Teachers’ Self-reported Practices of Teaching Academic Writing in Pakistani Universities

Author

Hafiz YarFollow

Publication Date

8-1-2024

Abstract

This study has explored teachers’ self-reported practices of teaching academic writing in Pakistani universities. The English language based developmental literacy courses in Pakistani undergraduate degrees are offered as part of the curricula rather than through specialized language centers. The three-course progression of developmental English literacy in Pakistani undergraduate curricula aims to develop academic writing proficiency besides effective business communication and technical report writing skills.

This study has used generic qualitative research methodology (Caelli et al., 2003; Kahlke, 2014; Kostere & Kostere, 2021), snowball sampling for participant recruitment, and a combination of survey and one-to-one semi structured interviews for data collection. The research data were analyzed by using the socio-cognitive approach (Atkinson, 2002; Kecskes, 2020, 2023; Khatib & Shakouri, 2013) as a theoretical and analytical framework.

Findings indicate that the instructors of academic writing strive to meet students’ learning expectations, involve learners in learning decisions, employ collaborative learning pedagogies, engage in collegiality, and peer mentoring, and keep a friendly outlook towards students for the latter’s academic interests. The instructors view formative assessment useful for learning, but they seek its implementation in a stress-free manner, and they want the focus of assessment to move from competition for grades to learning. The instructors ideally want to provide corrective feedback individually to each student, but because of the constraints of time, they can only give collective feedback, and delegate the task of feedback to students via peer-assessments. Many instructors do not use any assessment rubrics, but even those who do, cannot explain how their rubric is helpful in achieving the course learning outcomes. Finally, the study offers some policy recommendations, and suggestions for future research.

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Educational Linguistics

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies

First Committee Member (Chair)

Pisarn Bee Chamcharatsri

Second Committee Member

Carlos Lopez Leiva

Third Committee Member

Stephwn LEE Benz

Fourth Committee Member

Lucretia Pence

Recommended Citation

Yar, Hafiz. "Teachers’ Self-reported Practices of Teaching Academic Writing in Pakistani Universities." (2024). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/educ_llss_etds/164