Dialogic Discourse in Primary School Classrooms: A Deductive Analysis of Teacher Talk
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46328/ijonses.6164Keywords:
Primary school, Authoritative discourse, Dialogic discourse, Case studyAbstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the types of discourses employed by teachers from different subject areas in a primary school. Designed as a case study within the qualitative research paradigm, the study was conducted with ten teachers working at a public primary school in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Of these participants, eight were classroom teachers, one was an English teacher, and one was a psychological counselor. The teachers’ classroom dialogues were video-recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed deductively. The teachers’ discourses were analyzed using the coding framework of authoritative and dialogic discourses defined by Saglam and Kanadli. The code definitions provided in their framework guided the identification and categorization of discourse types within the classroom interactions. The results showed that classroom dialogues were mostly characterized by authoritative talk. In other words, teachers displayed a statistically significant tendency to use authoritative discourse more often than dialogic discourse. Further to that teachers’ classroom discourse patterns show relative consistency across different subjects, teaching experience, and interaction durations, indicating an overall tendency toward authoritative communication. Based on these findings, the study offers practical implications for improving classroom interaction patterns and provides recommendations for researchers and policymakers aiming to promote more dialogic and student-centered practices in primary education.
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