Literature Faculty Presents Paper in Japan

A study conducted by a faculty of English and Literature revealed that most students read stories with the intention of finding moral lessons.

Asst. Prof. Alana Leilani C. Narciso presented these findings at the inaugural Asian Conference on Education and International Development held March 29 to April 2 at the Osaka International Convention Center in Osaka, Japan.

Her paper titled “In Search of Lessons:What Students Look for in Stories” had over 100 respondents – all of whom were enrolled in Literature classes in the first semester of School Year 2014-2015.

Asst. Professor Narciso said that in teaching college literature, students are not taught to look for lessons in stories. She explained that venturing into ethical criticism potentially invites censorship of works.

The research began primarily as an exploratory study on students’ preferences on narrative texts.

“As a teacher, I have to accommodate the preferences and expectations of my students in the classroom discussion; otherwise, I would have done a disservice to them.” she said.

According to Asst. Prof. Narciso stories are powerful tools in shaping the ethos of a young person, and the literature classroom offers an opportunity for ethical discourse. When this happens, she said, the education process becomes transformative.

The conference took on the theme “Education, Power and Empowerment: Education as an Instrument of Global Transformation.” Her paper, which will be published in an international journal, was one of 150 accepted into the international conference from 13countries.