Mixing Pedagogies to Cultivate Joyful and Creative Young Writers in an Era of Standardised Writing Tests

Abstract

Global trends suggest that teaching writing focuses on a skills-based approach to preparing children for high-stakes standardised tests. In the early years, teachers are grappling with finding a better balance between preparing children for such tests and satisfying their sense of pedagogic responsibility to teach them to become joyful, creative writers. This paper explores an Australian Preparatory teacher’s teaching of writing framed by the pedagogic framework LAUNCH. Using video and audio recordings, as well as children-made artefacts, the paper considers the impact of this framework on the writing experiences of fourteen five- and six-year-old children. Basil Bernstein’s visible and invisible pedagogies provide the theoretical frame. Findings assert that a pedagogic mix allows early years teachers to teach children to be skilled and confident writers while nurturing their imaginations and creativity. This is significant given that current debates around children’s writing experiences are often tied to high-stakes, standardised test-based writing.