Cursive Handwriting Reform and its Aftermath in Turkey: Which Handwriting Style Do Primary School (4th-8th Grades) Students Use?

Abstract

This study aims to determine which handwriting style students, for whom learning cursive handwriting was compulsory and the solely taught style, use. The study was designed and conducted in the frame of the survey model. The study group comprises 859 students in 4th-8th grades of the public school system in Ankara, Turkey. The participating students were requested to accomplish four different writing tasks (copying, dictation, story writing and informative text writing), and the differentiation in the students’ writing style for every task was determined. Likewise, one question is asked in order to understand the students’ handwriting style preferences. The results revealed that a majority of the students for whom cursive handwriting was compulsory and the solely taught style use manuscript handwriting instead of cursive handwriting as the level of the class advances. In addition, as the writing tasks become more difficult, students’ rates of using manuscript handwriting rise. It is determined that students’ own preferences, family members, and their teachers are influential in their manuscript handwriting.