Perspective taking and writing quality for secondary students

Abstract In this study, we examined the relation between social perspective taking and writing quality among secondary school students in the United States. The participants included 214 middle and high school students (116 females), with a diverse demographic composition: 71.5% Hispanic, 10% White, 7% Pacific Islander, 5.6% Asian American, 2% African American, and 0.5% Native American. Students were asked to write an argumentative text after reading sources related to a historical topic in history class, and the quality of their essays was rated. Their social perspective taking was measured using a scenario-based assessment where students were presented with scenarios with social conflicts and provided open-ended responses related to various perspectives. These responses were coded based on their articulation, simple, and complex positioning. Structural equation modeling revealed that female students, although marginally significant, tended to have higher levels of social perspective taking compared to their male counterparts after controlling for English learner status, race/ethnicity, poverty status, and grade level. Additionally, perspective taking was positively related to the quality of argumentative writing after controlling for student demographic backgrounds. Future research should explore various dimensions of perspective taking and their impacts on writing in different genres to enhance our understanding of the relation between perspective taking and writing.