A handwriting expert believes just 10 minutes of practice in junior classes a day could turn around our falling literacy rates.

But a survey of 850 teachers last year found almost 90 percent of those trained in the last 20 years received no instruction on how to teach handwriting.

Education researcher Helen Walls told Kate Hawkesby there's been an emphasis put on ideas children want to express in writing and the fundamental technical skills have been neglected.

She says until those technical skills are automated children can't think about the creative aspects.

LISTEN ABOVE

A handwriting expert believes just 10 minutes of practice in junior classes a day could turn around our falling literacy rates.
But a survey of 850 teachers last year found almost 90 percent of those trained in the last 20 years received no instruction on how to teach handwriting.
Education researcher Helen Walls told Kate Hawkesby there's been an emphasis put on ideas children want to express in writing and the fundamental technical skills have been neglected.
She says until those technical skills are automated children can't think about the creative aspects.
LISTEN ABOVE

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.