Amaia Lersundi: "The linguistic requirements of each discipline vary, not only with respect to terminology, but also in the ways of constructing and communicating knowledge”

On January 20, Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences researcher Amaia Lersundi (Elgoibar, 1992) defended her doctoral dissertation, Analysis of Subject-Specific Literacies in a Multidisciplinary Project in Upper-Secondary Education. Case Study. The event took place on the Eskoriatza campus. We spoke with the author about this research, which earned a rating of ‘cum laude’ with the international designation.

What is the main topic of your dissertation?

I examined how disciplinary literacy is worked on in a multidisciplinary project in high school. I analyzed the role of language in the different disciplines involved in the project, focusing primarily on the opinions of the teachers and students, on the didactic materials designed for the project, and on classroom practice.

What case did you study?

The dissertation is a case study. At the Arizmendi School, they do multidisciplinary projects in the first year of high school. I analyzed one of the projects that was done in the specialty of the social sciences. The project, which involved 6 teachers, brought together six disciplines: economics, mathematics, English, Basque, history, and physical education.

What is meant by “area literacy”?

Disciplinary literacy refers to the ability to construct, communicate and use discipline-specific knowledge, whether in mathematics, history, science or literature, among other things. That is, the linguistic requirements of each discipline vary, not only with respect to terminology, but also in the ways of constructing and communicating knowledge. Becoming literate in a discipline means, in addition to mastering the specific content, also mastering the specific language with which knowledge is constructed and communicated in that area. In addition, as the courses progresses, literacy and texts become more and more complex, so the students must develop increasingly specialized language.

What sample did you work with for your dissertation?

The sample included seven teachers and 25 students who were working on multidisciplinary projects specializing in social sciences. I interviewed the teachers, held discussion groups with the students, analyzed the materials designed by the teachers, and analyzed all the interactions between students and teachers in the classroom.

What are the main conclusions of your work?

The main conclusion is that disciplinary literacies are not worked on in a systematized or coordinated way, which can affect the students’ learning process and its quality. The Pluriliteracies Teaching for Deeper Learning framework says that if correct disciplinary literacy is not developed, it will be difficult for the students to achieve deeper learning. Both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary projects require clear and precise organization and coordination, not only in terms of aspects like space and time, but also regarding the pedagogical and didactic point of view.

How important are multidisciplinary projects?

It’s not very common to find multidisciplinary projects in high school, but with the new curriculum, this type of projects will appear more frequently in secondary education. There are still a lot of challenges we face when we work in an interdisciplinary way, and to respond to those challenges, it is essential to do research in the school. This dissertation, even though it’s a case study, gives us clues that can help us delve deeper and better understand how multidisciplinary projects work, both in schools and in the Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences.

Your dissertation was designated as international. What was that experience like?

In order to earn the international designation, the dissertation must meet various requirements, for example, at least part of the dissertation must be written in English, you have to spend time abroad, you need to have favorable reports from international PhD holders, and the dissertation committee must be composed of international PhD holders. I spent three months at the University of Jyväskylä, in Finland, and it was marvelous. The most difficult thing was getting the necessary international reports. One part of the dissertation is written in Basque, with a summary at the end of the chapter in English; the rest of the work is written in English with each chapter’s summary in Basque. The choice to combine the two languages did not make it easy to get the reports, but it was worth it since it added value to the work.