Secondary students' response to oral literature in their mother tongue: Insights and observations from an action research project in a Bhutanese school

Abstract

This presentation, drawn from my Ph.D. thesis, explores the cultural role of Bhutanese folk literature in the educational context. In this study, 'folk literature' includes written tradition as well as genres that exist in the oral form. This particular study emerged from a much wider investigation which explored three distinct domains of inquiry, namely policy and resources framework, pedagogy and practice, and stakeholder aspirations. In this paper the knowledge, perceptions and experience of students in relation to oral literature in their own local languages are considered. Data for this paper were gathered as part of an action research project that I conducted in a Grade 11 class in a secondary school in south Bhutan over a period of three months. The paper describes the ways that students responded to learning activities that involved narrating, collecting and writing oral literature from their own local languages and presenting these to peers. The paper will argue that if opportunities are provided to children to explore their own oral literature and share their findings and reactions with their peers, then they learn not only to understand and appreciate their own cultural identities but also to demonstrate understanding of and respect for cultural diversity.