Elementary Teachers Negotiating Discourses in Writing Instruction

Written Communication Jan 2014

Elementary Teachers Negotiating Discourses in Writing Instruction

Sarah J. McCarthey University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ; Rebecca Woodard University of Illinois Chicago ; Grace Kang University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Abstract

Using Ivanic’s (2004) framework, the study of 20 elementary teachers examines the relationships among teachers’ beliefs about writing, their instructional practices, and contextual factors. While the district-adopted curriculum reflected specific discourses, teachers’ beliefs and practices reflected a combination of discourses. The nature of the professional development tended to reinforce particular discourses, but occasionally offered an alternative. The three cases revealed how teachers negotiated the tensions among various discourses. Beth exemplified a skills discourse, but demonstrated beliefs about writing as communication; however, she did not articulate tensions between the discourses and followed the district, skillsinfused curriculum. Amber borrowed from skills, traits, process, and genre discourses without resolving potential contradictions, resulting in instructional practices that had little coherence. Jackson, who brought in his own writing as a hip-hop artist, illustrated the social practices discourse as well as creativity and genre discourses to create an enhanced version of a district-adopted curriculum. Implications for practice include raising teacher’s awareness of the contradictory discourses that surround them.

Journal: Written Communication
Published: 2014-01-01
DOI: 10.1177/0741088313510888
Open Access: Closed
Topics: writing pedagogy multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

Palm et al. (2026)

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Sturk et al. (2019)

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Cites in this index (4)

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The Method Section as Conceptual Epicenter in Constructing Social Science Resea…

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Newell et al. (2001)

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Research in the Teaching of English

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