The Story of Handwriting : Is handwriting as a practice still used in Swedish schools?

Abstract: This design project will map, look at and give answers regarding: The story of handwriting from a pedagogical perspective, within a Swedish context. It is primarily based on a great interest in writing by hand, and the effects and benefits it has on its practitioners. Handwriting today compared to before is getting less space in the digitized society, but is handwriting as a practice still used in Swedish schools? The predicted meaning is that children in school cannot write properly by hand anymore, due to all technologies such as smartphones, tablets and computers. The question is complex and the answer is more than just a simple yes or no, and therefore this investigation in handwriting has been done. The thesis will look back in the history of handwriting and give answers to the question through both theory and practice. Through research it will document differences and similarities between how people born between 1930-1959 and today’s lower elementary school children are looking at and working with handwriting. To be able to make this comparison—a digital survey, field studies, workshops and handwritten letters and notes from persons within the two defined research groups has worked as research methods to make the result as reliable as possible. Until recently, the art of writing more known as “Välskrivning” was a very central competence in Swedish school. It was a graded subject where focus was on how to write properly and practice good handwriting. The fact that “Välskrivning” is no longer a school subject means that the children today do not have the same prerequisites for succeeding with handwriting in the long term. They get other opportunities in the digital world, but one does not have to exclude the other. In my research I have found that despite technological tools and advancements, children still enjoy and value writing by hand, and then it is my task as a change agent to break the norm that handwriting as a practice is disappearing in Swedish schools and give children the tools they need to continue writing new chapters in the story of handwriting. To stimulate learning with joy, work with fine motor skills and strengthen the ability to concentrate amongst children through a handwriting workshop is what the investigation has led to. The answers in this thesis will not change the world, but the handwriting workshop, designed as a pedagogical tool, will hopefully inspire and motivate children to write by hand for a long time to come.