Abstract
Background and aims. Cutler and Graham (2008) observed that paucity of information about how writing instruction looks like in schools reduces the potential of suggestions and recommendations to improve children’s handwriting. Despite the evidence that atypical pattern grasps do not affect writing performance (Dennis et al., 2001), investigations on instructional practices show that 41% of teachers believe that an improper handgrip of a graphic implement may result in an illegible text (Graham, 2008). This study aimed at understanding primary school teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about patterns grasps and their influence on text legibility and writing fluency.
Methods. A 24 items online questionnaire was filled in by 98 primary school teachers (F=96.2%; M=3.8%) of German schools in Northern Italy gathering information about preparation on handwriting instruction, actual teaching practices, beliefs about handgrip development through childhood and factors influencing text readability and writing fluency.
Results. First grade teachers were 46.2% of the respondents with about 20 years of teaching experience (mean years=19.32; SD=11.26). Participants reported a lack of preparation in handwriting instruction: 60.3% never took part to a course on graphomotor skills and 84.6% never received instruction on how to teach handwriting. About 42% of participants believe that children reach a mature grasp when five years old, and 19.1% between 1 and 4 years. Tripod grasp is considered the most functional for handwriting by 92.3% of the respondents who declare to spend more than one hour and half at week to teach a proper handgrip to their students, because of its influence on handwriting’s legibility (44.9%) and fluency (60.3%).
Conclusions. Information about instructional practices and teachers’ writing beliefs are useful to recommend solutions fitting early literacy problems at primary school. Moreover, studies on teachers’ corrections of pattern grasps are needed to understand effects on children’s writing motivation and perception of self-adequacy.