In the Erasmus+ project “HandWritingTutorials: Practical modules for promoting writing skills in schools” practitioners, representatives from applied research and the regional school administration from Germany, Austria and South Tyrol are all represented. The participating institutions unite a great deal of interest and enthusiasm for sustainable approaches for promoting writing skills and share similar circumstances in their respective countries. Writing skills primarily involves the key skill of writing by hand, in addition to spelling and textual skills. The fundamental importance of successfully developing writing motor skills when learning to write, above all during the first school years, must not be underestimated. With increasing motoric assurance, learners are better able to engage in cognitive processes. This benefits spelling, memory retention and reading performance. The prerequisites for writing motor skills are created during pre-school years. In the process, bad habits such as cramped pen hold can set in which will interfere with learning to write later on. In this respect, this phase is also relevant to a holistic approach to the topic. In teacher education and further training the acquisition of handwriting skills has not been adequately discussed for a long time. Many teachers feel insufficiently prepared when it comes to teaching handwriting, particularly when problems arise (Legakids teachers’ survey, 2010). The teachers’ survey conducted by the Schreibmotorik Institut and the German Union of Teachers in 2015 showed that 31% of girls and 51% of boys had difficulties when learning to handwrite. Almost two thirds of pupils in secondary schools cannot write for more than 30 minutes without complaint. They are at a disadvantage in their educational efforts, because sufficient writing skills are a key competence for lifelong learning and social participation. In the long term, it is apparent that 11% of European school leavers leave school without any qualifications (as of 2016; according to Eurostat, 2018), many of whom have poor literacy skills. They run the risk of becoming functional illiterate (German Commission for Unesco, 2002). In view of this situation, there is a need for action: children need targeted support in developing their handwriting. They should begin before they start school. Educators could and would like to intervene pre-emptively, as is also shown by the surveys mentioned above. However, they require further training and practical materials for promoting writing skills to do this. Additionally, the principles of teaching writing should be evidence-based and follow the results of linguistic, neuroscience and motoric research. An intervention study carried out in 2017 by the Schreibmotorik Institut and the University of Saarland concerning first-year pupils showed that just one hour a week of targeted writing motor support had a positive influence on writing skills. The aim of the HandWriting-Tutorials project is to focus more on the acquisition of handwriting at the European level. Educators and decision-makers will be made aware of the relevance of good handwriting as a key skill in terms of educational opportunities in general and literacy acquisition (such as spelling) in particular. It is about the development of writing skills in general – independent of the learnt or selected type of script. Furthermore, the project will develop innovative, field-tested online tutorials and handouts for educators to promote writing skills in schools as well as in the transition from pre-school to primary school. The didactic approaches developed in this help to reduce the serious difficulties in handwriting acquisition in the participating European countries. Finally, teachers will be able to support pupils (and pre-school children) in developing good handwriting (or the prerequisites for it) and to counteract them in case of difficulties. The multipliers trained as part of the project will then be able to pass on their knowledge by offering training courses in the participating regions. Findings from research on handwriting are thus transferred to teacher training and an innovative, high quality teaching approach is promoted. The project contributes to achieving the core objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy, which supports all children acquiring sufficient literacy skills. In the long term, this also prevents pupils from leaving education early without any qualifications. Teachers’ professional knowledge and abilities will be enhanced and cooperation between European regional authorities in the field of education will be promoted. The European Commission (2018) suggests that specially trained teaching staff could help to prevent reading and writing problems from the outset. This is exactly what the project aims to provide.
Those participating in the Erasmus+ project titled “HandWritingTutorials: Practical modules for promoting writing skills in schools and in transition from kindergarten to school” included professionals from the teaching profession, researchers in applied education and regional school administrators from Germany, Austria and Italy. Participants brought a high degree of enthusiasm and interest into the project aiming to discover sustainable methods of advancing handwriting skills, as they all share similar challenges in their respective countries. During the project, interviews were held with 56 qualified educators. In addition, 292 teachers were surveyed online, confirming the urgent need for action. The fundamental significance of successful motor skill development required for writing are not to be underestimated, particularly in the first years of schooling. With increasing motoric ability, school children are better able to focus on cognitive processes, leading to better spelling, retention and reading skills. Motor skills related to writing are ideally already acquired during preschool. For quite some time, teachers have no longer been sufficiently trained during their studies or continuing education courses to help students acquire adequate writing skills. Many educators feel inadequately prepared to teach handwriting skills. In addition, many children find writing increasingly challenging, and often aren’t able to write longer than 30 minutes without difficulty. They become disadvantaged learners, as sufficient writing skills play a central role in acquiring the competencies needed for life-long learning and participation in society. The initial goal of the Handwriting Tutorials Project was to bring to attention at the European level the importance of acquiring handwriting skills. Educators and educational policy makers were to be made more aware of the relevance of good handwriting ability as a key life skill generally related to obtaining a good education, but also particularly for obtaining verbal skills based on the written language. The success of various regional and national measures was tracked by participants in various contexts: e.g. administrative task forces, university seminars, at-home learning during the Corona lockdown, special projects like “Handwriting Day”, additionally recruited project supporters and the like. In addition, the project developed 12 innovative, field-tested handouts for educators in schools and preschools. The didactic methods for advancing handwriting skills described in the handouts were based on current results of motoric, verbal and neuroscientific research. The surveys taken in preschools and schools (with 20 educators each) revealed that the handouts were practical and user-friendly and that relevant topics were addressed. Another feature of the project was the production of 34 video tutorials that target various groups: the introductory video “Writing to Success!” aims to aware parents, educational policy makers and the public in general of the issue. The animation tutorial “what is happening in the brain while writing by hand” is appropriate for children. 32 additional video tutorials demonstrate the implementation of the exercises introduced in the handouts, enabling elementary and preschool educators to better develop children’s handwriting abilities (or laying the basics for these abilities) and giving them strategies for assisting children who are having difficulties in writing. While these videos primarily target educators, they were also designed to be used as a tool for home-schooling throughout the Corona lockdowns. During the project, 67 were trained to hold further continuing education courses in participating regions on the topic. Practical materials and research results related to handwriting are presented in the seminar, leading to better teaching skills. The evaluations of the courses given by participating teachers were very positive, especially relating to practical implementation and intense discourse during the seminars. The project contributes to achieving the goals as stated in Europe 2020 Strategy by focusing on giving all children adequate writing skills. In the long-term, this prevents students from leaving school before they graduate. It enables educators to excel and it promotes the cooperation of regional educational authorities between European countries. The European Commission proposed in 2018 that specially trained educators could play a role in preventing children’s deficiencies in reading and writing at the earliest stages. This is exactly what this project aims to accomplish. In addition, the results of the project are being included in a follow-up Erasmus+ Project. The project “Writing Motor Skills: Certification of Schools” further builds on the Handwriting Tutorials, is however a more comprehensive undertaking (e.g. involving school development, diversity). The materials resulting from the Handwriting Tutorials serve as the basis of further project development.