Spanish primary students' writing attitudes and perceived family support: a socioemotional perspective

Writing is an essential skill for students' academic, personal, and social development, and learning to write is mediated by the experiences in the family setting. The present study was conducted during the 2024-2025 academic year. This study analyses the home writing practices of primary school students, their perceptions of family support, and their attitudes toward writing, along with the relationships between these variables throughout students' primary education. A total of 917 children in their 1st-6th years of primary education participated (468 boys and 449 girls). They attended eight different Spanish primary schools. Data were collected using a set of questions created for the study that focused on children's day-to-day writing practices at home and the "Writing Attitude Scale." The results show that the most common home writing practices were associated with functional and academic tasks, while expressive practices were less common. This pattern was the same throughout primary schooling, although there were some significant variations by school year. There was a significant progression in the use of digital devices for writing as students advanced in primary school, as well as a fall in family support for writing tasks, particularly in the later years. Nonetheless, students' affective responses toward writing were stable and mostly positive. Positive correlations were found between the frequency of home writing practices, family support (particularly from mothers), and students' favorable attitudes toward writing. These findings underscore the importance of the family environment as a key mediating agent in the development of writing skills, and the need to promote active, motivating family involvement throughout primary education.