Abstract:
Writing, a powerful way for children to express their diverse voices, has received less attention in education and research than other literacy areas. Children’s revision development in writing is crucial in facilitating metacognitive competence and authorship. The majority of writing theories were developed by understanding adults’ writing, which overrides children’s voices. Child’s acts and feelings, not just adults’, deserve close attention. Thus, writing research, in which children’s self-expression is central, is an ideal area to foreground children’s perspectives. This thesis provided a more nuanced understanding of four young children’s revision at a New Zealand primary school. A theoretical framework of three interrelated areas (goal, metacognition, and context) was proposed to explore the dynamic process of revision.
Existing empirical studies have shown that beginning writers are not inclined to make revisions, and the revisions they do make are mechanical changes, such as spelling and grammar (Bridwell, 1980; Chanquoy, 2001; Fitzgerald & Markham, 1987). New Zealand research has further shown that children seldom revise their writing (Flockton & Crooks, 1999). In contrast to Flockton & Crooks’ (1999) findings, Dix (2003, 2006a, 2006b) demonstrated that young writers have the capabilities to revise meaningfully in New Zealand primary schools. My study further developed this research focus through a case study design. In this study, I described and explored the opportunities for four 7- and 8-year-old children to develop revision for three terms (30 weeks) by observing, documenting, and interacting with them as an “adult friend” (Dyson & Genishi, 2005, p. 52) in classrooms. I analysed the observational field notes, 11 interviews, and written texts of four children, as well as eight interviews with three teachers. After initial coding, 49 key events were selected and closely analysed with the theoretical framework. The four children were found to actively initiate different levels of revision goals and engage in metacognitive processing (monitoring, planning, and evaluating) on a contingency basis, which were constrained or supported by the context. The opportunities for children to develop revision occurred at the core of the three interactive aspects—when supportive context, self-driven goals, and metacognitive processing were simultaneously working together. The dynamic and complex nature of children’s revision was evident in this study. The key findings indicated that children were the active drivers of the momentary breakthroughs in revision. The misalignment between curriculum and teaching practice, however, could create barriers for children to develop revision, such as the ill-defined terms of revision. In response, I propose a reconceptualisation of revision as a form of re-creation, a space for realising writers’ individuality, and a process of competency development. Understanding children’s voices in revision serves as an opportunity to make connections among learners, educators, policy makers, and curriculum developers.