Teachers' Writing Beliefs and Instructional Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: Division C Poster Session

Abstract

What teachers choose to do in the writing classroom matters. Several factors may influence the writing instructional practices that teachers choose to employ. This explanatory-sequential mixed-methods (QUAN -> qual) study explored the relationships between teacher beliefs about writing and writing instruction, their instructional practices, and other contextual factors. In the quantitative phase, we found that teachers’ attitudes toward writing instruction significantly predicted their instructional practices. In the qualitative phase, teachers indicated that testing pressures and schedules affected their writing instruction. Teachers with less positive attitudes toward writing instruction more frequently cited testing pressures as influencing their instructional practices than did teacher with more positive attitudes.

Authors

• Eric Ekholm, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Sharon Zumbrunn, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Samantha Hope, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Hilary Stim, Virginia Commonwealth University