Preschool Children’s Interest in Early Writing Activities and Perceptions of Writing Experience

Abstract

Early literacy research links children’s interest in writing to early literacy development. It is unclear, however, what kind of learning activities related to writing are interesting to young children. Existing studies primarily rely on an adult-report approach to capture children’s interest. This study used picture-based assessment and structured interview and interviewed 55 preschool children (29 girls, 26 boys, M = 51 months, SD = 6.70) to capture children’s perspectives about their writing experiences. Children’s responses were transcribed and coded for data analysis. Chi-square analyses showed that children exhibited significantly stronger interest in nonwriting activities involving meaningful themes and artistic learning materials than in transcription-focused writing activities. Children showed strong interest in digital writing (i.e., iPad and computer writing), although most children did not consider digital writing a writing activity. Children’s responses demonstrated their developing perception of and positive experiences with writing processes, materials, and interactions. Classroom implications are discussed.