Narrative text analysis skills in relation to task support

A study with student teachers of German

Abstract

This article uses the short prose text Nacht by Sybille Berg to analyse the extent to which advanced student teachers of German (N = 105) demonstrate the skills for narrative text analysis outlined in the Ländergemeinsamen Anforderungen für die Lehrkräftebildung (Common Requirements for Teacher Training) of the KMK (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs). Particular attention was paid to the ability to reflect on narrative mediation. A four-stage rating procedure and subsequent non-parametric variance analyses were employed to address two research questions. Firstly, the extent to which students comprehend the narrative mediation of the sample text when provided with low (N = 22), medium (N = 47) or high task support (N = 36) was examined. Secondly, whether significant variations in analysis performance emerge contingent on the level of support provided was investigated. The results demonstrate a significant enhancement in analysis performance, characterised by medium to high effect sizes, among students who received medium and high support compared to those who only received low support. This study was conducted as part of a larger research project in which the appropriateness of learning opportunities for narrative text analysis is investigated.