Reading and talking about novels : a consideration of the contribution of peer discussions of novels to the development of inter-personal understanding in upper primary school children.

Abstract

Though educational theorists have frequently claimed that literature makes an important educational contribution to the development of means of understanding other people, the results of previous research are equivocal. Uncertainty surrounds both the measures employed in many studies and the influence of classroom conditions such as the quality of teacher-led discussions of novels. Recent argument for the role of English in furthering the 'personal growth' of children gives added significance to the task of understanding what classroom strategies and conditions affect the impact literature may have