Using Q Methodology to Asses Journalism Faculty Attitudes Toward the Teaching of Writing

Abstract

Although Journalism faculty have long agreed on the problem of poor student writing skills, educators have differed on how to improve the teaching of writing. The traditional approach focused on the quality of the finished product. In the last decade, some communication scholars have studied techniques utilized by English departments to enhance student creativity and productivity by stressing the importance of the entire writing process. More recently, writing instructors have worked to integrate product and process approaches. The goal of this research was to identify the extent of pedagogical agreements and differences among writing faculty of the Ball Slate University Journalism Department as part of a mission to improve student writing skills. Sixteen faculty members representing 5 educational sequences completed a Q sort to classify attitudes toward writing instruction as product- or process-oriented. The Q study revealed 2 faculty attitudes regarding their identification with and reactions to writing product or writing process. The data show that the 2 groups have similar reactions to new strategies to enhance writing instruction with a goal to improve student writing skills.