Writing and Being Written: Issues of Identity Across Timescales

Abstract

This article argues for the differentiation according to timescales of aspects of writer identity. It presents a framework for investigating the discoursal construction of writer identity that develops the categories proposed by Ivanič in two ways. First, it distinguishes aspects of writer identity according to the timescales over which they develop; second, it proposes interrelationships among the different aspects. The authors demonstrate the relevance of this framework for understanding how identity is constructed and changed through acts of writing by using it to interpret data drawn from a study of writing in adult literacy education in England.

Editorial 3/2016 - Commitment to the Call for Social Justice, Solidarity and Equality in Education and Educational Research

“…Additionally, in order to grasp how their identities as academic writers develop by learning from and struggling with academic texts, we invited the three student teachers to relate their present experiences to past experiences, and to reflections on their future work as preschool teachers, because as Tay- (Burgess and Ivanič, 2010).…”

“…2 Theoretically we base our study on researchers who argue that identity as a writer is closely related to personal identity (Burgess & Ivanič, 2010), and that students' knowledge, experiences and use of speech and writing need to be taken into account in professional formation (Beijaard, Meijer & Verloop, 2004). In this article, we use two sets of analytical concepts to capture the complexity of academic writing from a student teacher perspective.…”

“…Some suggest that educators in higher education need to pay more attention to students' life experiences and make use of these in an academic writing context (Burgess & Ivanič, 2010;Ivanič, 1998;Lillis, 2010;Klinger & Murray, 2012;Wingate, 2012). Others underline the need for critical dialogues between teachers and students in order to make language more visible (Lillis, 2006) and highlight the need 'to draw on more than one theory' (Wingate, 2012, p.34) when teaching academic writing.…”

“…6 På engelsk: play-stimulating, nurturing, responsive og directive behavior. Writing is typically heralded as a powerful educational tool for learning (Burgess & Ivanič, 2010;Wittek, Askeland & Aamotsbakken, 2015). However, earlier research in the Anglo-Saxon world and in the Nordic countries has shown that the experience of many student teachers has been that they have not been prepared for the required conventions of academic writing, and therefore face difficulties with and express anxiety about such writing (cf.…”

Writing Goes Back to School: Exploring the “Institutional Practice of Mystery” in a Graduate Education Program

“…As one firstterm student put it, "Prior to this experience, I would have placed myself as good to very good...Right now...I am far less confident in my writing ability." We were reminded of a study conducted in England with adult education students (Burgess & Ivanic, 2010). Among the participants were some who seemed to resent being positioned as students.…”