Exploring the practice of integrating children’s literature in an Indonesian private school located in Jakarta : perceptions, approaches, and challenges

Abstract

The use of literature in classroom instruction become a concern of the Indonesian Ministry of Education. A few studies have attested to the benefits of integrating children’s literature in classroom instruction, particularly in literacy classrooms. Therefore, this research aims to explore a private primary school that has been practised integrating children’s literature into classroom instruction consistently. The study departs from a strong belief that children’s literature is important in literacy teaching and is heavily influenced by sociocultural theory as a framework to notice how teachers practice integrating children’s literature, especially in encouraging their students to share and listen to other interpretations through the text. An instrumental case study design applies to capture the general understanding of integrating children’s literature in an Indonesian private school. For data collection methods, this study employed focus group interviews, interviews, and observations, especially needed for triangulation purposes. This study used a reflexive thematic analysis approach to analyse the data. The findings show that (1) Teachers have a strong perception toward placing literature at the heart of learning which is reflected through the use of literature in all learning aspects and making literature come alive in classroom discussion. Teachers also experience several advantages from integrating children’s literature including developing students’ literary-literacy skills, serving as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors, and developing students’ critical thinking and open-mindedness. (2) Within the research context, sharing and discussion play major roles in integrating children’s literature. Sharing and discussion are not only among the students in the classroom but also among the teachers in preparing for the integration process. This school has a special forum that serves as a place for teachers to plan and evaluate their literary integration. Meanwhile, in classroom practice, teachers apply several methods to encourage students to share and listen to each other perspectives through the text. (3) Some challenges faced by teachers in integrating children’s literature include finding the quality and quantity of Indonesian children’s literature, students’ English vs Indonesian literacy proficiency, and different literacy levels in the classroom. Indeed, the principal and teachers proposed two key suggestions to integrate children’s literature consistently; nurturing teachers’ understanding of integrating children’s literature as a school culture, and supportive school environments. For the upcoming research, it is encouraged to involve parents in the study as parents also play a significant role in facilitating students’ literacy behaviour at home. In the end, developing further into more cases of integrating children’s literature into the classroom is recommended.