This paper focuses on the development of metatextual consciouness in children. A critical review of the literature is presented with special emphasis on conceptual and methodological issues, and problems that are associated with the study of this topic. A large number of empirical studies is discussed, especially those that aim to explore children's consciouness of the internal characteristics of texts of different genres, i.e., their structure and overall organization. The data gathered together in the literature are integrated providing grounds for the attempt to characterize the emergence and development of metatextual consciouness in children aged 5 to 9 years old.
metatextual development; theoretical and methodological overview; research findings