Diverse Students with Learning Disabilities: Building Coherence in Personal and Fictional Narratives

Authors

  • Dorota K. Celinska

Abstract

 This study compared oral personal and fictional narratives of diverse (African American and Caucasian) students with and without learning disabilities. Naturalistic conversation with embedded narrative prompts and supports provided the context for narrative elicitation. The participants were 82 fourth to seventh graders from urban and suburban schools in a Midwest metropolitan area. The total of 240 personal and 82 fictional narratives were analyzed with regards to their overall coherence using two narrative frameworks: High Point Analysis and Episodic Analysis. The significant group differences were related to the use of goal-directed episodic narrative patterns. Educational implications for narrative assessment and interventions for students with learning disabilities are discussed.

Issue

Section

Articles