Interpreting literary texts in lower secondary education: Teachers’ reported conceptions and practices
What does “interpreting” a literary text mean to secondary teachers? How do they have their students interpret texts, from the beginning of high school? This article, which comes under the didactics of literature, presents a multi-case study based on semi-structured interviews with nine Quebec lower secondary (junior high) French teachers. The results describe the harmony and dissonance in their conceptions of interpreting literary texts and teaching literary reading. Between the limits of ministerial prescriptions and disciplining students to learn to answer reading questionnaires, our findings suggest the importance of articulating reading operations (comprehension, interpretation, reaction and appreciation) and prompt reflection on the relevance of using a variety of instructional methods to bring out interpretative diversity in the classroom.