After Reading Recovery: Collective Case Studies of the Writing Development of Former Reading Recovery Students in Grade Two

This qualitative collective case study explored the written language development of four grade two students who made accelerated progress in Reading Recovery. The focus was children writing in classrooms — the ways in which their literacy behaviours continued to develop, and the ways in which the classroom context influenced development. The study was positioned within a sociocultural framework, acknowledging the importance of social interaction as a context for learning and development (Vygotsky, 1978). Literacy behaviours observed during the act of writing were interpreted from a literacy processing view of progress (Clay, 2001). What emerged from the data were a number of observable behaviours which showed how each student went about communicating in written language. Analyses of the type and frequency of each behaviour revealed a menu of actions that the students drew on in individual ways. These actions were interpreted as composing, constructing and monitoring actions, which were further described as internal resources within the child’s control and external resources coming from the social context of the classroom. Students also had unique profiles for applying directional and spatial rules, letter, word and sentence knowledge, and punctuation, with movement toward conventional forms of meaningful communication in written language. Students also drew on external resources within the classroom environment — classroom materials, classmates, classroom volunteers or assistants, and their teacher. Teachers influenced writing development through personalized learning experiences. Interactions facilitated a next step, focused attention, and provided the student with feedback. Knowledge of case study students as developing writers and the specific expectations of the curriculum for grade two students influenced the content of teacher and student interactions. Although not meeting all of the specific expectations for writing, the case study students were making progress in the classroom, and interviews revealed their sense of themselves as writers intertwined with their identity as learners.Ph.D