det innebär att
gå från att vara helt beroende av lärarens undervisning till att mera självständigt söka och utveckla kunskap.
Sammanfattningsvis understryks i studien att den kritik som framförts om högskolestudenters bristande
förberedelse både för akademiska studier och för arbetslivet är utanför deras kontroll. Kritiken ska snarare ses
som ett imperativ för institutioner inom högre utbildning att skapa lämpliga kurser och pedagogiska miljöer för
att ge studenterna förutsättningar att kunna utveckla en ’academic literacy’ som alla studenter har rätt att tillägna
sig.
Nyckelord: Academic literacies, allmän engelska och engelskt fackspråk, stödjande redskap, integrerade
läroplaner, IKT, högre utbildning, Rwanda
Institutionen Beteendevetenskap och Lärande
Linköpings universitet, 581 83 Linköping, Sverige
ISBN 978-91-7519-841-5 ISSN 1654-2029
DEVELOPING ACADEMIC LITERACIES IN
TIMES OF CHANGE

Scaffolding Literacies Acquisition with the Curriculum and ICT
in Rwandan Tertiary Education

Charles Karoro Muhirwe

Linköping Studies in Behavioural Science No. 164
Linköpings Universitet, Institutionen för Beteendevetenskap och lärande
Linköping 2012
Distributed by:
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning
Linköping University
581 83 Linköping, Sweden

Charles Karoro Muhirwe
Developing Academic Literacies in Times of Change
Scaffolding Literacies Acquisition with the Curriculum and ICT in Rwandan Tertiary
Education

Upplaga 1:1
ISBN 978-91-7519-841-5
ISSN 1654-2029

©Charles Karoro Muhirwe
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning

Printed by: LiU-Tryck, Linköping, 2012
In fond memory of my daughter, Erica
dad, Jean Baptiste Karoro
and all my departed brothers and sisters – may they rest in eternal bliss.

For my sons, Kevin and Jayden –
may their hard work be generously rewarded,
against the odds and tides of the constantly changing fortunes of time,
in a multi-literate, super-complex 21st century world and
a highly unpredictable future.

