Trends in Writing Intervention Research: 1930s and Onward

Steve Graham; Gustaf B. Skar; Alyson Collins; Stephen Ciullo; Yucheng Cao; Joong won Lee

doi:10.3138/wap-2025-0020

Writing and Pedagogy Jun 2026

Trends in Writing Intervention Research: 1930s and Onward

Steve Graham Arizona State University ; Gustaf B. Skar Norwegian University of Science and Technology ; Alyson Collins Texas State University ; Stephen Ciullo Texas State University ; Yucheng Cao Middle Tennessee State University ; Joong won Lee Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Abstract

This systematic historical descriptive review was conducted to determine the trends and status of research using true and quasi-experiments (with pretests) to test the effectiveness of writing practices with students in kindergarten to grade 12. The analyses included 859 writing treatment/control comparisons, which were included in two previous meta-analyses ( Collins et al., 2025 ; Graham et al., 2023 ). The search for studies in these two reviews ended in September 2021 and December 2022, respectively. The use of true and quasi-experiments (with pretests) to test writing practices increased dramatically across the decades from the 1930s onward, with 290 treatment/control comparisons conducted in the 2010s. The expansion in the number of studies conducted was accompanied by an increase in study quality as measured by internal/external research design indicators. Research in this area moved from an exclusive study of teaching spelling and handwriting in the 1930s through the 1950s to the study of a diverse array of writing practices in the decades that followed. As the number of writing practices tested increased, so did the number of measures used to assess the effects of these instructional methods. Most of the writing treatment/control comparisons originated in the United States/Canada, but starting in the 1970s European researchers began to make significant contributions to testing the effectiveness of writing practices. The most prolific researchers from 1931 onward were Steve Graham, Karen Harris, Gert Rijlaarsdam, and Sue Del La Paz. Limitations and suggestions for future research are provided.

Journal: Writing and Pedagogy
Published: 2026-06-01
DOI: 10.3138/wap-2025-0020
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Open Access: Closed
Topics: teacher development grammar and mechanics
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Trends in Writing Intervention Research: 1930s and Onward

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