CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the background to the study, statement of the problem,

purpose of the study and research questions. It also deals with the significance of the

study, limitations, delimitation and organization of the study.

Background to the Study

Handwriting, though rarely spoken of plays a very vital role in a person’s life.

To pupils, handwriting shows their level of academic performance.

A good style of writing is always distinguished by uniformity, economy and

accurate alignment and spacing. However, this is scarcely seen in the writing of pupils

today.

The American Occupational Therapy Association (2009), propounded that,”

handwriting is an academic skill that allows youngsters to express their thoughts and

feeling and communicate their knowledge to others.” For them,’’ the classroom teacher

depends on written work to measure what the pupils are learning and how well.”

The issue of handwriting, and for that matter, poor handwriting, is a common

phenomenon in the researcher’s school of attachment. The issue is very serious to the

extent that, the researcher at times had to invite the pupils to read what they had written

before marking. Most of them were not able to read what they have written. It is as a

result of this that the researcher delved into this area of research.

Ve-Hoeme/Agbome is a twin community situated in Afadzato South District in

the Volta Region. The village folks stay in an area where different types of crops are

grown. The economic activities of the people in the villages are farming and trading.

Owing to the market situated in these villages trading goes on well. The population put

together will be about 2000. People in these villages attach much importance to

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education because they are mostly elite but go into farming and trading due to lack of

jobs. These farmers and traders convey their goods to the market on every market day

which comes on every five days for business.

Despite the nature of the occupation of the people, most of them have attained

high level education but yet, they do not allow their children to go to school at tender

age.

Parents mostly prefer their children helping them on their farms than to allowing

them to be in school before providing them with their needs to participate well in

school. This has put the children at high disadvantage because no much writing is done

at home after school.

With a school population of about 120 pupils and 9 teachers, enough time could

not be given to the teaching of writing. Also most pupils of Ve-Hoeme/Agbome

normally enroll for schooling at older age. This prevents them from learning the

rudiment of writing in the lower primary. When these pupils are brought to school, they

are taken straight to either class five or six, where much attention is not paid to the

rudiment of writing.

As much, when pupils are given exercises, they only scribble anything into their

exercise books. However, considering the importance of handwriting, it has become

very necessary to look into the pupils’ handwriting and adopt strategies to help

overcome these difficulties.

Statement of the Problem

Casual observation of the pupils during the researcher’s two weeks stay in his

class showed the depth of poor handwriting among pupils of Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P

Basic Three (3). This, the researcher observed through the exercises she gave in the

subjects she taught.

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 In most cases, the researcher noticed that, most of the pupils spent much time

doing exercises than the normal time given. Marking also becomes very difficult in

most cases because much time had to be spent on reading to understand what has been

written before marking.

Most of the exercises of the pupils appeared very clumsy and dirty. There was

no legibility, spacing and alignment of letters forming the words. The researcher

observed that, most of the pupils wrote out words mixing the capital letters with the

small letters. When marking, the researcher was able to detect the pleasure she felt when

marking neat, legible and accurate work of pupils and the displeasure of marking dirty

exercises which were clumsily written.

Marking became very difficult with much time spent because the researcher

would have to take time to read, understand and correct some letters of the alphabet to

form meaningful words. This situation revealed the state of poor handwriting among the

pupils of Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic Three (3)

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to find out why Basic Three pupils of Ve-

Hoeme/Agbome have poor handwriting. The study would help the researcher to put

interventional measures in place to redeem the situation, so that pupils would have good

handwriting. It is expected that, the work will help the researcher to unearth the source

of the problem to make useful suggestion to help improve the handwriting of the pupils.

It is therefore necessary to investigate the cause s and effects on their academic work

and to put in place appropriate strategies to address the issue of this poor handwriting

problem among them.

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 Significance of the Study

It is hoped that the findings of the study would go to enrich the exiting works on

handwriting. The work would also provide information for further research in the area

of the study. The research would again enable teachers to device good handwriting

techniques to help pupils which would in turn make marking easier for them.

Research Questions

This study would be guided by the following research questions:

1. What is handwriting?

2. How important is handwriting to the academic performance of pupils?

3. What are the causes of poor handwriting among Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic

Three (3)?

4. What are the effects of poor handwriting on the academic performance of the

pupils?

5. What are the strategies to adopt to help overcome poor handwriting among Ve-

Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic Three (3) pupils?

Limitations

In undertaking this research, few hindrances came my way. The time for the

intervention was interrupted by some school activities. This could not give the

researcher enough time to take the affected pupils through numerous activities that

would have helped to improve their handwriting better than done.

The researcher also faced problems in an attempt to combine the research work

with the preparation of notes for her teaching practice in the classroom and with her

personal studies towards the end of semester examinations.

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 Also, the researcher found it difficult to get car in time to submit her project

work to her supervisor which delayed her from finishing the work earlier than she

thought.

Finally, the researcher faced the problem of funds and time to adequately carry

out the research successfully.

