Seeding Writing Project principles and practices in a school community: a case study

Abstract

This article reports on a small-scale case study involving all English teachers of junior classes in a rural high school in New Zealand. The Head of English had been involved in Writing Project professional learning, designed in accordance with principles and practices that can be found in a number of countries, especially the United States. The researcher was alerted to the Head’s instigation of a school-wide writing competition and the implementation across all classes of a poetry writing unit, and set out to explore the extent to which Writing Project practices had been ‘seeded’ in this context through the actions of the Head of English. All teachers were interviewed and the data thematically analysed using a social constructionist lens. Results showed that while some direct influence occurred, ‘seeding’ was actually a diffused phenomenon and likely to be facilitated by five factors: management structure, dissemination processes, leadership style, staff relationships and teacher disposition.

Keywords:

• professional learning
• teaching writing
• Writing Project

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Research and Study Leave Committee of the Faculty of Education at the University of Waikato for funding provided for this research. They would also like to thank participating teachers for their time and honesty.

Notes

1. In the New Zealand situation, a high-decile school indicates a relatively affluent socio-economic zone for the school.

2. Does not include 10 years’ teaching in Japanese Ministry of Education high schools.

3. A National Writing Project took place a similar time in England, running from 1985–88, with a year’s dissemination from 1988–89.

4. For a recent review of studies exploring the relationship between collective teacher efficacy and student achievement, see Klassen et al. (2011).

5. Years 7–8 are approximately 10- to 12-year-olds, while Years 9–10 are approximately 12- to 14-year-olds. In urban centres in New Zealand, Year 7–8 students often attend intermediate schools, which are specifically focused on the specific needs of this group of learners.

6. For a recent report on this, see Thrupp and Easter (2012).