Writing group commitment and caring: teacher educators talk about identities and agency in the Third Space of a writing group

ABSTRACT

Supporting and contributing to the development of each other’s academic writing within a ‘writing group’ in a university setting has enhanced the authors’ professional and personal connections. As their sense of community and commitment to collaboration evolved, their group engaged in conversations about other aspects of their academic work, retreats and mentoring. These conversations have been crucial not just for the development of their writing but for the construction and ongoing formation of their individual academic identities, and development of agency. In this article, the authors use collaborative ethnography to examine their experiences. Professional conversation as a writing group has cultivated a Third Space. In this space their group has become flexible and innovative, and encouraging and affirming of their individual and collective aspirations. ‘Writing groups’ are promoted as valuable not only for writing but for developing academic identity and agency, and keeping aspirations ‘alive’ in a constantly changing academic environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Writing group
• academic identity
• Third Space
• women in academia
• caring

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. NZ Māori word meaning treasure, something prized. It’s applied to anything considered to be of value including socially or culturally valuable objects, resources, phenomenon, ideas and techniques.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Margaret Carr

Margaret Carr is a Professor of Education at the University of Waikato. Research interests include early childhood education, curriculum and pedagogy in a range of contexts: education sites, local communities and families.

Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips

Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips was formerly a kindergarten teacher, and has been involved in teacher education for over 15 years. She has been a lecturer and senior lecturer in early childhood education at the University of Waikato for most of her academic career and is now fulfilling a two-year contract at RMIT in Melbourne to implement a new teacher education postgraduate qualification.

Kerry Earl

Kerry Earl is a senior lecturer in primary teacher education programmes for courses on assessment, professional practice and educational use of digital technologies. Her research interests are in educators’ and learners’ experiences of assessment and evaluation, postgraduate education and qualitative inquiry.

Frances Edwards

Frances Edwards is a senior lecturer teaching courses on curriculum, assessment, and professional learning and development. Her research interests are teacher development, assessment and Pacific Education.

Jenny Ferrier-Kerr

Jenny Ferrier-Kerr is a senior lecturer teaching courses in preservice teacher education and educational leadership. Her research interests are the development of educational leaders’ coaching/mentoring practice and pedagogy, and developing higher education teachers pedagogical practice through mentoring.