ERIC Number: ED216395
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1982-Jan-31
Pages: 40
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Goals of Freshman Writing Programs as Perceived by a National Sample of College and University Writing Program Directors and Teachers. Technical Report No. 5.
Witte, Stephen P.; And Others
A survey was undertaken to gather and record the perceptions that college writing program directors and teachers have of the goals of their writing programs, particularly freshman composition. Responses were returned by 134 writing program directors and 135 composition instructors from publicly or privately funded institutions, two-year colleges, four-year institutions, or universities with substantial graduate programs. A composite list of items was created for each response, which was then coded and keypunched for computer analysis. The results showed only two goals that were mentioned by both program directors and teachers: writing mechanically correct prose and writing coherent prose, both to which were mentioned as real goals and as ideal goals. In addition, directors and teachers perceived these to be goals for their department, their institution, and society at large. While there was a high correspondence between societal goals and real goals on the issue of writing mechanically correct prose, no such relationship appeared on the issue of writing coherent prose. The results indicated differences between the directors' and instructors' perceptions, suggesting that any attempt to evaluate freshman writing programs must begin by addressing those different perceptions of real and ideal program goals for their departments, institutions, and society. (HTH)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Texas Univ., Austin.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A