Teaching writing has historically been an ignored subject in elementary schools. Many undergraduate programs do not equip educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective writing teachers. Over the past three decades, little has changed regarding the quality, amount, and educator understanding of best practices in writing instruction. A convenience sample of five intermediate elementary teachers from a rural, southern school participated in the present study to examine how teacher efficacy was affected by writing process-oriented professional development and related to student writing achievement. In this action research study, findings contribute to the existing body of research which suggests teacher efficacy is positively impacted by targeted writing professional development. Findings suggest student achievement is related to teacher efficacy. The results of this study provide evidence for school leaders to focus time, attention, and resources to develop teachers' writing ability, and their capacity to provide quality writing instruction.
TopIntroduction
Since the publication of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), there has been a renewed focus on writing instruction. According to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 28% of 4th graders were proficient or above in the area of writing. In addition, student writing proficiency has remained largely stable when reviewing achievement over time (Applebee & Langer, 2006). For students to meet the rigorous standards set forth in the CCSS, teachers must have the knowledge and skills to deliver effective writing instruction. Existing research shows that teacher efficacy is related to the positive academic performance of students (Bandura, 1993; Graham et al., 2009). The National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges ([NCWASC]; 2003) recommends that all teachers receive comprehensive professional development as a method to improve writing instructional practices. In a meta-analysis of writing practices, Graham et al. (2015) identified several practices with positive effect sizes on student writing achievement, which included a process-oriented, or writing workshop-style approach.
The school year prior to this study, all Evergreen Elementary (pseudonym) teachers received initial professional development on the implementation of a writing workshop structure and a new writing curriculum. Informal observations and conversations among teachers indicated growth in teacher efficacy in writing instruction. At the start of the work, many teachers articulated fear and feelings of inadequacy when discussing teaching writing. However, following several months of team collaboration, professional development, and working with a focused curriculum, teacher discussions revealed confidence and new excitement around writing instruction. As such, the present study aimed to build on the work from the previous school year by continuing professional development on evidence-based practices associated with a workshop-style, process-oriented approach to teaching writing.
The present study examined the relationship between professional development on instructional components associated with writing process-oriented instruction, teacher efficacy in teaching writing, classroom implementation of writing practices, and student writing achievement data, by investigating the following questions:
- 1)
How is teacher efficacy in teaching writing impacted by professional development in process-oriented writing instruction?
- 2)
How is professional development on writing process-oriented instruction connected to implementation in the classroom?
- 3)
How is teacher efficacy in teaching writing connected to student writing performance?
TopLiterature Review
There is evidence to suggest a positive relationship between high teacher efficacy in teaching writing and student writing performance (Cantrell & Callaway, 2008; Graham et al., 2001). However, the quantity of available studies on this topic is limited, and the research that has been published to date has typically been based on a small number of participants, with few exceptions. Albert Bandura’s seminal research on self-efficacy is the foundation of current research on teacher efficacy. Even collective efficacy is rooted in the work of Bandura which has come to the forefront recently in the world of education due to Hattie’s (2009) meta-analysis of effective practices. In many works on self-efficacy from the 1970s to the 1990s, Bandura examined the cognitive processes that impacted human motivation and behavior to work toward and accomplish goals. Bandura (1977) explained, “An efficacy expectation is the conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce the outcomes” (p. 193). In addition to a person’s choice in activity and willingness to initiate a task, self-efficacy determines how one will cope with and persist when an activity becomes challenging. Bandura (1977) identified four sources that impact self-efficacy beliefs: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Although initial research was written from a cognitive and behavioral psychology perspective, during subsequent works Bandura (1993) made connections to the effects of high and low teacher efficacy on student achievement.