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The Nordic Educational Research Association, NERA Conference 2025

Network

15. Literacy Research Network

Presentation

Paper presentation

Abstract

Since the 1990s, the number of students at Swedish higher education institutions has doubled. Nowadays roughly every third person in an age cohort studies at higher education (Brommesson et al., 2024). Thus, Higher Education institutions in Sweden have taken an inclusive perspective and worked on widened participation, sustainable development, and increased accessibility to university studies (UHR 2022:8). Despite these efforts towards inclusivity, a common (mis)conception remains: That students lack language skills (e.g., language proficiency, writing skills) and that referring students to writing centres is the solution. However, research (e.g., Blåsjö, 2004; Barton, 2007; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2012; Wingate, 2012; Catell, 2013; Solheim et al. 2022) shows that integrating literacy efforts within disciplines is a more effective way to scaffold student learning. 

In this paper we explore the changing views of university teachers scaffolding academic literacy. The aim is to discuss how strategies to integrate academic literacies in the discipline (e.g., modelling) can contribute to the development of disciplinary content knowledge. The study rests on Academic Literacies (Lea & Street, 1998; Lillis, 2003; Lea, 2004; Eklund Heinonen et al., 2018) as its theoretical framework. The data consists of video-recorded ethnographic interviews with two lecturers in an undergraduate programme in the Social Sciences; text analysis of, e.g. assignment instructions, feedback provided by lecturers, and samples of student writing; and workshop-style sessions where the informants were given opportunities to explore hands-on strategies to scaffold the development of their students’ academic literacy. The preliminary findings show a change from a discourse of deficit and a remedial approach to integrating academic literacy in the discipline. More specifically, the findings illustrate the lecturers’ transformation views in relation to: 

1. The students’ needs: From basic proficiency to disciplinary practices.

2. The lecturers’ own abilities: From outsourcing to collaboration.

3. Teaching practices: Modelling, strategy use, and formative feedback emerge as useful scaffolding tools.

4. The role of writing in the development of content knowledge.

This study highlights the benefits of a collaboration between researchers at a writing centre and subject lecturers. Our study is relevant to Nordic educational research in that the number of university students is steadily increasing all over the Nordic countries. Many students without an academic background make higher literacy demands on the teachers and contribute to making the teaching and learning situation more complex. Literacy and learning are the basis for success in almost all aspects of studies in higher education and future professional life.