Delimitation

The research was limited to Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic Three pupils. The

scope of the problem was confined to poor handwriting. The problem of poor

handwriting pertains in all the schools in Ve Township, but the researcher has limited

herself to school of attachment that is Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic.

Despite the fact that, all classes have poor handwriting and that the researcher

wants to handle the situation effectively, she has based all her findings on Ve-

Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic Three pupils only.

Organization of the Study

The study is organized into five chapters. Chapter one which is the introduction,

including background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study

research question, significance of the study, limitation of the study, delimitations of the

study and the organization of the study. Chapter two is on the review of literature.

Chapter three deals with the methods used in obtaining information and how data was

analyzed for the study. Chapter four looks at the presentation and analysis of the main

data.

Finally, chapter five deals with the summary and major conclusion of the

findings as well as suggestions offered based on the findings of the study.

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 CHAPTER TWO

RELATED LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter entails literature review regarding what some authorities have said

about the topic the researcher is researching on. It seeks to review literature under the

following headings:

a. What is handwriting?

b. How pertinent is handwriting to the education of the individual?

c. The causes of poor handwriting.

d. Effects of poor handwriting on one’s education.

e. Strategies to adopt to help pupils overcome the problem of poor

handwriting.

What is Handwriting

According to Silverman (2002), “handwriting is a complete process of language

by coordinating the arm, eyes, hands, pen or pencil grip, letter formation and posture.

Sports, game and everyday activities at home can improve many of the functions that

make up handwriting skills”.

Fianu (2005) also wrote that, “Handwriting deals with the general structure of

one’s handwriting”. It means that writing should be done in such a way as to make

one’s writing legible and readable by anyone who takes it to read. In effect, if one’s

writings cannot lend itself to easy deciphering, then such lacks skills.

Levine (2009), also opined that, “handwriting can be thought of as a rotation

drum connected to memory, it is a tracing, an indelible record of what is recalled and

then transmitted through the writing implement”.

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 Pertinence of Handwriting

Handley- More, Deitz Billingsley and Coggins (2003), postulated that, “legible

handwriting is necessary for children to carry out many academic activities”. They said

that, difficulties with handwriting can interfere with related writing processes such as

planning and generating ideas.”

Sheffield (2006), supported this by stating that, “automatic legible writing is an

essential basis for written expression”. Secondly, serviceable handwriting needs to be at

a spontaneous level so that a student is free to concentrate on spelling and to focus on

higher level thought and expression”.

Sheffield (2006) and Viadero (2001) said that, “If you have to stop and think

about where to use a particular letter that increases likelihood that you are going to lose

something you might hold in your memory”. Benbow (2000) pointed out that, when

handwriting is taught to the automatic kinesthetic level, the student is using the implicit

memory. This allows him or her to free-up working memory and focus his or her full

attention on the thought he or she wishes to record or the works he or she must spell”.

Benbow further stressed that “as long as a student has to shift his or her attention

between where to use upper and lower cases in formulating an idea he or she wants to

express, he or she will be at risk for output failure”.

Sheffield (2006) also stated that, “teachers judge and grade students based on the

appearance of their work”. Hammer Schmidt and Sudsawad (2004), also revealed that,

“past studies showed that when teachers were given papers to evaluate, varying only in

the degree of legibility, the papers with better handwriting received better grade”.

Because handwriting is a basic too l used in many subjects in taking notes, tests and

doing classroom work and homework for almost every content area as well as in

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language art classes, poor handwriting can have a pervasive effect on school

performance.

Moreso, when writing is perceived as arduous and time consuming, motivation

to write may be greatly reduced, leading to lack of practice that may further compound

difficulties in writing.

Finally, handwriting in the earliest grades is linked to basic reading and spelling

achievements. For example, when children learn how to form letter’s M”, they can also

be learning it’s sound. Attention to the linkages among handwriting, reading and

spelling skills can help to reinforce early achievement across these areas.

Causes of Poor Handwriting

A survey conducted by Silverman (2002), suggested that, poor handwriting can

be caused by biological factors. In her research, she found out that under- achievers

often had high ear infections in the first years of their life. These factors impair their

fine motor planning which is essential for smooth, rapid and comfort ability writing. An

investigation she conducted revealed that these can cause underachievers sensory motor

integration dysfunction, central auditory processing disorder, visual deficits, attention

deficits as well as sequential processes and enhances chances that the child will become

a right hemisphere visual spatial learner. This may lead to difficulties in mastering

handwriting or the speed of writing.

Orenstein (2002), also points out that “poor handwriting can be caused by early

impact of ear infection”. In his research, he enumerated that frequent ear infection

blocks out higher frequencies. The higher frequencies appear to organize speech and

fine motor sequences of handwriting.

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 Writing deficits are often seen in average children who have suffered recurrent

ear infection. In advance children, however, the effects on speech and language

development are far less apparent because a bright child can use abstract reasoning to

figure out words that are not heard clearly as there is very little correlation between

general intelligence and handwriting. He therefore suggested that gifted children who

have many ear infections in the few years of life usually perform poorly with writing

task.

