Newsletter – 12 August 2022

I read a useful piece of research this week that stressed the relationship between children’s attitudes to writing, their sense of self-efficacy (self-belief) and writing achievement.

The study identified that if children experience positive emotions during writing, they are more likely to show persistence, be engaged and take writing risks. These writing dispositions all lead to higher writing achievement.

Key points from the article included:

*The importance of motivation for writing. This is positively influenced by having topic choice, sharing writing with others and receiving praise/feedback. When topics are always prescribed by adults with little choice and there is no meaningful audience or purpose, motivation for writing drops. We also need to be aware that children have personal writing preferences around genre, topic and the location in which to do their writing. Expressing and having these preferences catered for motivates children to write and lifts achievement.

*Self-efficacy (or self-belief in one’s competence), is correlated with higher levels of writing achievement. The study made the point that many children believe they are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ writers due their ability to use correct spelling and punctuation. Fewer students perceive that being good at writing is about an ability to elaborate and use details in their writing or to write coherently. As teachers and adults, this means we need to place greater emphasis on the ideas and writing content, as opposed to the ‘secretarial’ aspects of writing.

*Many children experience negative feelings about writing due to its difficulty and complexity. Negative feelings particularly focus on spelling, use of punctuation, ability write lengthy sentences, and to organise thoughts and ideas. Adults can help by being encouraging and focusing on ideas and content over the ‘correctness’ of the spelling and punctuation. Excessive emphasis on ‘correctness’ prevents many children from taking risks with new words and ideas.

* Teachers and adults have a major influence on children’s attitudes to writing. Unsurprisingly, students respond best to teachers who are enthusiastic. Support that is encouraging, provides direct assistance and specific tips for improving writing is also positively received. Helpful ways to do this include providing specific feedback around word choice, asking children to read work aloud to help them hear where changes are needed or helping them organise their ideas prior to writing. Parents can also reinforce this in the home to help build a positive attitude to writing.

* Finally, the study emphasised the importance of building on individual writing strengths and interests to build motivation and increase self-efficacy. It is important to only address one area for improvement at a time to stop children becoming discouraged.

Hopefully, there is a key takeaway for every parent to help their child develop (or maintain) a positive attitude to writing.

Source: Hall and Axelrod, (2014), “‘I am kind of a good writer and kind of not’: Examining Students’ Writing Attitudes” (Clemson University, USA)

Have a great week everyone!