Date of Award
Winter 12-14-2023
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Secondary Education - English (Ed.D)
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Darren Crovitz
Second Advisor
Michelle Devereaux
Third Advisor
Rob Montgomery
Abstract
Many secondary students struggle with writing, both in terms of skill and confidence. This qualitative case study follows six students who have a history of struggling in English Language Arts class as they undergo a tutoring intervention based on the writing center model of peer tutoring. Students were observed in seven writing sessions which took place at multiple stages of the writing process and with informational, narrative, and analytical writing assignments. Through interview and observation, the researcher examines how students’ self-efficacy and motivation shift over the course of the intervention. Students who began with low self-efficacy and low motivation were shown to have increased in both components through the tutoring process; students with high self-efficacy and low motivation did not experience the same positive impact.