The development of young children's productive narrative competence in conversational contexts: a longitudinal investigation
Date
1985
Authors
Preece, Alison
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Abstract
Th is dissertation focuses upon the productive narrative competence of three young children as revealed in their spontaneously occurring conversations recorded over an eighteen-month period during their kindergarten and grade one years. The data consist of 131 separate audio-types and the transcriptions made from them. Data were recorded an average of two times each week; almost ninety hours of the children's conversations were recorded. The children's narratives, produced as they were driven to and from school, have been examined in terms of their form, their various functions, and their relationship to the conversations in which they were embedded. Developmental changes in each of these three areas were also traced.
Fourteen different forms or types of narrative language were identified in the data. Although review of the literature had suggested eight of the narrative forms, six additional categories emerged during data analysis. The range of functions served by the narratives produced by the children was examined. Again, although the review of the literature had suggested six main functions likely to occur, analysis of the recordings necessitated the expansion and refinement of this list. In all, ten major functional uses of narrative language were identified in the data examined for this study. In addition, thirty-eight specific functions were distinguished. The relationships among the various narrative forms, and the functions served by narrative language. also were outlined.
The effect of the interactional situation and peer-input on the narratives produced was examined. The children were found regularly to collaborate in the production of a wide variety of narrative forms. The responses, comments, and questions of the listeners were found to exert considerable influence on both the content and the form of the narratives produced, and their interactions appeared to have contributed significantly to the development of the narrative competence of the three subjects.
The data were examined to determine whether individual differences were apparent in narrative skills, styles of presentation, and preferences for form. Striking differences were found in all three areas; although all three subjects displayed a wide range of narrative skills they chose to employ their narrative competence in very different ways.
This study adds to the existing literature in three main areas. First, it offers definitions and descriptions of the range of narrative forms produced by individual children. Secondly, it delineates a broader and more specifically stated list of the functions served by the narrative language produced by young children than that offered by the literature. Lastly, it clearly illustrates the contribution peer-interaction can make to the development of narrative competence.