Feature: The Misalignment between the Discipline and the Teaching of Writing

Teaching English in the Two-Year College May 2024

Feature: The Misalignment between the Discipline and the Teaching of Writing

Steven Accardi ; Jillian Grauman

Abstract

The majority of first-year writing “is taught by teachers whose educational backgrounds are more likely to be in literature, cultural studies, or creative writing than in rhetoric and composition” (Abraham 78). This disciplinary knowledge gap poses a challenge for FYW faculty to adjust to new shifts in FYW pedagogy. We would expect inhouse faculty development opportunities to help fill these gaps; however, the results of our year-long qualitative study indicate that the lack of shared disciplinary knowledge and the constraints on adjunct faculty make it challenging for faculty without backgrounds in writing studies to adapt their pedagogies. We add to the body of scholarship on professionalization in two-year college writing studies (e.g., Andelora; Griffiths; Jensen et al.; Sullivan; Toth et al., “Distinct”) and argue that addressing this problem will require investing resources in adjunct support; changing hiring practices to prioritize expertise in writing studies; and designing faculty development that focuses on both theory and pedagogy.

Journal: Teaching English in the Two-Year College
Published: 2024-05-01
DOI: 10.58680/tetyc2024514292
Open Access: Closed
Topics: first-year composition two-year college qualitative research multimodality creative writing

Citation Context

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Cites in this index (11)

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College Composition and Communication
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College Composition and Communication
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College Composition and Communication
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Teaching English in the Two-Year College
Abraham (2016)

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College Composition and Communication
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Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓

Jensen (2021)

Embracing the Democratic Promise: Transforming Two-Year Colleges and Writing Studies thro…

New Directions for Community Colleges ↗
Michaud (2023)

CLA and WPA: A Justice-Oriented Approach to Writing Program Administration

Journal of Second Language Writing ↗
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A General Inductive Approach for Analyzing Qualitative Evaluation Data

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