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The Impact of Peer Context on Structural and Social-Cognitive Features in Children's Narratives
Sowers, Kaitlyn
Sowers, Kaitlyn
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Narration (Rhetoric)—Study and teaching, Children—Language, Social cognition in children, Storytelling—Social aspects, African American children—Language
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Abstract
This honors thesis examines how social context influences the structural and social-cognitive features of young children’s narratives, with a focus on peer-based storytelling environments. Using a mixed-methods design, the study compares narratives produced by Black/African American preschoolers in individual adult-led assessments and peer-mediated story-sharing circles. Children responded to emotion-based prompts, and their narratives were analyzed for structural elements (e.g., openings, settings, resolutions) and social-cognitive features (e.g., mental state language, evaluative comments, dialogue). Quantitative findings indicate that peer-based contexts elicited longer, more structurally complete stories and significantly greater use of social-cognitive language, particularly by the second round of storytelling circles. Qualitative analyses further reveal that dialogue in peer settings was more varied, complex, and functionally rich, often used to express perspective, negotiate meaning, and regulate emotions. The findings support sociocultural theories of development, suggesting that storytelling is a socially situated practice and that peer interaction provides culturally sustaining conditions that better reveal and support children’s narrative and social-cognitive competencies than traditional one-on-one assessments.