A study of self-exploratory autobiographical writing with eighth graders

The writing demands placed upon young people entering the adult world are continually increasing. They will have to write more than at any other time in human history; writing ability will be vital to educational and career success. The National Council of Teachers of English states that in our knowledge-driven society, writing is key to reflective thinking, improved academic achievement, and meaningful participation in a democratic system, yet, according to national test data, adolescent literacy achievement has not greatly increased over the last thirty years.; Language arts teachers scramble to find curriculum materials that improve writing performance while motivating ten to fourteen-year-old students and promoting literacy skills, attitude toward writing and enhancing self perception. One language arts curriculum that may meet the needs of these language arts teachers involves self exploratory autobiographical writing. In the past, much research has been done centering on the writing process, but scant research has been done with respect to encouraging writing in a particular genre with early adolescents. Thus, the purpose of this research study was to examine in-depth the impact of self exploratory autobiographical writing with early adolescents. The research question was: How does the experience of engaging in a sustained self exploratory autobiography writing project impact young adult writing skills, attitude toward writing, and self perception? A case study approach was employed. Participants were four eighth grade language arts students. Data was gathered from participant-observation, semi-structured interviews, student assignments and related artifacts as students journeyed through a self exploratory autobiography writing project. To measure writing achievement, the Test of Written Language-3 ( TOWL-3) was used; to measure self perception, the Multidimensional Self Concept Scale (MSCS) was used; and to examine attitude toward writing, the Writing Attitude Survey (WAS) was employed.; This multimethod research study offered mixed results. The quantitative portion of the study, involving testing and surveying, provided no statistical difference in pre- and posttesting over the eight week duration of the study. However, the qualitative portion offered positive, significant results. Participants represented a small, unique population; therefore generalizations to other populations and settings is tentative. Researchers might build on the results of this study to subsequently examine focusing on using particular writing genres with early adolescents. Further inquiry into self exploratory autobiographical writing with early adolescents will be needed.