The benefits of teaching grammar
TEACHING GRAMMAR TO school children can have a significant positive impact on student writing performance, according to a new study.
Based on a project involving 32 teachers and more than 850 Year 8 pupils, researchers found that children who were taught with resources which paid explicit attention to grammar relevant to the writing being taught improved their writing scores by 20 per cent over the year. In contrast, a comparison group of children who did not receive the same focus on grammar improved their writing scores by just 11 per cent.
Researcher Professor Debra Myhill says:
“The benefits or otherwise of teaching grammar has always been a contested topic. But whereas previous studies of the value of grammar teaching have focused principally on the impact of decontextualised grammar teaching, our aim was to systematically investigate whether teaching which makes connections between particular linguistic structures and particular writing tasks supports the development of pupils’ writing.” The study provides evidence for the first time of the positive benefit of teaching grammar when the grammar is contextualised; in other words, linked meaningfully to the writing being taught. Researchers conclude that teachers should embed grammar in the teaching of writing.
Professor Myhill concludes: “Attention to grammar should be explicit, clearly explained and linked to meaning and effect, not simply the naming or identification of grammatical features. Interestingly, we found that explicit grammar teaching benefited able writers more than less able writers which suggests that attention to grammar may have provided the stretch these able writers needed.” n
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Contact Professor Debra Myhill, University of Exeter Email
d.a.myhill@
ex.ac.uk Telephone 01392 724767 ESRC Grant Number RES-062-23-0775
8 SOCIETY NOW SPRING 2012
Long-term support vital for young sex offenders
LONG-TERM PROFESSIONAL support is one of key factors influencing the later life outcomes for children and young people with sexually abusive behaviours, a new study suggests.
In a three-year project, researchers analysed the experiences and current life circumstances of adults who, as children, were subject to professional interventions because of their sexually abusive behaviours. Researchers analysed 700 cases and collected in-depth interview data from 69 individuals who had been referred for sexually abusive behaviours between ten and 20 years ago. They found that a small proportion only had reoffended sexually but that general reoffending was more common.
Researcher Professor Simon
Hackett explains: “Based on measures focusing on health, wellbeing and coping we found that 26 per cent of participants reported positive life outcomes, while in 43 per cent of cases outcomes had been poor. In 31 per cent of cases outcomes were mixed.”
Researchers identified factors associated with poor and positive
outcomes at individual, relational, social and environmental levels. The most significant positive influence on the lifecourse of children at risk was the presence of long-term professional support as well as stable partner relationships, educational success and employment. In contrast, family instability, poor housing and drug use were factors associated with ongoing criminality, risk and poor life outcomes. The quality of the relationship
between the child and the professional involved appears to be key, Professor Hackett states. “This emphasises the vital importance of lasting ‘social anchors’ in the lives of children and adolescents at risk. We suggest that achieving carer and family constancy is an important part of professional interventions, as in general health promotion, though this is an area as yet under-developed in the sexual abuse field.” n
i Contact Professor Simon Hackett,
Durham University Email
simon.hackett@dur.ac.uk Telephone 0191 334 1472 ESRC Grant Number RES-062-23-0850
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