Handbook of Writing Research [Hardcover]

Charles A. MacArthur (Author), Steve Graham (Author), Jill Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 2005 | ISBN-10: 1593851901 | ISBN-13: 978-1593851903 | Edition: 1

This authoritative volume synthesizes current knowledge on writing development in children and adolescents and the processes underlying successful learning and teaching. The most comprehensive work of its kind, the volume encompasses both cognitive and sociocultural perspectives. Leading investigators present salient theoretical models; describe cutting-edge research methodologies and analytic tools; summarize available data on the effectiveness of major instructional approaches; and identify key directions for future research. Emphasizing the importance of supporting all students' writing development, the book includes a special section on cultural diversity, gender, special education, and bilingual learners.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Handbook of Writing Research arrived just in time for my doctoral seminar on writing! Each chapter in this wonderfully comprehensive volume provides a review and synthesis of current research and theory on a different aspect of writing. My students will be introduced to contributions by a range of international authors who discuss cognitive, affective, sociocultural, and instructional aspects of writing product, process, and context, and who raise critical issues and questions that give us direction for further research. Writing teachers like myself, writing program administrators, writing researchers, literacy specialists, teachers, and graduate students undoubtedly will find this handbook an invaluable resource for deepening our understanding of the complex nature of writing.”--Karen Bromley, PhD, Literacy Program and America Reads Program, School of Education and Human Development, Binghamton University, State University of New York

"Covering a rich array of subjects, this handbook offers its readers necessary historical contexts and charts a future course for research in classroom writing. It approaches writing from cognitive, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives; provides new models of instruction supported by strong theoretical bases; and introduces relevant methodologies to the beginning and experienced scholar alike. This book should be on the shelves of all researchers of writing and literacy."--Douglas Kaufman, PhD, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut

"Researchers and graduate students in literacy, educational psychology, and special education will find this handbook an indispensable source. The contributors critically review two decades' worth of major theoretical, methodological and instructional advances in the field, and the content is expertly organized to provide easy access to key issues and perspectives. The final section on research methodology and analytic tools for the study of writing is a welcome addition."--Susan De La Paz, PhD, Department of Education, Santa Clara University

"The editors of the Handbook have done an admirable job of assembling widely recognized experts to discuss virtually all aspects of writing research. This is an extraordinary resource for anyone interested in writing, and a rich volume to draw from for college teaching. It will stand for some time as a major resource for those working in the field of writing and is certain to influence the direction of future research."--Barry J. Zimmerman, PhD, Doctoral Program in Educational Psychology, Graduate School of the City University of New York

"I know of no other book that addresses basic issues and 'hot topics' in writing development and instruction from so many diverse perspectives. Leading researchers have written meaningful chapters on historical, sociocultural, cognitive, and neuropsychological factors underlying writing processes, the motivation to write, and writing self-efficacy. The section on research methods is particularly impressive."--Steve Benton, PhD, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Kansas State University

About the Author

Charles A. MacArthur, PhD, is Professor of Special Education in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. His major research interests include understanding writing development and difficulties, designing instruction for struggling writers, applying technology to support reading and writing, and understanding learning processes in inclusive classrooms. He is currently principal investigator of a federally funded research project investigating instruction in decoding and spelling for adult basic education students. He is editor of the Journal of Special Education.

 

Steve Graham, EdD, is the Curry Ingram Professor in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. His research has focused on identifying the factors that contribute to writing development and writing difficulties, developing and validating effective instructional procedures for struggling writers, and using technology to enhance writing performance. He is the former editor of  Contemporary Educational Psychology  and the current editor of  Exceptional Children. He is also the author, with Karen R. Harris, of  Writing Better  and  Making the Writing Process Work, and the coeditor, with H. Lee Swanson and Karen R. Harris, of the  Handbook of Learning Disabilities.

 

Jill Fitzgerald, PhD, is Interim Dean and Professor of Literacy Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she has taught since 1979. Her primary research interests include literacy issues for multilingual learners and early literacy development in relation to literacy instruction reform efforts. She has received the American Educational Research Association's Outstanding Review of Research Award and (with George Noblit) the International Reading Association's Dina Feitelson Award for Research. She currently serves on the editorial boards of the  Journal of Educational Psychology,  Reading Research Quarterly, and  Contemporary Educational Psychology

 

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 468 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (December 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593851901
• ISBN-13: 978-1593851903
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,495,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Book, November 29, 2010

By 

James D. Williams (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handbook of Writing Research (Paperback)

There was a time between 1975 and 1985 when most of the exciting and important research on writing was being conducted by people trained in composition studies. Much of it drew on the social sciences to discover why young people had so much difficulty with writing and to investigate ways to help them improve.

The situation began changing around 1985. In my own work, I have attributed the change to the fact that during this same period large numbers of people trained in literature were unable to get jobs in their fields. The market for composition specialists, however, was red hot, so in desperation a staggering number of literature people began posing as writing teachers, even though they had little or no training in the field.

Their hearts were never in it. Teaching writing is hard, pedestrian work, and it cannot be done properly without training. These manque compositionists dreamed of the day when they could talk about leitmotif in Jane Austen or symbolism in Ralph Ellison. And with the inevitable cycle of promotion and tenure, many of them realized that they were no longer obligated to continue the theater that was their careers, and they began doing what they had wanted to do all along, superficially masking their deception behind "cultural studies," "emerging literacies," and "visual rhetoric."

Consequently, research in composition studies stopped dead as the literature people in the field began claiming that rhetoric was "everything." Unable to understand social science methodologies or even basic statistics, they rejected empirical models as useless. The editor of the leading professional journal in composition recently stated, for example, that psychology has no bearing whatsoever on literacy.

We therefore should not be surprised that the responsibility for research in composition/writing was embraced by those working in education and psychology. THE HANDBOOK OF WRITING RESEARCH is an example, and it is an outstanding one. The text covers all the major issues in the field, from theores and models to methodologies. Throughout, the writing is clear, perceptive, and informative. I recommend it highly for anyone who is serious about writing, literacy, and education.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars writing wesearch, March 26, 2007

By 

lily - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Writing Research (Hardcover)

Book is a very good summary of the recent writing reasearch. No hands on material as to how to improve my writing - but reasearch based material. very usefull for anyone who needs data in regards to writing. Good and comprehensive collection.