The Effects of a High-school Poetry Competition: A Case-Study

Abstract

This case-study explores the effects of a school-wide writing competition and the implementation of a poetry-writing unit across all junior English classes in a rural New Zealand school. Teacher interview data were thematically analysed using a social constructionist lens. Results highlight the varied strategies adopted by teachers, while indicating commonalities of approach. The competition proved a spur to teachers, challenging them to address matters of activity sequencing and design, and their classroom roles. Somewhat unexpectedly, the competition was found to be an extrinsic motivator that worked synergistically with teachers’ choices of learning activities and approaches to motivate students, and helped produce whole-class, collective efficacy effects.

Keywords:

• poetry
• competition
• extrinsic motivation
• collective efficacy

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the Research and Study Leave Committee of the Faculty of Education at the University of Waikato for funding provided for this research. He would also like to thank participating teachers for their time and honesty.

Notes

1. Years 7–8 are approximately 10–12-year-olds, while Years 9–10 are approximately 12–14-year-olds. In urban centres in New Zealand, Years 7–8 students often attend intermediate schools, which are specifically focused on the specific needs of this group of learners.

2. Helen’s 2010 intervention is reported on in Locke and Kato (2012).

3. In the New Zealand situation, a high-decile school indicates a relatively affluent socio-economic zone for the school.

4. All names are pseudonyms.

5. For a recent report on this, see Thrupp and Easter (2012) (accessible at http://www.nzei.org.nz/site/nzeite/files/reports//RAINS-Final-2012-03-01.pdf).