Functional Writing in the Primary Years: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Writing Intervention Study

Abstract

This protocol article describes the project Functional Writing in the Primary Years, which received funding in late 2018 and was started in August 2019. The Functional Writing in Primary School (FUS) project aims to increase the quality of teaching and learning writing in the first years of schooling. A large-scale, mixed-methods study, the FUS project investigates the effects of an early start with functional writing, focusing on young students’ development as writers and their ability to use writing as a tool for learning and communication. The project also investigates teachers’ writing instruction and professional development. The protocol describes the project’s rationale and major methodological aspects and culminates in a concluding discussion about possible caveats.

Keywords

• writing instruction
• professional development
• mixed-methods
• intervention