An Examination of Fourth Grade Students’ Perceptions of Writing

Abstract

This study was designed to examine fourth graders' perceptions of writing. Twenty- six fourth grade students were individually interviewed. The interview consisted of a series of ten questions eliciting the student's thoughts and ideas concerning writing. Each interview was tape recorded, and the responses were analyzed. The researcher found that female students tended to view writing more positively than males. A number of factors, including past experiences, feelings, interests, and previous writing opportunities, influenced the students' perceptions of writing. Environment also contributed to students’ perceptions. Students are more eager to write when they have a sense of personal involvement/investment in the process. Students were also motivated by selecting their own topic, having prior knowledge about topic, having freedom to make choices about their writing, having an adequate to complete the writing, and being able to generate their own ideas. Students also demonstrated an awareness of the purpose and practice of writing. Directions for future research include reproducing this study with a larger subject pool and performing a longitudinal study to examine students’ perceptions over time.