Assessing Writing Motivation: a Systematic Review of K-5 Students' Self-Reports

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Writing Studies
• Research Methodology

Background:

• Writing success hinges on student motivation, yet assessing this motivation is inconsistent.
• Existing research often undervalues student self-reports, favoring external evaluations.
• Skepticism regarding elementary students' self-report validity contrasts with its acceptance in fields like reading.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review how writing motivation has been assessed via K-5 students' self-reports in empirical studies from 1996-2020.
• To establish a knowledge base centered on students' perspectives on writing motivation.
• To identify common practices and potential biases in assessing writing motivation.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of empirical studies published between 1996 and 2020.
• Inclusion criteria focused on studies utilizing K-5 students' self-reports to assess writing motivation.
• Analysis of 56 selected studies out of 7047 initially identified.

Main Results:

• Storytelling was the predominant genre used to operationalize writing tasks.
• Surveys and interview questions measuring students' attitudes toward writing were the most frequent self-report methods.
• The weight given to students' voices varied significantly across the reviewed studies.

Conclusions:

• Future research should mitigate biases in writing tasks and provide clear rationales for chosen motivation assessment methods.
• It is crucial to transparently report whose voices (students, teachers, researchers) are represented and justify their inclusion.
• Prioritizing student self-reports can lead to a more accurate understanding of writing motivation.