A T-Shaped Literacy Approach to Improve Intermediate Aged Students’ Metalinguistic Knowledge, Close Reading and Creative Writing

Abstract Students’ knowledge of how authors use language to create literary effects is a valued outcome in English learning area curricula internationally (Deane, (ETS Research Report Series 2020(1):1–53, 2020)). Being able to use such knowledge effectively in their own writing is also valued (Graham et al., (Review of Educational Research 88(2):243–284, 2018); Myhill et al., (Research Papers in Education 27(2):139–166, 2012)). Despite being identified as important in national curricula, these are not areas of strength for Year 7 and 8 students in Aotearoa New Zealand in general (NMSSA, 2021a, b) and inequitable outcomes are evident for students attending schools in economically disadvantaged communities, in part because of inequitable opportunities to learn (Wilson et al., (The Curriculum Journal 27(2):204–228, 2016)). We report the results of a quasi-experimental intervention study to improve Year 7 and 8 students’ achievement from mainly lower socio-economic status communities in these key aspects of the English learning area. The intervention was based around the T-Shaped Literacy Model where students developed students’ knowledge of literary elements, such as characterisation and narrative perspective, using text sets where that element was exemplified. Students in the treatment classes made significantly greater shifts than comparison group students in measures of literary and linguistic knowledge, close reading, and writing with effect sizes between 0.37 and 0.61. Year 8 students who participated for two years made significantly greater gains on these measures than those who participated for one year, with effect sizes ranging from 0.74 to 1.16, depending on measure.