Teaching writing to middle school students in Portugal and in Brazil: an exploratory study

Learning how to write is a challenging process, typically developed in schools. Teachers' practices in teaching writing, however, have been under researched. The aim of this study was to survey a sample of teachers from Portugal (n = 96) and Brazil (n = 99) about their practices for and perceptions about writing instruction. Teachers reported on time devoted to student writing and the teaching of writing, on their practices to promote students' self-regulated writing, adaptations for less skilled writers, and their perceptions about writing and the teaching of writing. Findings from this survey raised concerns about the quality of writing instruction in both countries. Teachers reported little time devoted for writing and the teaching of writing in their classes. The majority of the teachers rarely used practices to promote students' self-regulated writing or applied explicit teaching methods for writing instruction. Both Portuguese and Brazilian teachers perceived writing as a shared responsibility. Brazilian teachers, however, agreed with this perception more strongly. Portuguese teachers' perception of the importance of writing for students' academic and professional success was higher than the perceptions held by Brazilian teachers. A positive correlation was found between teachers' preparation to teach writing and their practices to promote students' self-regulated writing. The implications of these findings are discussed.