Practice, Pedagogy and Policy: the influence of teachers’ creative writing practice on pedagogy in schools

Murphy, Caroline (2012) Practice, Pedagogy and Policy: the influence of teachers’ creative writing practice on pedagogy in schools. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

This research aims to develop understanding of how teachers’ experience of practising creative writing influences pedagogy in schools. The research is located within a literary studies domain, responding to the context in which creative writing is most commonly taught in schools and in higher education. The central research question explored is:

• How is the pedagogy of creative writing in schools influenced by teachers’ creative writing practice?

The research explores the premise that creative writing practice has the potential to raise teachers’ ‘confidence as writers’, enabling them to ‘provide better models for pupils’ (Ofsted, 2009: p.6). This thesis examines what ‘creative writing practice’ means in the context of developing pedagogy; considers how creative writing is conceptualised by teachers; and investigates how teachers’ creative writing practice connects to pedagogic methods and approaches. The research sub questions that underpin the research are:

• How has creative writing been conceptualised in educational policy, and how do these conceptions influence pedagogy in schools?
• Does the practice of creative writing influence teachers’ conceptualisations of creative writing, and, if so, what is the impact on pedagogy?
• Does the practice of creative writing influence teachers’ perceptions of themselves as writers, and, if so, what is the impact on pedagogy?
• Does the experience of working with writers influence teachers’ pedagogic approaches in the classroom, and if so, how?

The research includes a case study involving 14 primary and secondary school teachers, engaged in developing their own creative writing practice under the guidance of professional writers. The case study approach enables exploration of the research questions through analysis of participants’ lived experience of creative writing practice and pedagogy. The analysis of the case study at the heart of this research is situated within an interpretive framework, acknowledging the complexity of multiple meanings at play in socio-cultural learning contexts. The analysis draws on Bruner’s exploration of how pedagogical approaches imply conceptions of the learner’s mind and pedagogy (Bruner, 1996), and considers the interplay between teachers’ experiences of creative writing, and their choice of pedagogical methods and approaches.

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