Peer supervision – Chaos or Quest?

A qualitative study of a high school student's views on how peer supervision supports writing development

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to gain insight into students’ perceptions of how supervision based on peers can contribute to the general supervision of written assignments in the Danish upper secondary school. The study contributes to new knowledge of peer-based supervision of written assignments in upper secondary schools, since , so far, this has not been investigated in a Scandinavian context. The article presents some of the findings of a large three-year longitudinal qualitative case-study, focusing on students’ narratives about supervision. Data was collected through interviews and participant observation. Bakhtin’s theories of dialogue and Goffman’s theories of facework are used to identify roles, voices and positions in peer-based supervision. The findings are discussed in the light of writing development, transition and inculturation. The study concludes that students find the experience of peer-based supervision supportive for their development as writers, as long as it is practiced and organized within a clear framework of close attention to writing processes and the specific student’s writing development.