Writing across orthographies: a systematic review of teaching practices

Developing efficient and effective writing skills are essential for school and work. Teachers continue to be challenged by the teaching of writing in elementary schools. To date an understanding of how teaching practices vary across countries and orthographies is lacking. Identifying differences in teaching practices can inform both theory and practice. To address this gap a systematic review was completed to investigate teachers’ practices for writing instruction in different orthographic systems; the focus of instruction at word, sentence, and text levels; and how it was taught (methods and strategies). It was predicted that orthographic differences would impact the focus of instruction (what was taught), but not how writing was taught. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement (PRISMA) and the EPPI-centre guidelines were followed to identify peer-reviewed published studies in English language examining practices for the teaching of writing in elementary school across different orthographic systems through teachers’ self-reports, observation and mixed methods. Thirty-one studies were included, results reported and quality of studies assessed. Most studies relied on teachers' reports of their writing practices, provided little information about classroom contexts, and did not embed their approach to writing instruction within the context of evidence-based practices (EBPs). As predicted, there was some evidence that in transparent orthographies the move from word level instruction to sentence level skills happened in earlier grades. Uniquely this systematic review brings together current teaching practices across different orthographic systems. Data were lacking for the majority of non-alphabetic scripts identifying a significant gap in our understanding of practices for teaching writing across orthographies. To move our understanding of writing instruction further future work should consider both the script children use to produce their written texts and wider educational context in which instruction occurs.