Beyond functional aspects of reading literacy

Theoretical structure and empirical validity of literary literacy

Abstract

An important educational aim in secondary school is to impart sufficient literary literacy to ensure that students are able to understand and reflect literary texts, such as lyrics, epics, or dramas. This paper presents the theoretical framework, challenges of item design and empirical results from an interdisciplinary research project which was designed to analyze a central aspect of literary literacy (LL), i.e. the ability to understand literary texts. Our study explores two questions: First, can literary literacy be assessed and modeled as a multi-dimensional construct with respect to content, form, and context? Second, is literary literacy distinguishable from factual reading literacy for expository texts? A sample of 1300 9th-graders (49% girls) from 52 German school classes participated in the study and completed tests of literary literacy and factual reading literacy for expository texts. According to the theory of semiotic aesthetics, literary literacy can be described as an at least two-dimensional construct consisting of semantic and idiolectal literary literacy. This was confirmed by the data. Although literary literacy and factual reading literacy for expository texts were strongly correlated, they present partly distinct competencies. More generally, the project resulted in a reliable and valid measure of a theory-based construct of literary literacy which can be used in student assessments as well as in studies exploring the teaching and learning processes relevant to the development of this competence.