Family detachment processes: Perceptions and literary text receptions of pupils with a Turkish migration background (working title)

Topic / research question

In models of text and reading comprehension, there are often only very general and unspecific categories about the reader's prior knowledge, such as "applying world knowledge" or similar. Cognitive psychology studies on this topic emphasise the importance of prior knowledge for the reading process, but usually only differentiate between readers with a lot of prior knowledge and those with little. I would now like to examine the functions of different knowledge and different ideas in the reception of literary texts in more detail and concretise them. This will be done with pupils with a Turkish migration background and on the basis of the topic of "family detachment processes during adolescence".

The following questions will be addressed in my work: What ideas do pupils with a Turkish migration background have about "family detachment processes"? Which specific forms of knowledge and attitudes can be identified? When and how do these ideas flow into their reception and understanding of the text? What connections are there between reception and text characteristics? And how can these different student conceptions and attitudes to reception be productively utilised in heterogeneous school classes?

Research design / methods

I am investigating the relationship between pupils' ideas and literary reception behaviour on the topic of "family detachment processes". On the one hand, the ideas of "family detachment processes" of approx. 15 pupils in the 9th grade of different types of schools with a Turkish migration background are surveyed using guided interviews. On the other hand, reception studies (in the form of modified phonetic transcripts with subsequent interviews on the text) will be used to analyse how they deal with selected texts that address such "family detachment processes". In this way, it is possible to analyse comparatively when and how their ideas are applied in their reception.

The recorded data will be transcribed, organised using ATLAS.ti and qualitatively analysed using the various coding methods of Grounded Theory (Strauss 1994; Strauss/Corbin 1996). With the help of the framework model of "Didactic Reconstruction" (Kattmann et. al. 1997), the knowledge gained will be utilised for concrete lesson design, possibly in the form of teaching guidelines and the planning of a teaching unit.

• Poster presentation of my dissertation project at the workshop of the SDD Junior Researchers' Network "Empirical Work in German Didactics: Perspectives of International Research" from 12 to 13 May 2006 in Frankfurt
• Presentation "Pupils' conceptions and text reception. A project within the framework of the Didactic Reconstruction research model" at the German Didactics Colloquium on 11 July 2006 in Göttingen
• Lecture "Family detachment processes: Conceptions and literary text reception of pupils with a Turkish migration background" at the 3rd Göttingen Conference of the ZeUS from 4 to 6 September 2006
• Lecture "Vorwissen und Textrezeption" at the Doctoral Students' Day of School III of the University of Oldenburg on 3 February 2007
• Lecture at the GfD conference 2007 in Essen (in preparation)
• Presentation "Separating from the family: Students' conceptions and the reception of fictional texts" at the ECER 2007 Pre-Conference "Contested Qualities of Educational Research" in Ghent (in preparation)

• University of Göttingen: Various exercises in the areas of creative writing and action- and production-orientated literature teaching
• Amherst College (Massachusetts/USA): Various courses in the areas of German as a foreign language and modern German literary studies
• University of Oldenburg: Summer semester 2007, Seminar: Literary Socialisation. Focus on text comprehension
• Adult education: Various training courses in the areas of job coaching and German as a foreign language for unemployed migrants