Springer and Deutsch (2008) also pointed out that “the cause of poor

handwriting is through birth issues. With their research, they came out that many of

these children were a product of very long labour, emergency C- section or cord

wrapped around part of the body. Their research also suggestion that children with large

heads have difficulties during birth and may suffer from left a hemisphere difference

which is far more vulnerable than the right. Any damage of this sort to the left

hemisphere may have a switch to the right brain such as cesarean, breach birth, forceps

delivery and being born pre-mature. Motor delays, they suggestion, must be attended to

early in such case, since the best period for their correction is under age eight. They

noticed that these children are not far behind the norms for children’s age per gross

motor development. They assume children will simply out-grow the delays and catch up

with their age-mates.

Unfortunately, the window of opportunity for correcting sensory motor

development may be over before anyone takes the problem seriously. A pediatric

occupational therapist should be contacted to evaluate any sign of clumsiness and

switching hands when engaging in writing activities or difficulties with writing.

Therefore, the handwriting of such pupils is very difficult and even writing becomes

impossible if it is in scratcher like the chicken scratches the ground. If there is no

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legibility and alignment in any write-up reading such work becomes very difficult to

understand.

Effects of Poor Handwriting

Fiddle (2008), opines that, “handwriting, though rarely spoken about, affects the

individual but that is a short term. Example, the pupil with horrible handwriting scores

very low marks and is often not admitted into any college. But then, it can affect the

lives of people as well. As a doctor, he wondered why he had such poor handwriting, to

think that doctors wrote horribly so that, the patient could not actually read what had

been written. But after spending so much time in college, all he could come out with is

horrible handwriting. He said that “I guess the more time you spend learning, the worse

your handwriting becomes”.

He again came out that “but the problem must be addressed with series of

remedies to solving it. The issue of poor handwriting on my field as a doctor can

endanger has done harm to too many lives”. The doctor’s handwriting is horrible; you

can barely know what prescription that has been written. The actual fact is that, the

doctor really has horrible handwriting. I once heard a patient complain. The actual fact

is that, doctors really have horrible handwriting. I was once nearly sentenced to jail for

the death of a child, because the drug prescribed was interpreted to be another one. This

is one serious effect of poor handwriting not on the pupils but in a professional field as

mine”.

A survey conducted by Shekle (2000), proposed that, “one of the major effects

of poor handwriting is seen when marking examination. A child with poor handwriting

suffers low scores during exams because there is no time for the examiner to read and

come out with an understanding of what is exactly written. There is that student who

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normally writes exams with the mind that, the best percentage of marks is his or her’

forgetting the horrible handwriting produced.”

This simply implies that, if your handwriting is very poor, just after

examination, consider yourself losing’s a quarter of your percentage to dirty and untidy

work. Poor handwriting is a short term result, such a child scores low marks in an

examination and stands few chances of getting admission into the university.

Learning the use of the keyboard is good, but remembers that all examination

centers do not allow it.

Gregor (1993) opines that, “the problem of poor handwriting has over the years

become more serious than it has been addressed. Gone were the days that most of a

country’s history and events were written by men who were skilled in writing and

known as clerk men. They wrote with legibility which helped to keep relevant

information, until now that the keyboard (computer) has been introduced. The

generations of now are not very keen about neat and good handwriting. How then are

facts going to be kept for generations to come? When the computer was not in use in the

system, the works of the ancient heroes were not typed but hand written by human

beings. Poor handwriting, once essential to recording information so that it would be

preserved and handed on, is now inefficient method of note taking.

Megan (2009) also suggested that, “the poor handwriting of a person affects the

personality of that person. She said, as a lecturer and an examination official for so

many years, she had realized that, the handwriting of a person expresses the physical

knowledge of the person”. She stated that, most examiners smile and have interest even

before reading the actual work of a clear, legible and neatly written work. On the other

hand, the vice versa is for a poor and horrible handwriting.

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 Some examiners at the sight of such a work even decide to cancel the work and

not mark. They express the anger and dislike they feel towards such work. They

complain: “it is nasty like chicken scratches, horrible and dirty, nothing good is going to

come out of such work”. Such a pupil is normally concluded to be a slow thinker, lazy,

dull in the brain and virtually not intelligent.

During an election in one of the colleges I taught, the principal asked the entire

contestants to write a composition talking about the school. At the end of the writing, a

glance at one of the handwritings could not interpret whether the person was intelligent

or not. The neatest handwriting was chosen. Just looking at your piece of writing will

sometimes indirectly interpret how serious or how unserious you are. With a poor, dirty

and horrible handwriting, the personality of the pupil is described as dull, slow thinker,

unintelligent and truant”.

Sharke (2002) also suggested that, “in cases of marking examination, much time

must be spent in order to read the work of the pupil with very poor and horrible writing.

