Peer relationships and writing development: a microgenetic analysis

Abstract

Background. Recent research has begun to examine the facilitative role of close relationships, such as friendships, in the process of early literacy learning. It is believed that the quality of specific relationships can provide extensive support for literacy development and that the role of peer relationships in the context of writing may be significant. In this study, the actual processes by which children learn to use literate language and learn to write were documented, microgenetically.Aims. The purpose of the study was to determine whether an aspect of the social context in which writing typically occurs, namely the relationship of interactants, has consequences for children's use of literate language and early writing.Sample. The sample was class of 12 male and 8 female students attending a rural public school in the south‐eastern United States, with a mean age of 88 months.Methods. In the study, 7–8 year‐old pupils' written narratives, composed using a word processor, were examined to identify lexico‐grammatical effects. Simultaneously, children's talk while writing was analysed to determine the extent of their use of ‘meta’ terms or literate language. Participant relationships were manipulated to determine the influence of friendship on children's literate language and early writing. At the same time a microgenetic approach was adopted to examine temporal changes in children's oral and written language.Results. The results supported the prediction that narratives composed by pupils working in close proximity to a friend would be more well formed than narratives composed by non‐friends. Furthermore, interacting with a close friend during narrative writing tasks elicited children's use of metacognitive and metalinguistic language.Conclusions. The results are discussed in terms of the facilitative effects of close relationships on children's oral and written language.