The nature and role of peer assistance in the literacy learning of children aged six and seven years

  • Jenny M. Ruge

Western Sydney University thesis: Master's thesis

Abstract

This thesis investigates the ways in which young children assist each other as meaning makers in relation to written language as they interact in classroom writing sessions. It examines the nature of peer assistance in young children's self-selected writing tasks, and the role of social interaction in literacy knowledge construction. It documents the patterns of interaction evident among a group of Year 1 students, and describes differences in the teacher's and students' perceptions of peer assistance in the classroom. Based on extensive observations in a Year 1 classroom, the study explores the potential of peer interactions to contribute to the literacy learning of individuals, and the construction of literacy within the group.
Date of Award1996
Original languageEnglish

Keywords

  • literacy
  • social aspects
  • language arts
  • peer-group tutoring of students
  • social interaction in children

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