In our busy world in which there never seem to be enough time, they had to find time to

remark some students’ papers. This is so because their handwritings are so horrible that,

you can barely read to mark. The mark they score would be below average, they would

fail miserably because they could not co-ordinate their eyes with their fingers to express

what they had on their mind.

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 Strategies to Adapt To Help Overcome Poor Handwriting

Shailian (2008), outline the following as strategies to improve the handwriting

disabilities of children.

i. Reducing writing assignment.

ii. Let the pupils’ use a computer for written assignment. If a pupil cannot

use a master keyboard, allow him or her to use a voice activated computer such as

Dragon Naturally Speaking.

iii. Encourage the student to use a tape recorder for taking notes during

lessons.

iv. Ask the pupils to act as a recorder.

v. Have a pupil to dictate assignment to an aide or parent.

vi. Give the pupils’ oral test.

vii. Enable the pupils to demonstrate mastery of material by other means

beside written test.

viii. Grade content separately from mechanics with more emphasis on

content.

Calligraphy

This sometimes works particularly if the child is artistic.

Silverman (2002), in a study about how to improve handwriting of school

children, came out with this intervention. In her findings, she wrote that many pupils

panic the minute they know they are being timed. She said that a pupil with such a

problem shuts down during timed test, seems to think slowly and is always the last one

to complete written assignment. With a pupil, the handwriting is slow and labored

without any legibility, accuracy, spacing and uniformity. A pupil with writing deficits

needs accommodation in the classroom such as the following:

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  No timed test.

 More time for assignment.

 Allow the pupil to use keyboard.

 Record all modification you make in pupils.

 Use permanent record so that it will be used to apply for more time on

the SAT or ACT.

Ornestein (2002), was of the view that, “when writing is taught as an art form

with plenty time, pupils develop beautiful handwriting”. In fact some children with

terrible handwriting improved considerably when they studied calligraphy. He said that,

the secret is slowing down and allowing sufficient time to create beautifully formed

letters.

In our fast paced world, writing is supposed to become automatic, a means to an

end, rather than the end itself. So, instead of just practicing penmanship, children are

supposed to use the skill in the service of learning.

Gerald Grow (2000) suggested that, “the keyboard is what he proposed to

improve upon the handwriting of pupils”. To him, the keyboard allows an individual to

access if the right hemisphere can assist his left weak hemisphere.

Allowing pupils use the keyboard does not only help the individual, it allows

raising the consciousness of the pupils. He continued that, men now write with both

hands instead of only the dominant one. The entry into communication equations of

millions of male right brain out one half of every computer generated written message.

A child should be taught to use the computer as early as possible. Keyboard skills are

essential for today’s learner. They enable pupils to have great school success and

prepare them for technological fields that many of them will enter into in adult life.

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 There can be agreement that handwriting needs to be taught appropriately and

consistently from an early age. It can be enhanced through developing specific

perceptual and motor skills, appropriate to the requirement of handwriting.

Sheffield B (2006) said that, “time for direct teaching of handwriting needs to be

built into the busy school schedules”. Too many students are kept from a successful

school experience by inadequate hand writing. The choice of form and type of letters is

not as important as consistency and careful direct teaching. Consistency within a

classroom and in the school system is essential.

Springer and Deutsch (2008) also came out with the following practical tips to

improve handwriting or children either at home or in school. These are:

Pencil Grip

“We recommend the pencil grip”. It keeps the fingers in correct position

comfortably better than any other available and on our website store.

Meaningful Work

Kids know when you are giving them practical work; the message is that they

need improvement: thus practice is fine, but repeating a single letter line after line is not

meaningful! Write out work – sheet that improves letter formation without writing out a

single letter!

Easel and Chalk

Work at the easel helps straightens and stabilize shoulder muscle; and is

essential for further fine motor control. Small pieces of chalk, like the crayon help

fingers grip correctly.

Writing programs are created equal! It does not matter which style and teaching

methods are being used to teach writing. Many schools use no method at all, but teach a

15
particular alphabet style such as D. Others use methods that are really more on the

market than effectiveness. If your child is doing repeating letter worksheet (i.e. writes

the letter 10 times), teachers or school is not up to speed with the best practical for

effective hand writing in instruction.

Fit the Desk and Chair

This may mean no homework at kitchen counter or table. Make sure your child

is sitting at a chair and desk that are of the correct heights. Use the rule: “Ninety degrees

angle at the feet, hips and elbow (2 inches above) when sitting at a desk with feet flat on

the floor.”

Break Those Crayons

No clunky – sized crayon jus the regular ones broken into thirds (about 7 + 0 –

7/2 inch sized pieces). It’s impossible to hold these crayons with anything other than a

good tripod grip. We even recommend having the child tear off the paper.

It’s great fun (especially for boys) and works those finger muscles! These works

have been found useful; they shall serve as a guide to this research work.

