Identity and agency: Exploring the relationship between theory and professional practice in Healthcare students' academic writing
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Essex
Department Name: Language and Linguistics
Abstract
With the increasing academisation of vocational courses in Higher Education (HE), attention is being
drawn to the writing needs of students on vocational programmes. Often from widening-participation
(WP) backgrounds, these students frequently feel unprepared to tackle the multiple assignment types
required by their courses. Adopting a qualitative case study design, this research explores the nature of
writing in the discipline of Health and Social Care and the challenges facing student-writers.
Questionnaires, semi structured interviews and analysis of student writing will be used to gather data.
Participants will be drawn from foundation and undergraduate cohorts at a university in the S. E. of
England and results will provide important insights into the experiences of vocational student-writers.
Conclusions will offer practical recommendations for universities in supporting and retaining WP students,
and will contribute to wider debates about literacy skills in UK education.
This research will add to the existing literature by considering the linguistic challenges faced by
Healthcare student-writers,and also by exploring deeper pre-writing processes students engage in when
navigating issues of theory, practice, identity and agency. The study will address the following research
questions:
1.What are Healthcare students' perceptions of the relationship between theory and practice? (To what
extent does lived experience align with academic theory?)
2.What are Healthcare students' experiences of articulating this relationship in their writing? (Who are
they when they are writing? How free are they to represent themselves culturally, professionally,
personally?)
3.How effective are academic literacy interventions in sensitising student-writers to issues of identity,
voice and agency in their writing?
I am adopting a thesis by-paper route using the following structure to explore key themes:
Paper 1:'The person'-the individual's understanding of the relationship between theory and practice and
their sense of identity and agency as student-writers.
Paper 2:'The writing'-how the individual articulates the relationship between theory and practice in their
writing and negotiates issues of identity and agency.
Paper 3:'The learning environment(s)'-how the institution supports student-writers
Schedule of work
Background reading for Paper 1 is already complete and the literature review is being drafted.
Plans for work over the next year:
To complete ethical approval application (by February 2020)
Undertake training identified from 'training needs analysis' by April 2020
Design questionnaire/interview questions (by June 2020)
To conduct pilot/initial interviews/questionnaire phase of research (by May 2020)
To begin drafting Literature Review for paper one by June 2020
Dates individual papers completed:
Paper one to be drafted by June 2021
Paper two to be drafted by 2022-23
Paper three 2023-24
Expected completion date: 2025
drawn to the writing needs of students on vocational programmes. Often from widening-participation
(WP) backgrounds, these students frequently feel unprepared to tackle the multiple assignment types
required by their courses. Adopting a qualitative case study design, this research explores the nature of
writing in the discipline of Health and Social Care and the challenges facing student-writers.
Questionnaires, semi structured interviews and analysis of student writing will be used to gather data.
Participants will be drawn from foundation and undergraduate cohorts at a university in the S. E. of
England and results will provide important insights into the experiences of vocational student-writers.
Conclusions will offer practical recommendations for universities in supporting and retaining WP students,
and will contribute to wider debates about literacy skills in UK education.
This research will add to the existing literature by considering the linguistic challenges faced by
Healthcare student-writers,and also by exploring deeper pre-writing processes students engage in when
navigating issues of theory, practice, identity and agency. The study will address the following research
questions:
1.What are Healthcare students' perceptions of the relationship between theory and practice? (To what
extent does lived experience align with academic theory?)
2.What are Healthcare students' experiences of articulating this relationship in their writing? (Who are
they when they are writing? How free are they to represent themselves culturally, professionally,
personally?)
3.How effective are academic literacy interventions in sensitising student-writers to issues of identity,
voice and agency in their writing?
I am adopting a thesis by-paper route using the following structure to explore key themes:
Paper 1:'The person'-the individual's understanding of the relationship between theory and practice and
their sense of identity and agency as student-writers.
Paper 2:'The writing'-how the individual articulates the relationship between theory and practice in their
writing and negotiates issues of identity and agency.
Paper 3:'The learning environment(s)'-how the institution supports student-writers
Schedule of work
Background reading for Paper 1 is already complete and the literature review is being drafted.
Plans for work over the next year:
To complete ethical approval application (by February 2020)
Undertake training identified from 'training needs analysis' by April 2020
Design questionnaire/interview questions (by June 2020)
To conduct pilot/initial interviews/questionnaire phase of research (by May 2020)
To begin drafting Literature Review for paper one by June 2020
Dates individual papers completed:
Paper one to be drafted by June 2021
Paper two to be drafted by 2022-23
Paper three 2023-24
Expected completion date: 2025
