Pupils’ views about their learning in writing: a qualitative study of a primary school in the North East of England

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aims to explore pupils’ views on writing in primary school through focus group interviews conducted in the North East of England with children aged 7–11 years old. Pupils’ views templates were used to stimulate children’s ideas about their thoughts and feelings towards writing and acted as a starting point for discussion. All children demonstrated an ability to be involved in a metawriting discussion where they reflected on their writing, their strengths, weaknesses and their plans to further improve their writing skills. A certain level of awareness about writing was exhibited by all children, however, the more enthusiastic and more able writers had specific strategies in place to take their writing forward. These findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications for pupils’ writing development.