Summary of Literature

The literature reviewed showed mixed findings in the causes, effects and

strategies to ameliorate the menace of poor hand writing of pupils. The present research

is done to see which are the remote causes, effects and strategies to be adopted to

minimize the effects of poor handwriting of pupil in Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic

Three.

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 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

In this chapter, the conduct of the research is described. The research design,

the population, sample as well as sampling procedure are all discussed. In addition, the

research instrument, data collection and data analysis are described.

The Research Design

The research design selected and used for the study was the action research.

Action research is one of the best research designs the social scientists could use to

gather data for a study involving a manageable population. Action research was chosen

because it has the advantage of finding immediate solution to a problem.

It is a kind of research activity in which the researcher works collaboratively

with other people to solve perceived problems. The action research aims at improving

problem related situation through changes. The researcher used action research because

of the following reasons:

Firstly, it helped her to understand what actually goes on in teaching and

learning situations.

Also, the modern teacher needs to be equipped with multiple skills to understand

the various method or approaches that best suit the children they teach. It is through

action research that the teacher evaluates her teaching effectively.

Lastly, the researcher used action research because it provides the researcher

with the opportunity of acquiring a better understanding of all aspects of her own

practice, but in relation to a subject, the curriculum and method appropriate to the level

of pupils in a classroom.

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 Population

The basic 3 pupils of Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic School constituted the

target population for the research. The enrolment of the class was thirty-two. Out of

thirty-two, there were twenty-two boys and ten girls. The accessible populations were

the class teacher and the pupils of Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic Three.

Sampling and Sample Procedure

Out of the total population, six pupils were selected with three teachers. This

made the sample size to be nine. Purposive sampling technique that is, handpicking the

cases to be included in the sample on the basis of their judgments was used to select the

size of the pupils and teachers. The size of the pupils was identified as having very poor

handwriting.

Instruments for Data Collection

The researcher made use of observation, test and interview as her research

instruments. Test was used to confirm the problem and assess the success and

otherwise of the intervention. The pre- test was sentences that were given to the pupils

to copy out. Most of the pupils were not able to write the sentences before the test was

administered.

The post-test was to assess whether the intervention was successful or otherwise.

The researcher also used interview schedule to gather information from the pupils. The

pupils were interviewed on the effects of poor handwriting on their academic

performance. The number of items for the interview was four for the pupils.

Observation

According to the concise oxford dictionary of current English (1995),

observation is the accurate watching and noting of a phenomenon, and situation for the

purpose of scientific investigations.

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 Interview

Interview is one of the research instruments used in obtaining data for the study.

It involved posing questions to respondents for answers in a face-to-face situation. It is

also a careful asking of relevant questions in an important way for the researcher to

check the accuracy, to verify or to refute the impression one has gained through

observation on other data collecting procedures.

For the purpose of the study, the researcher conducted a face-to-face interview

in an unstructured manner. The researcher used the local language Ewe and English to

enhance smooth communication between her and the respondents, since majority of the

respondents could not express themselves very well in the English language. The

researcher embarked on interview in order to find out circumstances leading to the

pupils’ inability to write.

Test

Test is an instrument or systematic process for observing and describing one or

more characteristics of an individual student using a numerical scale or classification

scheme.

Administration of Instruments

This part of the chapter sought to discuss activities that took place during the

pre-intervention, intervention and post intervention periods. The interview was

responded to by pupils on the spot. The test was conducted twice, that is, before

intervention and after intervention.

Pre- Intervention

During the researcher’s first two weeks of observation at her school of

attachment, thus, Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic Three. She observed pupils in the class

and realized that most pupils wrote so badly that one could hardly read what they had

19
written. Out of a total number of thirty-two pupils in the classroom, more than half the

number had problems with writing. However, the researcher identified six pupils whose

handwritings were more dismal as compared to those of the others. When marking

exercises of the pupils, the researcher gathered from comments made by their previous

class teacher that the pupils had poor handwriting problem. Even the time spent on

working exercises showed that the pupils had problem with writing.

These were what informed the researcher for the selection of the topic for the

research. Also, the set of task made up of four sentences which the pupils were

instructed to write out five times on pieces of paper. The process was closely monitored

by the researcher to prevent tendencies by which some of the pupils could seek

assistance and allow other pupils who are good at the task to do it for them.

The researcher, in her enquiry to find out what might be the cause of the pupils’

poor handwriting, engaged pupils in unstructured interview. After the interview, a test

was conducted by the researcher to diagnose the severity of the problem.

Intervention

In an attempt to address the problem of poor handwriting among Ve-

Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic Three, varied strategies were employed by the researcher.

Writing Patterns

In this activity, the researcher gave pupils some patterns to do variety of

activities with such patterns. Pupil’s copied out, traced and continued such patterns

under the researcher’s guidance and supervision.

Pupils were taken through activities such as writing in the air as a way of

exercising their hand muscles and coordinating their hands eyes. Taking pupils through

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paper folding, ability to form stroke, small muscles development, and coordinating

letter perception.

