‘I was never much good at writing’: trainee teachers’ attributions in writing

It might be thought that, in order to successfully teach a skill or process to others, teachers would need to be fairly competent in that process themselves, and fairly confident in their competence. There is evidence, however, that, in the case of the teaching of writing, this may not actually be true. This article explores some of the background to this problem and reports an investigation into the self-perceived competence in writing of teachers in training. It goes on to argue that, in the attributions these young teachers make about their success or failure in writing, there are important implications for the teaching and development of writing.