Abstract:

Writing is an instrument of reflection. It can be taken as a tool that promotes awareness of the relationship that pupils have with other people, events, physical and social phenomena, fields of knowledge, skills and areas of learning. Among these areas, we find writing itself. This paper presents the results of a study concerning the ability of students in compulsory education to reflect on their relationship with writing and the writing process, in their texts. Specifically, we sought to know the differences between students who expressed a positive attitude in relation to writing and students who expressed a negative attitude toward writing in their texts. The results show that there are significant differences. With regard to text length, students who have a negative relationship write shorter texts, revealing difficulties in producing and developing discourse about writing and the writing process beyond a superficial and general level. Regarding the feelings experienced and the operations carried out during the writing process, students with positive and negative attitudes also differ. The process of writing brings about anxiety, uncertainty, lack of confidence, but also calmness, a sense of release, and satisfaction. Students with positive attitudes do not only experience positive feelings during writing but also experience negative feelings such as uncertainty, nervousness, and lack of ideas, yet they refer in their texts to the adoption of strategies that enable them to overcome those negative feelings. Conversely, students that have a negative attitude refer to such strategies significantly less. Metawriting approaches, i.e., approaches based on strategies of procedural consciousness and the description of writing experiences can promote students’ development of writing competence and the construction of a positive relationship with writing.

Keywords:

Writing, metawriting, teaching/learning strategies, primary education, pedagogical issues.