Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Integrated Article

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Education

Supervisor

Zhang, Zheng

Abstract

This thesis is a systematic literature review of 24 empirical studies on using digital storytelling for bilingual/multilingual students’ meaning-making. Through thematic and scientific analyses, this review identifies the contextual backgrounds of the reviewed studies; for example, most of them were conducted in secondary schools in America. The strength analysis reveals that more than half of the papers lack sufficient details in analyzing and presenting data, and this may impact the trustworthiness of the claimed results. The reported uses of digital storytelling for bilingual/multilingual students include supporting learners as designers, promoting education equity, and incorporating multiliteracies pedagogy. The review also reported the pertaining benefits of digital storytelling, such as enhancing students’ identity investment, connecting learning domains, and supporting language learning. This thesis ends with implications for using digital storytelling as a pedagogy for diverse learners.

Summary for Lay Audience

This study is a systematic literature review that focuses on empirical studies that investigated the use of digital storytelling in bilingual/multilingual students’ meaning-making at different educational levels. The research questions are: (1) What are the trends of reviewed studies on using digital storytelling in bilingual/multilingual students’ meaning-making? (2) What are the scientific strengths of these studies? (3) What are the reported uses of digital storytelling for bilingual/multilingual students? (4) What are the reported benefits and challenges of using digital storytelling for bilingual/multilingual students? This study is undergirded by multiliteracies pedagogy and translanguaging. Guided by literature search strategies and selecting criteria, this review included 24 qualitative studies published in English between 2013 and 2022 from five educational databases. Through thematic and scientific analyses, the findings showcase a variety of contextual backgrounds of these studies, such as geographical settings, language backgrounds, and educational levels identified in the studies. The strength analysis reveals that more than half of the papers only briefly discussed data analysis processes instead of providing details. These may impact the credibility and trustworthiness of the claimed results. The reported uses of digital storytelling for bilingual/multilingual students include supporting learners as designers, promoting education equity and social justice, and incorporating transformative pedagogies of multiliteracies and translanguaging. For the last research question, using digital storytelling is beneficial for learners in various aspects, for example, students’ identity affirmation and investment, connections between school and home, global collaboration among students from different geographical and cultural backgrounds, and language learning support. Additionally, the reviewed studies documented some challenges of using digital storytelling in relation to crowded curricula, different school policies to access social media and digital devices, and time differences in cross-border digital storytelling projects. This review intends to provide insights for researchers, educators, and practitioners into digital storytelling as a pedagogical tool for culturally and linguistically diverse students.

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