Negotiating new ways of developing writing in disciplinary spaces: The changing role of writing consultants at the Wits School of Education Writing Centre.

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dc.article.end-page182en_ZA
dc.article.start-page169en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorKadenge, E
dc.contributor.authorDison, L
dc.contributor.authorKimani, A
dc.contributor.authorNamakula, H
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-12T13:44:22Z
dc.date.available2021-08-12T13:44:22Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractWriting centres in South African universities have historically been poorly recognised structures in higher education, and have largely been considered as “asides” to the core functions of the university. This lack of acknowledgement has seen writing centres occupying demeaning physical spaces within universities which has had a negative impact on the full potential of writing centre work. This narrative study focuses on the experiences of three postgraduate writing consultants, and reports on the ways that the Writing Centre at the Wits School of Education (WSoE) has exerted agency in order to move from a marginalised position in a school of education to reach students and become more responsive to their needs. While being proactive has yielded many teaching and learning gains at the WSoE, the Writing Centre has also had to contend with various personal and operational tensions such as deficit perceptions from both staff and students, and unrealistic expectations of students that their writing problems will be solved instantly. These challenges, however, have created opportunities for growth of the Writing Centre as it has developed new pathways for consultants in the shift from generic writing consultations to content-specific writing development. The changed model has had implications for the training and pedagogies of writing centre consultants as well as for their identity as students and mentors. This article provides insights into how writing centres can use their agency to occupy more meaningful spaces and places within universities, and enhance academic literacy support whilst simultaneously providing writing consultants with opportunities to grow their scholarship.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianMS2021en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipFunding text 2 The WSoE Writing Centre has never been supported financially by the university, and is funded by the Council of Education with some limited funding from the University Capacity Development Grant.en_ZA
dc.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKadenge, E., Dison L., Kimani, A., & Namakula, H. (2019). Negotiating new ways of developing writing in disciplinary spaces: The changing role of writing consultants at the Wits School of Education Writing Centre. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus / SPiL Plus, 57, pp. 169 - 182.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1726541X
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/31497
dc.journal.titleStellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus / SPiL Plusen_ZA
dc.journal.volume57en_ZA
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherDepartment of General Linguistics, Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights© Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.en_ZA
dc.schoolWits School of Educationen_ZA
dc.subjectAgencyen_ZA
dc.subjectNarrativeen_ZA
dc.subjectWriting centreen_ZA
dc.subjectWriting consultantsen_ZA
dc.subjectWriting in the disciplinesen_ZA
dc.titleNegotiating new ways of developing writing in disciplinary spaces: The changing role of writing consultants at the Wits School of Education Writing Centre.en_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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