Shaping young children’s handwriting and keyboarding performance: Individual and contextual-level factors

Authors/Creators

Anabela A. Malpique, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Debora Valcan
Deborah Pino-Pasternak
Susan Ledger
Bronte Kelso-Marsh, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Abstract

There is a strong body of research showing associations between handwriting automaticity and children’s writing performance. However, less is known about keyboarding automaticity and young students’ writing performance. We investigated the relationship between handwriting and keyboarding automaticity and writing performance in both modalities in a sample of 49 students, as well as children’s attitudes toward writing in each modality. We also examined the frequency and the nature of the teaching strategies implemented to support children’s writing development at school, and the writing practices and support that children reported experiencing at home. Our findings showed statistically significant associations between letter writing automaticity in both modalities and the quality and the length of Year 2 children’s handwritten and keyboarded texts. Results further suggested statistically significant moderate to strong associations between all handwriting and keyboarding variables assessed. While our findings concur with research stressing the importance of preparing students to become “hybrid” writers by mastering both handwritten and keyboarding modalities, they also stress the need to examine contextual factors, such as teaching and home writing practices, to gain a more comprehensive view of factors impacting children’s writing acquisition and development.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

1-1-2023

Volume

33

Issue

4

Funding Information

Ian Potter Foundation

School

School of Education / Graduate Research School

Copyright

free_to_read

Publisher

Australia's Institutes for Educational Research in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia

Comments

Malpique, A. A., Valcan, D., Pino-Pasternak, D., Ledger, S., & KelsoMarsh, B. (2023). Shaping young children’s handwriting and keyboarding performance: Individual and contextual-level factors. Issues in Educational Research, 33(4), 1441-1460. https://www.iier.org.au/iier33/malpique-abs.html

Recommended Citation

Malpique, A. A., Valcan, D., Pino-Pasternak, D., Ledger, S., & Kelso-Marsh, B. (2023). Shaping young children’s handwriting and keyboarding performance: Individual and contextual-level factors. Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2022-2026/3411