Date of Award

1983

Type

Thesis

Major

Specialist in Education

Degree Type

Specialist Degree in Education

Department

Teacher Education

First Advisor

Dr. James Brewbaker

Second Advisor

Dr. Carolyn Cartledge

Third Advisor

Dr. Harold Whitman

Abstract

This study was a descriptive investigation of current practices in the teaching of writing. The subjects were 327 eleventh grade English students and the six English teachers who taught them. The subjects were selected from three of eight high schools operating in a system of approximately 30,000 students in the southern region of the nation. The data gathering instrument for this study was a student writing questionnaire devised by the researcher. The questionnaire was pretested and administered in the spring of 1983. The results revealed both positive and negative aspects of writing instruction. Frequency and length of writing assignments emerged as strong points. Prewriting instruction was given, but room for improvement was evident. Improvements indicated in the kinds of writing assignments included more emphasis on personal writing such as journals and letters. Commendable ways of responding to or evaluating student writing were evident, but a strong need for the use of peer groups and publishing student writing in some way emerged. The majority of students and teachers reported having generally positive attitudes about -writing. Student and teacher perceptions were generally not-widely divergent. The most striking disagreement occurred on items relating to personal writing by. students; a large minority of students perceived limited "opportunities for this kind of writing while no teachers had the same perception.

Download

Share

COinS