Teaching Early Writing: Educators’ Stories of Practice Within Early Childhood Settings

Abstract

Teaching writing constitutes a complex pedagogical endeavour, exacerbated by recent curriculum innovations and heightened professional expectations that challenge early childhood educators to adopt rich and meaningful pedagogies to facilitate early writing development. Nevertheless, writing pedagogies and policies are often informed without sufficient consideration for educators’ perspectives. Drawing on the principles of narrative inquiry, this study provides a comprehensive examination of the beliefs of three experienced early childhood educators, elucidating their professional knowledge and practices regarding early writing during the year preceding the commencement of formal primary education. Through an extensive collection of artefacts in conjunction with researcher-teacher interview data, small narratives that embody the lived experiences and pedagogical viewpoints of these educators were analysed. The findings underscore the importance of valuing and prioritising educator judgement, agency, and professionalism in the instruction of early writing.