Making Non-readers Read: using stylistic analyses to explore the literary engagement of low-attainers in Key Stage 3

该项目将通过各种文体分析，将儿童文学的文体复杂性与KS3课程中常用的文本进行比较。它将讨论一些文本如何吸引或未能吸引七年级学生的目标读者，特别是涉及该群体中的低成就者。首先，我将对各种儿童读物进行全面分析，这些读物是根据它们的文体特点、评论界的好评以及在7-12岁目标读者中的流行程度而挑选出来的。在我的硕士论文的基础上，我的目标是找出帮助这个年龄段的孩子参与文学创作的反复出现的技巧，比如个性化的叙述者、熟悉的人物和观点。由于对这种材料的学术研究几乎不存在，这项工作本身将是开创性的。然后，我将对KS3课程中常用的文本（包括1914年以前的材料）进行同样的分析，以确定当代儿童文学是否具有相当程度的文体复杂性。我将评估两套材料的风格复杂性，并检查风格特征是否是七年级学生参与和理解的关键。这将使我能够考虑是否可以通过当代儿童文学有效地解决KS3英语的某些方面，以及这是否会增加学校的参与度，特别是在成绩较差的学生中。然后，我将通过对七年级学生的访谈来测试这些发现。这是我现有研究的一个合乎逻辑的延续，在我的研究中，我一直采用文体学方法研究7-12岁儿童的文学作品，因为文体学提供了一种独特的方法，通过关注读者的反应来评估参与度。诺丁汉大学在文体学领域享有盛名，拥有彼得·斯托克韦尔（Peter Stockwell）和维奥莱塔·索蒂洛娃（Violeta Sotirova）等顶尖专家，他们在开展基于读者反应的研究方面有着相关经验。

This project will compare the stylistic sophistication of children's literature with texts commonly set bythe KS3 curriculum through a variety of stylistic analyses. It will address how some texts engage, or failto engage, the target readership of Year 7 students, particularly concerning low-attainers within thatcohort.I shall begin with a comprehensive analysis of a variety of children's texts, selected for their stylisticsalience, critical acclaim and existing popularity among the target audience of 7-12 year-olds. Buildingon my MA dissertation, I aim to identify recurrent techniques that help children of this age engage withliterature, such as personalised narrators, familiar characters and viewpoint. As academic study onthis material is virtually non-existent, this work in itself will be ground-breaking. I shall then apply thesame analyses to texts commonly used on the KS3 curriculum (including pre-1914 material) toestablish whether contemporary children's literature offers a comparable degree of stylisticsophistication. I shall assess the stylistic complexity of both sets of material and examine whetherstylistic features are key to engagement and understanding for Year 7 students. This will enable me toconsider whether some aspects of KS3 English might be as effectively addressed throughcontemporary children's literature, and whether this would increase engagement in schools,particularly among low-attainers. I will then test these findings with a pilot study of interviews with Year7 students.This is a logical continuation of my existing research, in which I have consistently taken a stylisticapproach to literature for 7-12 year-olds, as stylistics offers a unique way of assessing engagement byfocusing on reader-response. The University of Nottingham has an established reputation in the fieldof stylistics, with leading experts such as Peter Stockwell and Violeta Sotirova, who has relevantexperience conducting reader-response based research.