Reading and Writing in Pairs: A Peer Tutoring Programme to Improve Writing Skills in Secondary Education

Abstract

Learning effective writing skills is a priority in secondary education due to its crucial role in academic success and lifelong development. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Reading and Writing in Pairs; a peer tutoring programme aimed at improving writing skills. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, 90 secondary students were divided into an intervention group (45) and a comparison group (45). Both groups completed pre-post writing assessments and the Self-Efficacy for Writing Scale, while the intervention group also participated in a final learning perceptions survey. The intervention focused on the narrative genre, with peer tutoring sessions over six weeks (15 hours), including explicit genre and writing instruction. Results showed the intervention group outperformed the comparison group in writing performance (.001 < p ≤ .029; .05 ≤ η²p ≤ .14), except for spelling (p = .875; η²p = .00), with no significant differences in writing self-efficacy (.137 ≤ p ≤ .324; .01 ≤ η²p ≤ .03). Students reported learning benefits, regardless of their role as tutor or tutee, and faced minimal difficulties. These findings suggest that the programme is effective for enhancing writing proficiency but may require more time to impact self-writing beliefs. Future interventions should emphasise tutor training and ensure active participation in tutor-tutee dynamics.