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Table of Contents
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES..................................................................................................................... 7
A) LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................... 7
B) LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................................. 7
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .............................................................................................................. 8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................. 9
CHAPTER 1 ORIENTATION TO THE STUDY ....................................................................................... 11
1.1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 11
1.2 THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................. 12
1.2.1 Salient Features of the Rwandan Tertiary Education .................................................................... 13
1.2.2 Tertiary Education in the National Policy and Planning Framework .......................................... 18
1.2.3 Tertiary Education and National Legislation .................................................................................. 20
1.2.4 Globalization and Internationalization in Rwandan Tertiary Education ..................................... 21
1.2.5 The Language-in-Education Policy in Tertiary Education ............................................................ 24
1.2.6 The Creation of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) .......................................... 26
1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEMS, RATIONALE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................ 27
1.4 AIMS OF THE STUDY .............................................................................................................................. 31
1.4.1 General Aims ...................................................................................................................................... 31
1.4.2 Specific Aims ...................................................................................................................................... 32
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ......................................................................................................................... 32
1.6 CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS ........................................................................ 32
1.7 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY.................................................................................................................... 34
1.8 THE STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ......................................................................................................... 35
CHAPTER 2 TERTIARY ACADEMIC LITERACIES ............................................................................. 37
2.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 37
2.2 DISCOURSES AND CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF ACADEMIC LITERACY ...................................... 37
2.2.1 Background to the ‘Literacies’ Concept .......................................................................................... 37
2.2.2 The New Literacy Studies and the Concept of Multiliteracies ....................................................... 40
2.2.3 The Definitional Dilemma: ‘Literacy’ or ‘Literacies’? ................................................................... 42
2.3 THE ACADEMIC LITERACIES APPROACH .......................................................................................... 44
2.3.1 Higher Education in the 21st Century............................................................................................... 44
2.3.2 The Academic Literacies Movement: Brief History and Research ............................................... 45
2.3.3 The Academic Literacies Framework .............................................................................................. 47
2.3.4 Dimensions of Multiliteracies: Lessons for Educators .................................................................... 50
2.4 TOWARDS A TYPOLOGY OF TERTIARY ACADEMIC LITERACIES ................................................ 51
2.4.1 Content Area Literacies: Disciplinary Understanding and Skills ................................................. 51
2.4.2 Language Literacies ........................................................................................................................... 52
2.4.3 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) as a Case Study ..................................................................... 54
2.4.5 Generic Transferable Literacies other than Language Literacies ................................................. 58
2.5 LINKS BETWEEN ACADEMIC LITERACIES AND ESP ....................................................................... 74
2.6 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 78
CHAPTER 3 SCAFFOLDING TERTIARY ACADEMIC LITERACIES ACQUISITION ............. 81
3.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 81
3.2 EDUCATIONAL SCAFFOLDING ............................................................................................................ 81
3.2.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 81
3.2.2 Explicating the ‘Scaffolding’ Construct ........................................................................................... 82
3.2.3 Why Scaffolding? ............................................................................................................................... 85
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3.3 SCAFFOLDING ACADEMIC LITERACIES ACQUISITION WITH THE CURRICULUM ................... 89
3.3.1 Curriculum and Curriculum Change .............................................................................................. 89
3.3.2 An ESP Approach to Curriculum ..................................................................................................... 91
3.3.3 The Academic Literacies Approach to Curriculum ........................................................................ 93
3.3.3.1 An Academic Literacies Framework for an Academic Literacies Curriculum .............................. 93
3.3.4 The Scaffolding Approach to Curriculum ....................................................................................... 98
3.4 SCAFFOLDING ACADEMIC LITERACIES ACQUISITION WITH ICT ............................................. 101
3.4.1 The Academic Literacies Perspective on ICT ................................................................................. 101
3.4.2 The Scaffolding Perspective on ICT ............................................................................................... 103
3.5 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 104
CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................... 107
4.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 107
4.2 THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................................................... 107
4.2.1 A Blended Design ............................................................................................................................. 107
4.2.2 Qualitative Content Analysis .......................................................................................................... 109
4.2.3 Intertextual Analysis and Hermeneutical Inspiration .................................................................. 110
4.3 METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS .......................................................................................... 111
4.3.1 Settings and Participants ................................................................................................................. 111
4.3.2 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................. 114
4.3.3 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................... 120
4.4 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................... 123
4.5 QUALITY CONSIDERATIONS .............................................................................................................. 125
4.6 METHODOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS .................................................................................................. 126
CHAPTER 5 ACADEMIC LITERACIES REQUESTED IN RWANDAN TERTIARY
EDUCATION .......................................................................................................................................... 127
5.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 127
5.2 REFORM POLICIES AND TRANSFERABLE ACADEMIC LITERACIES ........................................ 128
5.2.1 Policy Reform between 1995 and 2007 ........................................................................................... 128
5.2.2 Policy Reform from 2007 ................................................................................................................. 129
5.2.3 Policy on Transferable Academic Literacies before 2007 ............................................................ 132
5.2.4 NCHE’s Reform Policies and Initiatives from 2007 onwards and their Implications for
Transferable Academic Competences ..................................................................................................... 133
5.3 ENGLISH LANGUAGE-EDUCATION POLICY ................................................................................... 149
5.3.1 Expected General Outcomes of NCHE’s Policy: Focus on EAP/ESP ......................................... 149
5.3.2 Level-specific Policy Objectives and Learning Outcomes ............................................................ 151
5.3.3 Implications of the Policy: Student Learning and Assessment, and Academic Staff ................. 153
5.4 ANALYSIS SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 153
CHAPTER 6 SCAFFOLDING ACADEMIC LITERACIES ACQUISITION WITH THE
CURRICULUM ...................................................................................................................................... 159
6.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 159
6.2 BACKGOUND AND RATIONALE FOR AN ACADEMIC LITERACIES CURRICULUM .............. 159
6.2.1 Academic Preparedness ................................................................................................................... 160
6.2.2 Professional Preparedness ............................................................................................................... 161
6.3 THE ACADEMIC LITERACIES CURRICULUM BEFORE 2007 .......................................................... 162
6.3.1 The English Programme at NUR .................................................................................................... 163
6.3.2 The language Programme at KHI .................................................................................................. 167
6.3.3 The Language Programme at KIST ............................................................................................... 168
6.3.4 Reflections on Curricular Provisions Before 2007 ........................................................................ 169
6.4 THE ACADEMIC LITERACIES CURRICULUM AFTER 2007 ............................................................ 170
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6.4.1 Programmes at NUR ........................................................................................................................ 171
6.4.2 Programmes at KHI ........................................................................................................................ 180
6.4.3 The English Language Programme at KIST ................................................................................. 185
6.4.4 Reflections on Curricular Provisions after 2007 ........................................................................... 185
6.5 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 186
CHAPTER 7 SCAFFOLDING ACADEMIC LITERACIES ACQUISITION WITH ICT ............. 189
7.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 189
7.2 SCAFFOLDING ICT INTEGRATION ..................................................................................................... 189
7.2.1 ICT Policy and Political Support .................................................................................................... 190
7.2.2 ICT Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 194
7.3 ICT EMBEDMENT INTO THE CURRICULUM .................................................................................... 198
7.3.1 ICT Skills Training: Approach I and II ......................................................................................... 198
7.3.2 Scaffolding other Academic Literacies with ICT: Approach III ................................................. 199
7.3.3 Reflections on the Curricular Embedment of ICT........................................................................ 199
7.4 ICT ACCESS, USE AND AWARENESS AT THE MICRO LEVEL ....................................................... 200
7.4.1 ICT Access and Use by Lecturers and Students ............................................................................ 200
7.4.2 The Meaning of ICT ........................................................................................................................ 202
7.4.3 Reflections on ICT Awareness, Access and Use ............................................................................ 204
7.5 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 204
8.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 207
8.2 CURRICULUM CHANGE IN A LARGER CONTEXT OF CHANGE ................................................... 207
8.3 ACADEMIC LITERACIES IN TERTIARY EDUCATION ..................................................................... 207
8.3.1 Conceptualizing Academic Literacies in Context.......................................................................... 207
8.3.2 From Policy to Design and Embedment: Prioritization and Needs Analysis.............................. 209
8.4 EMBEDDING ACADEMIC LITERACIES ACQUISITION ................................................................... 210
8.4.1 Approaches and Strategies .............................................................................................................. 210
8.4.2 Challenges and Barriers to Embedment ........................................................................................ 211
8.4.3 Towards Integration ........................................................................................................................ 213
8.5 EMBEDDING ICT INTO THE CURRICULUM ...................................................................................... 214
8.5.1 Use and Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 214
8.5.2 Barriers to ICT Integration ............................................................................................................ 215
8.6 FURTHER RESEARCH ........................................................................................................................... 215
8.7 SUMMARY OF THE THESIS .................................................................................................................. 216
APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................................... 236
APPENDIX I: LETTER OF CONSENTED PARTICIPATION ...................................................................................... 236
APPENDIX II: ICT SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ..................................................................................................... 237

