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Title
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Increasing Engagement in Academic Writing Using Frerian Teaching Methods in a High School English Classroom
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Creator
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Molly Parsons
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Degree Name
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Master of Arts in Teaching (initial licensure)
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Project Type
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action_research_project
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Date
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6/13/2026
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Abstract
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This action research project investigates the research question “How can using Freirean teaching methods to teach academic writing affect students’ engagement?” It aims to determine how using seven of Paulo Freire’s suggested pedagogical strategies through various classroom systems, teaching strategies, and in-class activities impacts students who previously had limited enthusiastic or willing engagement with academic writing. This expands existing research on the effects of using Freirean teaching strategies in English Language Arts classrooms for literacy and creative writing instruction to their potential uses for academic writing instruction. This research was conducted in a 9th- and 10th-grade ELA classroom with 23 students in a small, rural Oregon high school. Data was collected in the form of written observations, lesson plans, and submission data over the course of one six-day academic writing unit. Three primary findings emerged from this research. I found that these new strategies caused students to be more engaged, created initial but quickly overcome difficulties, and increased students’ use of SEL skills. These findings suggest that Freirean strategies should be pursued and researched further for academic writing instruction.
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Keywords
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Freirean Pedagogy
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Academic Writing
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Engagement
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Committee Member
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Amy Bowden
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Tabitha Richards
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Rights
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Western Oregon University Library has determined, as of 07/27/2026, this item is in copyright, which is held by the author. Users may use the item in accordance with copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use. For other uses, please ask permission from the author.
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https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en
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Language
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eng
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Type
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text
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data
