Collection
Call for Papers: Joyful and Meaningful Writing: Developing Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Confidence with Young Children
Children learn early in life how to communicate through writing. They represent ideas through scribbling, drawing, and making letter-like forms (Gentry, 1982; 2000). Early childhood teachers and families have an opportunity to encourage and nurture these young writers. It is critical for teachers to understand the important stages of writing development and the process of writing (Graves, 1983), and ways to encourage positive attitudes and motivation toward writing (Graham et al., 2022). Equally important is for teachers to connect writing instruction to other literacy modes.
Teaching children to become confident and independent writers empowers them for the future. We invite you to share your research and best practices for this ECEJ special issue. Consider the following topics, among others: intertextuality, the inter-relationships between writing and talk, writing and reading connections, transforming classrooms into places where writers’ imaginations and creativity thrive, writing to embrace independence and agency, and inclusiveness within writing instruction. We seek a broad range of manuscripts that highlight the important aspects of writing pedagogy, birth through age 8. We invite authors from around the world to offer insights about the ways that writing is being taught to prepare young students for their futures.
Editors
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Jan Lacina
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth Texas USA Jan Lacina holds the Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education and is Senior Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Studies & Strategic Partnerships within the College of Education at Texas Christian University (TCU). She began her career as a Texas public school teacher. A teacher educator for more than twenty years, Jan enjoys blending teaching and scholarship. She has served as Editor of the Journal of Research in Childhood Education and Co-Editor for The Reading Teacher 2015-2021, a journal of the International Literacy Association (ILA).
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Patricia A. Crawford
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA Patricia A. Crawford is an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teaches in the Early Childhood Education and Language, Literacy and Culture programs. She began her career as a teacher of kindergarten and primary grade students and now works with aspiring teachers and researchers. Her scholarly work is focused on the areas of early childhood, literacy, and teacher education and has been published in numerous venues. She is Editor in Chief of Early Childhood Education Journal.
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Sherron Killingsworth Roberts
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida USA Sherron Killingsworth Roberts is Professor of Language Arts and Literacy Education and the Robert N. Heintzelman Literature Scholar at the University of Central Florida. Her research explores literacy as social practice, innovative pedagogy, and children’s literature. She has published in Early Childhood Education Journal, Reading Teacher, Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, Reading Horizons, and Journal of Reading Education among others. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for Early Childhood Education Journal.
