A mixed methods exploration of writing motivation among diverse adolescents

• In Event: Advancing Understanding of Oral Language, Motivation, Writing, and Shared Skills Between Reading and Writing

Abstract

Objectives: Writing motivation plays a crucial role in the goal orientations, sustained effort, and perseverance necessary for improving writing skills. Previous studies have identified a drop in writing motivation and performance in early adolescence. Hence, a deeper understanding of middle school students’ writing motivation and its impact on their writing performance is fundamental. We investigated the heterogeneity in writing motivation of a diverse sample of middle schoolers by using a person-centered approach and complementing it with qualitative data to richly describe the profiles of students.
Theory: Our work was guided by the Writers Within Communities (Graham, 2018) model of writing that delineates the cognitive, affective, and sociocultural aspects of the writing process. This model defines motivation as a central component of writing and was used to explain the complex relations between different writing motivation constructs and performance within the ELA classroom community.
Method and Data: A total of 2,534 middle school students from a Mid-Atlantic school district participated in a multi-phased mixed methods study. In Phase 1, students completed an argumentative writing task, and the Writing Motivation Questionnaire (Graham et al., 2023). Their scores in seven writing motives (curiosity, involvement, emotional regulation, relief from boredom, grades, competition, and social recognition) were used as indicators in a latent profile analysis. In Phase 2, 27 students representing all the identified profiles were randomly selected to participate in semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Data from both phases were integrated to generate meta-inferences about the profiles.
Results: Four distinct profiles were identified. Personal Interest Driven Writers (PIDW, 63.93%) were motivated to write when the writing task was perceived as interesting or was perceived to bring personal benefits in the short- or long-term. Self-Expression Driven Writers (SEDW, 9.67%) were driven to write by a desire to express their emotions, ideas, and opinions and connect with the reader, and express overall positive attitudes toward writing. Performance Driven Writers (PDW, 14.92%) valued grades and competition as their strongest motives to write and wrote out of a desire to succeed over their peers. Finally, Non-Specific Drive Writers (NSDW, 11.48%) had high profile means in all seven motives, but no specific themes emerged to identify a specific drive.
The profiles significantly differed in their demographic composition with the SEDW profile having more girls and Grade 6 students, the PDW profile having more boys and Grade 8 students, and the NSDW profile having higher percentages of students in special education and ELL status. Moreover, the profiles significantly differed in writing performance and achievement goal orientations.
Significance: This study is the first one to employ a mixed methods design to systematically investigate what motivates diverse adolescents to write in their ELA class. The findings about the distinct profiles based on motives, and the significant differences in demographic composition, achievement goals, and writing performance, have significant implications for researchers of writing motivation and for practitioners who aim to motivate students as a means to enhance their writing performance.

Authors

• Tania Cruz Cordero, Child Helpline International

• Joshua Wilson, University of Delaware