The researcher also use the book entitled “My first copy book” in writing. The

book is published for young beginners to enable them acquire the skills of writing. The

first stage was the introduction to writing out letters of the alphabets and other designs

formed from the alphabet. The researcher gave a photocopy of the alphabet to the pupils

and supervised them as they wrote them out orderly.

At the second stage, the researcher gave out a photocopy of each of the letters to

form words with to the pupils to practice. The researcher supervised the pupils to write

out the words and corrected the words for them in case of poor spacing, illegibility and

inaccuracy.

The third stage of the intervention done in a book “My first copy book”, was the

writing out of sentences. Here, they wrote longer sentences of about eight words on a

line. The researcher supervised the pupils in the writing, corrected the alignment, the

spacing and clarity of words.

In checking on the speed, quality of movement and accuracy, she detected that

some of the pupils had difficulties with the writing out of some particular letters like “y,

t, r, v, e, p, f, and q”. The researcher dictated letters to the pupils and supervised them in

writing them out and mostly corrected them on the letters with tails.

More so, she took the pupils through the learning of penmanship. Here, pupils

learnt how to hold the pen, obtaining a good sitting posture to be able to co-ordinate the

eye and the finger with the pen to write.

With penmanship, the researcher taught the pupils that the pen is put between

the pointing finger and the index finger, with the thump supporting it. With the

knowledge of penmanship, the researcher drew the pupils’ attention to the learning of

21
calligraphy. This is a good style of writing which is distinguished by uniformity,

alignment and spacing of letters to form words.

Finally, the researcher gave the pupil sentences for writing out as assignment to

practice at home. The researcher collected each assignment and marked to check the

spacing of words, legibility and accuracy.

Post Intervention

The post intervention stage of the research was conducted by the researcher.

After a series of interventional measures, they realized a drastic improvement in the

writings of the affected pupils. In order to get the improvement in the affected pupils’

handwriting, the researcher gave the pupils the same exercise as she did at the

intervention stage and supervised them to write out. The pupils’ posture in terms of

holding the pen, had improved. They wrote more clearly than before as compared to

their previous work.

The researcher also realized that, the pupils no longer spent a lot of time in

completing the written exercises. They wrote very quickly with much understanding.

Marking was also not difficult because the researcher could easily read what the pupils

had written. The researcher felt so much pleasure when marking the work of the pupils.

Data Analysis

Data collected from respondents were organized in tables using frequencies

which were then converted into simple percentages for easier and clearer understanding.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

This chapter brings out the presentation and analysis of data on the study. Also,

discussions on how the instruments and interventions helped to arrive at findings were

looked at.

Major findings and discussion

Observation, test and unstructured form of interview were the various

instruments used by the researcher to obtain data. The results of the pre – test and

interview are displayed in the table below.

TABLE 1

Results of the performance of the pupils in the Pre–test.

Score Number Percentages (%)

Above Average 1 16.67
Average 2 33.33
Below Average 3 50
Total 6 100

The test techniques used to assess the pupils’ performance at the intervention

and pre-test stages were categorized into the following; below average-(1-4) marks,

average-(5-7), marks and above average-(8-10) marks.

Table 1 above summarized the performance of the pupils in the pre-test. With

close reference to table 1, three (3) pupils, representing 50%, performed below average

in the pre- test, thus, failed in the pre-test. Two (2) pupils, representing 33.33%

performed averagely in the pre-test while one (1) pupil, representing 16.67% preformed

above average.

Looking at the percentage in the pre-test, it was a vivid evident that, majority of

the pupils in Ve- Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic Three could not write properly. Two (2)

23
pupils representing 33.33% could not be said to be good writers with regards to writing

but their performance as compared to those pupils who performed below average is

better. Finally, one (1) pupil, representing 16.67% was able to write out clearly and

legibly.

Result of the performance of pupils in the post-test

Score Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Above average 3 50
Average 2 33.33
Below average 1 16.67
Total 6 100

After the intervention, the researcher conducted another test for the target group

using the same sentences as in the pre-test. It was realized that, three (3) pupils,

representing 50%, score above average (8-10), two (2) pupils representing 33.33%

scored averagely (5-7) while one (1) pupil, representing 16.67% scored below average

(1-4).

In conclusion, it could be said that, the researcher’s strategies used in the

intervention were effective.

Majority of the pupils have understood the essence of writing to be far more

than just a manual activity. The test and interview techniques used by the researcher

were seen to be the most appropriate to the study. This was so because; it helped in

getting accurate data on the performances of the pupils as the study unfolded. The test

technique for instance, helped in measuring the performance of the pupils with regards

to the intervention process.

Table II: Causes of pupils’ inability to write properly as revealed from the interview

conducted.

