Students' Writing Engagement

Abstract

While student engagement is a well-researched educational construct that is positively associated with student performance, writing engagement has received less attention. Drawing on engagement research generally and reading engagement research specifically, the authors present writing engagement as a multidimensional construct including affective, behavioral, cognitive, and social components with the potential to support students at all stages of the writing process in equitable and culturally responsive ways. In this chapter, the authors trace the origins of the writing process movement to support teachers in designing instruction that encourages student participation in writing in and beyond the classroom. By attending to student engagement at each stage in the writing process, the authors argue that teachers and future researchers can account for how students feel, act, think, and interact throughout the writing process and in doing so construct classroom practices that appeal to all students and promote their growth.