ABSTRACT
When we write we participate in a set of social practices which are shaped by social and historical understandings about what writing is, what it is good for in particular contexts and what forms it takes. As discussed in the last chapter, in our personal lives we write for a myriad of reasons, yet in school as teachers of writing we may tend to constrain students’ reasons for writing, tether these to the curriculum and accept the version of school literacy and composition defined in current policy documentation. This version of writing is so persistently repeated and reinforced through curriculum requirements, assessment, training and teaching materials that it can remain uncontested. It is likely to frame and limit our practice and young people’s learning about writing unless we seize opportunities to re-view writing and widen our subject knowledge, our pedagogy and practice.
