Attitudes and Self-Efficacy Beliefs About Writing in Costa Rican Students

Written Communication Oct 2025

Attitudes and Self-Efficacy Beliefs About Writing in Costa Rican Students

Soledad Concha Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile ; Joe McIntyre ; Renata Villers Asociación Demográfica Costarricense ; Lina Calle-Arango Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile ; Katherine Barquero Universidad de Costa Rica

Abstract

Because evidence is still limited on writing motivation around the globe and the factors that could influence it, a survey-based quantitative study with 2,067 Costa Rican students from first to sixth grade (84 classrooms in 4 schools) was conducted to explore variations in two constructs of motivation for school writing across school grades and gender in Costa Rican students. Attitudes towards writing were investigated with students from first to sixth grade, while self-efficacy beliefs towards writing were investigated with students from third to sixth grade. Results show that students’ positive attitudes towards writing decreased with grade level, with the highest positive attitudes found in second grade and the lowest in sixth grade. Grade level only determined students’ perceived self-efficacy for generating ideas and concentrating during writing, but not for punctuation and spelling, which is interpreted in relation to the Costa Rican writing education curriculum. Girls from second to sixth grade reported more positive attitudes towards writing than boys; however, they only had higher self-efficacy beliefs for generating ideas and not for punctuation, spelling, or concentrating on a writing task.

Journal: Written Communication
Published: 2025-10-01
DOI: 10.1177/07410883251346409
Open Access: Closed
Topics: quantitative research multilingual writers

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