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List of tables and figures
a) List of tables
Table 1.1a: Rwanda’s public tertiary learning institutions – degree level .................................................... 15
Table 1.1b: Rwanda’s public tertiary learning institutions – below degree level ......................................... 16
Table 1.1c: Rwanda’s private tertiary learning institutions – degree level ................................................... 16
Table 2.1: Varieties of ESP on the wide-angle to narrow-angle continuum .................................................. 57
Table 2.2: Twenty-first century literacies ......................................................................................................... 63
Table 2.3: Academic writing and levels of learning ......................................................................................... 72
Table 2.4: Integration of study skills into key skills ........................................................................................ 73
Table 4.1: Research settings and participants across space over time ......................................................... 113
Table 4.2: Text-based data collection and preparation procedures ............................................................. 115
Table 4.3: Language and literacy curriculum plans selected across three public tertiary learning
institutions ................................................................................................................................................ 118
Table 5.2 (a) Rwanda’s Higher Education Qualifications Framework: Level 4 Descriptors .................... 135
Table 5.2 (b): Rwanda’s Higher Education Qualifications Framework: Level 5 Descriptors ................... 136
Table 5.3: Forms of assessment and required competences (adapted from NCHE, 2007d) ...................... 145
Table 6.1: Language and literacy skills covered by the New Cambridge English Course ........................ 165
Table 6.2: Transferable Skills to be covered in Module I ............................................................................. 174
Table 6.3: Indicative Content for Module I .................................................................................................... 176
Table 6.4: A summary of a unit sample of the Communication Skills module offered at KHI ................. 182
Table 7.1: Rwanda’s ICT Integration Planning ............................................................................................. 194
Table 7.2: ICT access for tertiary students and teachers .............................................................................. 200
Table 7.3: Internet use in medical/healthcare ESP ........................................................................................ 201
Table 7.4: Other Uses of the Internet .............................................................................................................. 202
b) List of figures

Figure 2.1: Characteristics distinguishing ESP (after Dudley-Evans, 2001) ................................................. 55
Figure 2.2: Academic literacy foundation skills (After Burke, 2006) ............................................................. 60
Figure 3.1: Principles underlying course design in ESP (after Offord-Gray and Aldred, 1998) ................. 92
Figure 3.2: Principles of an approach to course design based on an ‘academic literacies’ model (after Lea,
2004) ............................................................................................................................................................ 95
Figure 5.1: Literacies requested in Rwanda’s undergraduate education .................................................... 155
Figure 6.1: The ESP curriculum at KHI – a pilot unit segment ................................................................... 184

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Abbreviations and Acronyms

EDPRS Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategies
ESP English for Specific Purposes
GOR Government of Rwanda
IELTS International English Language Testing System
MINEDUC Ministry of Education (Rwanda)
MOODLE Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment – a free
source e-learning software platform
NCHE National Council for Higher Education
SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test
TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language
TOEIC Teaching of English for International Communication
UNMDG United Nations Millennium Development Goals
VOA Voice of America – radio service
WWW World Wide Web

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