A Comparative Analysis of Approaches to Improving Students’ Literary Interpretation Skills and Engagement
Keywords:
Biographical approach, Literary interpretation, Reader-response approach, Structuralism approach, Student engagementAbstract
This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the Biographical, Structuralist, and Reader-Response Approaches in enhancing Grade 10 students' literary interpretation skills and engagement. A quasi-experimental pretest posttest non-equivalent groups design was used. The participants were 124 Grade 10 students from a DepEd high school in Valencia, Negros Oriental, who were divided into three instructional groups through a one-stage cluster sampling. A validated essay assessment measuring thematic analysis, character insight, and affective interpretation, along with a questionnaire evaluating cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement, were administered. The data were analyzed using percentages, means, standard deviations, t-tests, analysis of variance, and Pearson’s r. Initial pretest results showed that students across all groups were generally at the “Developing” level in literary interpretation, indicating moderate skill in analyzing themes, interpreting characters, and forming emotional connections with texts. After the intervention, posttest results demonstrated improvement across all groups, with the Structuralism Approach earning the highest scores in all areas. Additionally, all three methods promoted student engagement, with Structuralism consistently leading in engagement levels. Overall, the findings showed a statistically significant increase in literary interpretation skills from pretest to posttest across all groups. The higher posttest scores suggest that while all three approaches were effective, the Structuralism Approach had the most substantial impact on students’ literary interpretation skills and engagement.
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