Date of Award

12-1-2023

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Literacy Teaching and Learning

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Kelly K Wissman

Committee Members

Margaret Sheehy, Delicia T Greene

Keywords

Bilingualism, Composition, Lefebvre, Literacy, Mobility, Space

Subject Categories

Education

Abstract

In this study, I investigated how bilingual college students engaged in literacy, language, and spatial practices while working on in-school writing assignments across time and space. To do so, I conducted a semester-long collective case study (Stake, 1995) that incorporated the principles of a multi-sited ethnography (Marcus, 1995). During this study, I collected the following data on four participants: participant observations, field notes, participant writing logs, interviews, artifacts, and a researcher journal. As I collected data, I used Lefebvre’s (1991) spatial triad as a lens to understand how the participants socially constructed space as they participated in their spatial routines to complete their writing assignments. I employed deductive coding, using Lefebvre’s perceived, conceived, and lived space, and inductive coding, using process coding, to analyze the data. Based on my data analysis, I argue that the social construction of space played a significant role during the participants’ spatial routines as they engaged in literacy and language practices while working on their writing assignments. This included adhering to and repurposing planned space as the participants managed and adapted their literacy spaces to achieve literacy goals. Planned space also pertained to their essays, and the participants engaged in literacy practices to build their essays’ architecture as their instructors conceived. Although participants built their essay’s architecture, they personalized the writing process as they completed them. This personalization included using bilingualism as a resource to create meaning; however, their bilingualism was concealed because their essays were monoglossic spaces. These findings show that students have complex lives where they integrate and manage their responsibilities throughout their everyday lives rather than separating them based on an in-school/out-of-school dichotomy. Furthermore, this study provides hope that bilingualism can persist in monoglossic spaces.

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