Reclaiming Engagement: A Narrative Inquiry into Inquiry-Based Literacy for Reluctant and Struggling Readers

Abstract

This presentation shares a narrative inquiry examining how inquiry-based pedagogy shaped student engagement in a Grade 10 Locally Developed English classroom. Common “gap-closing” framings can position students in non-academic pathways as disengaged or incapable. This study documents how agency, curiosity, and emotional investment emerged when instruction was flexible, responsive, and multimodal. Grounded in reflective journals kept across a five-week reading unit, the analysis draws on frameworks of reflective practice, reflexivity, and narrative inquiry to center the teacher-researcher’s perspective. The unit integrated a graphic novel, student-designed inquiry prompts, self-paced digital tools, and optional AI-supported creative tasks. Findings surface five interrelated dimensions of engagement—agency, emotional and cognitive investment, confidence and skill development, perseverance, and curiosity—operating as a mutually reinforcing model. The session offers classroom-based data and a practical frame for re-engaging readers labeled “reluctant” or “struggling,” arguing for bridges between curriculum and lived experience and inviting participants to consider where inquiry can move classrooms from compliance to connection.