Teachers' self-perception of their writing and their teaching of writing

In the early years of students' education, the foundation of writing makes a substantial impact on their writing ability as lifelong writers. G.W. Brooks ("Teachers as Readers and Writers and as Teachers of Reading and Writing," 2007) noted that teachers' perception of their own writing impacts their teaching of writing. Therefore, teachers must be cognizant of their self-perception of writing and how writing instruction is manifested in their classrooms. The primary research question of this study was, do teachers' perceptions of their own writing influence their teaching of writing to their students in grades K--2? The three guiding questions were (a) How do K--2 teachers perceive themselves as writers? (b) How do K--2 teachers teach writing? and (c) Is there a relationship between teachers' perception of their writing and how they teach writing? This study was a purposive sample of 7 kindergarten and first-grade teachers who had a minimum of 2 years teaching experience in the elementary grades. A qualitative approach was used to document the teachers' experiences and beliefs. Data collection included interviews, surveys, observations, artifacts, and the researcher's notes. The data was analyzed and reported as portraitures and as an aggregate. The purpose of the study was to describe how teachers of grades K--2 perceived their own writing experiences, and how they teach writing to their students and its implications on developing lifelong writers. This research is significant because it (a) identifies key elements in teachers' self-perception of their writing and their teaching of writing, (b) assists teachers in identifying key elements in the writing process for K--2 students, and (c) defines the writing process as a valuable component of early literacy instruction. The 7 participants in this study identified themselves as confident and competent writers, and they created positive writing environments despite their own experiences as students of writing. The data set also revealed that effective teachers are active participants in the writing process. Effective writing teachers (a) model and share their writing, (b) connect reading and writing as essential literacy components, and (c) provide students with options and ample time for writing.