Making sense of the apostrophe: young children's explorations into the world of punctuation

Sing, Susan Mei Lin (2006) Making sense of the apostrophe: young children's explorations into the world of punctuation. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This study explores Key Stage 2 children's developing understanding of the apostrophe. The apostrophe is probably the most contentious punctuation mark, and for many years discussion, debate and argument has focused on adults' failures to use it appropriately. Complaints are often directed at the education system for failing to teach children to use the apostrophe appropriately. Despite the longevity of this issue, hardly any empirical research has been conducted to investigate how children learn about and make sense of the role of the apostrophe in written language. The study reported in this thesis is a significant move towards understanding how children think about the apostrophe and it is the first study to examine this issue comprehensively. For this study, 96 children from 16 classes in four primary schools participated in exercises designed to encourage them to discuss the role of punctuation. There were 24 children from each of the four year groups of Key Stage 2. In groups of three the children explored specially constructed texts, designed to pose punctuation problems for them, and which they had to solve through discussion with the other children in their group. These texts always included several items related to the apostrophe. These exercise sessions were 20-30 minutes long and generated 64 transcripts which formed the material for analysis. Qualitative analysis of the data identifies the children's confusions with the apostrophe as consequences of linguistic and non-linguistic factors. Their discussions highlight that even when they appear to understand how to use the apostrophe appropriately, this is not always achieved as a result of a secure understanding based on legitimate linguistic knowledge. This research draws attention to the fact that development of and progression in children's knowledge of the apostrophe is not straightforward and does not follow a linear path. Nevertheless it was clear that the children, from the youngest to the eldest, were thinking reflectively and deeply about the nature of the apostrophe and its use. The results of this analysis suggest that if children are to have the best chance to develop and consolidate their understanding of the apostrophe and its associated concepts, they need to be given more time, space and opportunity for discussion than is currently allowed.