The development and validation of an inventory on English writing teacher beliefs

Karaca M., UYSAL GÜRDAL H. H.

ASSESSING WRITING, vol.47, 2021 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 47
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.asw.2020.100507
  • Journal Name: ASSESSING WRITING
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Humanities Abstracts, Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MLA - Modern Language Association Database
  • Keywords: L2 writing, English writing teacher, English writing teacher beliefs, TEWBI, 2ND-LANGUAGE TEACHERS, CULTURAL-DIFFERENCES, ESL STUDENTS, CLASSROOM, PATTERNS, EFFICACY, FEEDBACK, PRODUCT, ESSAYS, GENRE
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Despite the recent interest in discovering language teacher beliefs in general, L2 writing teachers' beliefs remain almost an untouched area. Considering this gap, this study aims at developing and validating a sound and comprehensive inventory that can be used for exploring L2 instructors' beliefs regarding the nature of L2 writing, teaching L2 writing, and assessing L2 writing. To do that, a total of 653 writing instructors were involved in this two-phase study. In the development phase, a 94-item inventory, Teachers' English Writing Beliefs Inventory (TEWBI), was devised. The factor structure of the TEWBI was determined through Exploratory Factor Analysis with the participation of 311 writing instructors. The results reveal that the TEWBI has a reliability value with .94, resulting in 57 items under three sub-scales. The Validation phase aimed at validating the structure of the inventory and its subscales, recruiting another 342 writing instructors. The results reveal that the model fits the data well (e.g. the RMSEA with .044 (90 % CI = .042-.046)), indicating the TEWBI produces psychometrically reliable and valid scores. In light of these findings, the sub-constructs of the TEWBI are discussed, and implications for L2 writing research are provided.