Discourses of Writing in Educational Research: A Review of Literature
Submitted by:
Erika Sturk
Abstract:
Writing researchers have frequently used Ivanic’s discourses of writing (DoW) (2004; 2017) framework in studies of writing curricula and instruction. To understand how the framework might be modified for writing research moving forward, we present a systematic review of literature comparing findings from DoW studies situated in differing geopolitical and educational contexts.
Research questions:
1. Which DoWs are most and least represented in research findings situated across varying geographic contexts and education levels?
2. Which DoWs are not included in Ivanic’s framework but are identified in the studies’ findings?
Theoretical framework: The DoW framework is based in an understanding that textwriting is embedded within three domains: cognitions, events, and social contexts (Ivanic, 2004). Based on this understanding, the DoW encompass seven categories that represent ways of thinking about the purposes of writing and how it is represented: skills, creativity, thinking and learning, process, genre, social practices, sociopolitical.
Methods:
We compiled a corpus of 56 research publications by using “discourse[s] of writing” to search our university library databases and Google Scholar. We collected studies that:
• Explicitly used Ivanic’s framework as analytic tool to investigate writing curricula and/or instruction (e.g., via deductive and/or abductive coding)
• Were published in English or Scandinavian
We first sorted articles according to Akker’s (2003) five curriculum categories: written, prescribed, planned, enacted, experienced. Next, to analyse which discourses were most prominent in the findings, as well is which (if any) additional discourses were identified, we coded each study’s findings for DoW categories.
Findings: The results show that text-focused discourses are most prominent and sociopolitical discourses are least prominent. Few studies have identified DoWs other than those included in Ivanic’s framework. The framework is useful as analytic tool across the five curriculum categories.
References:
Akker, J. van den (2003). Curriculum perspectives: An introduction. In J. van den Akker, W. Kuiper & U. Hameyer (Eds.), Curriculum landscapes and trends (pp. 1-10). Dordrecht, Kluwer.
Ivanic, R. (2004). Discourses of writing and learning to write. Language and Education, 18(3), 220-245.
Ivanic, R. (2017). Round table on discourses of writing, and writer identity. Paper presented at the LITUM symposium, 4-5 June, Umea, Sweden.