A description of teachers' approach to handwriting instruction in primary schools.

Background.: When handwriting becomes a significant obstacle to children's academic success, occupational therapists are routinely asked to intervene. At times, therapists wonder whether teachers' instructional approaches have a role to play in explaining children's handwriting challenges.

Purpose.: This study aimed to describe elementary school teachers' current instructional approach to handwriting throughout the school year.

Method.: A descriptive study design utilizing a survey approach to data collection was selected for this study. The survey was completed by 399 teachers. Survey responses were collated and descriptive statistics were used for analysis.

Findings.: The heterogeneity of responses illustrates that many teachers are unaware of the best practices to implement to promote students' acquisition of handwriting.

Implications.: As occupational therapists, knowing that the school environment might not always offer the right context to enable children's acquisition of the task-specific features of handwriting should permeate our evaluation process and guide our interventions.