Primary school teachers don't pay enough attention to kids' handwriting: study

Children spend too little time on learning how to write in a comprehensible hand and primary school teachers do not pay enough attention to teaching handwriting, according to researchers from Utrecht University in a study of 52 primary schools, AD reports. According to the researchers, handwriting instruction for children is poor, it is time consuming and difficult. Of the 8 hours a week teachers spend on language lessons, only 45 minutes go towards handwriting. Teacher training colleges also spend little time focusing on writing skills. Primary school children get little explanation on how to improve their handwriting, because teachers do not know how to instruct them, the researchers find. In 2010 the language lessons in primary school were also below par. Since then, little has changed in handwriting education, according to the researchers. Teachers focus primarily on vocabulary and reading. Even textbooks only marginally address handwriting.