ABSTRACT
In Portugal, political attention has focused on the poor levels of literacy and knowledge of the Portuguese language of both students and the general population, as revealed by national exams and international studies (M. E., 2004; PISA, M. E., & GAVE, 2001); to solve the problem, politicians, researchers, trainees, and teachers are focusing on the work that is done at schools. Within this national context we have conducted research on the learning of writing and the underlying teaching practices, taking into account two main areas:
• writing as an activity, moving from a focus on the product-text to a focus on the process of writing and the intervening factors, defined and systematized in the socio-discursive interactionism framework (Bronckart, 2006; Pereira & Graça, 2007; Vygotsky, 1987/1934);
• the analysis of writing as a subjective and sociocultural practice, either in school or in personal, professional, institutional, or social contexts (Barré-de Miniac, 2000; Chapman, 2006; Charlot, 1997; Lahire, 1993; Penloup, 1999).