Cause Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Inadequate learning materials 1 16.67
Lack of skill 1 16.67

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 Delay in the exposure to the skills 2 33.33
Inability to have early child education 2 33.33
Total 6 100

In the interview conducted, pupils came out with the possible causes of their

inability to write well. With reference to table II, one (1) pupil, representing 16.67% did

not have the requisite learning materials to enable him to practice the skills. This he said

led to his poor performance in the skill.

Also, another one (1) pupil, representing 16.67% did not have the urge to

embrace that aspect of language acquisition. Due to this, he attached a lot of apathy to

the task, thereby leading to his poor performance in writing.

Again, two (2) pupils, representing 33.33%, were delayed in exposure to writing

skills. As a result, they lag behind in acquiring the skills of writing.

Moreover, another two pupils, representing 33.33%, did not have the

opportunity to have early child education. This, they said caused them a lot and it had

adversely affected their basic skills which would enable them to acquire proficiency in

writing skills.

Table III: Period for teaching handwriting on the time-table

Response Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Adequate 2 33.33
Inadequate 4 66.67
Total 6 100

Table III shows whether the period on the time – table for teaching handwriting

is enough. Two pupils, representing 33.33% responded that, the period is adequate.

25
 Meanwhile, four (4) pupils, representing 66.67% clarified that, the period is

inadequate. It was revealed that, since there is not enough time for the pupils to practice

their skills in writing, it encouraged the problem of poor handwriting in the class.

In support of the above findings, Sheffied B (2003) identified that, “the curricula

in the schools are so packed with requirements that is often difficult to include the basic

skills”. Although, the time required for teaching handwriting is not so great, it has to be

incorporated regularly into the class schedules. With this, the pupils will have much

time to practice.

Table IV: Does poor handwriting affect the academic performance of pupils?

Response Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Yes 6 100
No 0 0
Total 6 100

Responding to the question whether poor handwriting affects the performance of

the pupils”, all the findings agree that, poor handwriting affects pupils in terms of their

academic performance. Shekles (2000) proposed that, one of the major effects of poor

handwriting is when marking examination. A child with poor handwriting suffers low

scores during exams because there is no time for the examiner to read and come out

clearly with what is exactly written. In effect, the academic performance of the child is

reduced.

Table V: Penmanship as a tool for improving handwriting

Response Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Yes 4 66.67
No 2 33.33
Total 6 100

26
 From table V above, four (4) responds representing 66.67%, agreed that,

penmanship is a tool for improving handwriting while two (2) respondents representing

33.33%, said that, penmanship cannot be used to improve poor handwriting.

Despite the disagreement, Springer and Deutsch (2008) supported this by using

“grip”, which keeps fingers in the correct position, comfortably better than any available

means. Hence, penmanship is a way of holding the pen in a good sitting posture.

Table VI: Using, “My first copy book” in writing to improve the handwriting of

pupils.

Response Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Effective 5 83.33
Not effective 1 16.67
Total 6 100

The views of the respondents were sought on the question whether the use of

“My first copy book” could help in improving the handwriting of pupils. 88.33% of the

respondents which is five (5) pupils responded that it was effective. 6.67%of the

respondents, representing one (1) pupil, disagreed to the effectiveness of using “My first

copy book” in writing.

Silverman (2002), said, “ for the handwriting to be improved, there is the need

for intervention by giving more time for class assignments and allowing pupils to

complete writing assignments at home.”

Table VII: Effects of poor handwriting on marking pupils’ exercises.

Response Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Yes 6 6
No 0 0
Total 6 100

Table VII above shows how the respondents responded when their views were

sought on the question, if poor handwriting of the pupils affects them when marking

27
exercises? All the respondents agreed that, poor handwriting affects the pupils when it

comes to the assessment of their work.

In view of this, Sharke (2002) suggested that ‘in cases of marking exercise,

much time must be spent in order to mark the work of the pupils with very poor or

horrible handwriting. But in the busy world, it is hard to find time to remark papers”.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

In this chapter, the summary, conclusion and recommendations drawn from the

study are presented. Also included are implications of the findings recommended and

areas for further study.

Summary

The topic investigated was “poor handwriting among basic ‘3’ pupils of Ve-

Hoeme/Agbome E.P Basic School The researcher used the action research design to

find out the causes and effects of poor handwriting and also thought of strategies to be

developed to help improve the handwriting of the pupils.

On the whole, six (6) pupils and three teachers were involved in the study. They

were selected with the use of purposive sampling. The instruments used in collecting

data were observation, test and interview. Simple percentages were used to analyze the

data. The main findings that emanated from the study have been summarized below.

The study revealed that poor handwriting can be attributed to a number of

factors such as less or no period on the time- table for the pupils to practice handwriting.

28
Also, poor sitting posture of pupils in the classroom and the lack of individual attention

in the classroom as a result of large class sizes.

The study also found out that poor handwriting is a factor which affects pupils’

assessment marks. This leads to poor academic performance of pupils. The result of the

study shows that, after a series of interviews, the researcher realized a drastic

improvement in the handwriting of the affected pupils.

