Writing Voices：Creating Communities of Writers

The perspectives of children, teachers and professional writers are often absent in the pedagogy of writing. Writing Voices: Creating Communities of Writers responds to such silent voices and offers a text which not only stretches across primary and secondary practice, but also gives expression to these voices, making a new and significant contribution to understanding what it means to be a writer.
Drawing upon recent research projects undertaken by the authors and others in the international research community, this fascinating text considers the nature of composing and the experience of being a writer. In the process it:


explores the role of talk, creativity, autonomy, metacognition, writing as design and the shaping influence of literature and other texts;

examines young people’s composing processes and attitudes to writing;

considers teachers’ identities as writers and what can be learnt when teachers engage reflectively in writing;

shares a range of professional writers’ practices, processes and perspectives;

gives prominence to examples of writing from children, teachers, student teachers and professional writers alongside their reflective commentaries.

This thought-provoking text offers theoretical insights and practical directions for developing the teaching and learning of writing. It is an invaluable read for all teachers and trainees, as well as teacher educators, researchers and anyone with an interest in the pedagogy of writing.

Teresa Cremin (Grainger) is Professor of Education at the Open University, UK.

Debra Myhill is Professor of Education at the University of Exeter, UK.

List of illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Multiple voices 1. Laying the foundations for teaching writing Part1: Children as writers 2. The role of talk 3. The role of texts 4. Writing as design 5. Agency, autonomy and choice 6. The role of metacognition Part 2: Teachers as Writers 7. Writing teachers: teachers who write and writers who teach 8. Teachers’ insights from inside the process Part 3: Professional Writers 9. Professional writers: working in schools 10. Professional writers: working in the workplace Conclusion: Synthesising voices References Index