“She Never Lets Me Write About It”: Children’s Perspectives on “Choice” in Their Writing Curriculum

• In Event: Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Iterative Alternatives to Assessment and Accountability

Abstract

The goal of this study was to learn more about children’s experiences with writing to inform teachers and teacher educators about ways to design and develop writing curricula that builds on children’s strengths and fosters their desire to write. Using constructivist and early childhood reconceptualizing perspectives, we conducted focus group interviews with children in grades K-5 in an elementary school. One of our findings revealed that young children were not allowed to write about particular topics in their classroom because they were not deemed “appropriate.” In this paper we discuss the need for greater flexibility of topic and choice in the writing curriculum in order to build on children’s interest, while also problematizing the notion of “appropriate.”

Authors

• Ysaaca Axelrod, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Anna Hall, Clemson University