Conclusion

Poor handwriting among children as indicated by the study is a grave problem

which cannot be dealt with entirely by only the school. The school must team up with

parents to tackle the problem.

Through the study, the issue of poor handwriting among school children has

been addressed to a large extent. However, there is still more room for improvement,

since the problem may not be limited to only the area under study.

Recommendations

It was realized that, there was no period on the time- table for pupils to practice

handwriting. Also the poor sitting posture of pupils affects their handwriting.

It is worth recommending that, periods must be allocated on the time- table in

Junior High school for the teaching of handwriting. Again, pupils must sit in a good

positions that will enable them be able to write well and clearly whatever they read from

the chalkboard. Teachers should move round in the classroom during writing of

exercises in order to check the sitting posture of pupils as well as how they write.

29
 It was also found out that, poor handwriting is a factor that leads to poor

academic performance of pupils. It is therefore recommended that, teachers should use

techniques and strategies to help pupils to improve on their handwriting. They should

ensure that pupils write out clearly and legibly so as to make marking easier. This will

make them earn marks that would give them better grades.

Areas for Further Research

In order to further extend the scope of the study on poor handwriting, it is

recommended that other researchers consider the following areas:

 Whether biological factors contribute to poor handwriting.

 Whether the study of calligraphy can help to improve handwriting of

pupils.

 Whether the gender of a person determines how good his/ her

handwriting can be.

30
 REFERENCES

Benbow C. E. (2000). Multilingual aphasia examination.

Benbow M. (2000). Loops and other Groups, A Kinesthetic Writing System, Tucson,

AZ: Therapy Skill Builders, P. 1-10.

Fianu (2005). Principles and Methods of Teaching in Basic Schools.

Fiddle (2008). The alphabet vs. the goddess: The Conflict between word and image.

New York: Penguin/Arkana.

Gregor K.L., (1993). Teaching handwriting in schools. New York: Oxford University

Press.

Grow, G., (2000). The writing problems of visual thinkers. (Available from the author

at Florida A. & M University, Talahasseee.

Handley-More, D., Deitz, J., Billingsley F.F., Coggins, T.E. (2008). Facilitating written

work using computer word processing and word prediction. American Journal

of Occupational Therapy, 57(2),13G-51.

Levine, Melvin D., (2009). Developmental variation and learning disorders (2nd ed).

Cambridge and Toronto: Educators Publishing Service, Inc.

31
Meagan (2009). Causes of poor handwriting in schools. New York: Oxford University

Press.

Ornstein, R., (2002). The Right Mind: Making sense of the Hemispheres. New York:

Harcourt Brace.

Shailian (2008). Causes of poor handwriting. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Sharke (2002). How do I Teach this? Journal of English Language, 14, 239-249.

Sheffield (2006). Handwriting skills. New York: Oxford University press.

Shekle (2000). The Writing problem of visual thinkers. (Available from the authors at

Florida A&M University, Talahassee, FL.)

Silverman C.K., “Global learners: Our Forgotten Gifted and Talented Paper Presented

at the 7th World Conference on Gifted and Talented Children, Salt Lake City,

UT, August 2002.

Springer S.P., & Deutsch G., (2008). Left brain/Right brain Perspectives from Cognitive

Neuroscience 5th ed.) New York: W.H. Freeman.

The American Occupational Therapy Associations (2009). The guide to the

occupational therapy practice. American Journal of Occupational Therapy,

53,247-322.

Viadero, D. (2001). The dropout dilemma Research hindered by lack of uniform way to

count students who quiet school. Education Week, February, 7.

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 APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Result of the performance of pupils in the pre-test.

Score Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Above average 1 16.67
Average 2 33.33
Below average 3 50
Total 6 100

33
 Appendix 2

Result of the performance of pupils in the post-test.

Score Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Above average 3 50
Average 2 33.33
Below average 1 16.67
Total 6 100

Appendix 3

Causes of pupils’ inability to write properly as revealed from the interview conducted.

Cause Number of pupils Percentage (%)

Inadequate learning materials 1 16.67
Inability to have early child education 2 33.33
Delay in exposure to the writing skills 2 33.33
Lack of skills 1 16.67
Total 6 100

Appendix 4

Interview for teachers

1. Period on the time-table for teaching handwriting.

Response Number of respondents Percentage (%)

Adequate 1 33.33
Inadequate 2 66.67
Total 3 100

2. Does poor handwriting affect the academic performance of pupils?

34
 Response Number of Respondents Percentage (%)
Yes 3 100
No 0 0
Total 3 100

3. Penmanship is a tool for improving handwriting.

Response Number of Respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 2 66.67
No 1 33.33
Total 3 100

4. Using “My first copy book” in writing to improve the poor handwriting of pupils.

Response Number of respondents Percentage (%)

Effective 2 66.67
Not effective 1 33.33
Total 3 100

5. Effects of poor handwriting on marking pupils’ exercises.

Response Number of respondents Percentage (%)

High 3 100
Low 0 0
Total 3 100

35