‘Draw with words, write myself’ : supporting teachers’ professional development in creative writing communities

Abstract

This thesis explores teachers’ experiences of their professional development through creative writing practices, especially in creative writing communities. Taking a narrative perspective, it aims to tell stories of teacher development through creative writing, which is defined as literary art that is reflective and expressive. Professional development is approached from a socio-constructivist view, acknowledging the impact of teachers’ personal lives, emotions, and previous experiences on their teacher identities. The study consists of three articles. Data were collected from in-service teachers (from primary to upper secondary level) of two different writing communities: 1) the Teachers’ Creative Writing Group (N=11) and 2) Open University Studies in Writing (N=5). Data consists of creative writings and interviews, examined through a two-phase qualitative analysis process. In the first phase, a thematic analysis was performed to create themes that described the teachers’ experiences of professional development in the writing community. In the second phase, a narrative analysis with a storyteller perspective was conducted, with the creation of three illustrative narratives: a poem-like word image in the first article, a nonfiction prose text in the second article, and an ethnodramatic dialogue in the third. The findings shed light on teachers’ experiences of and relationship to creative writing. Teachers who participated in the writing communities narrated stories of pedagogy and the development of classroom instruction, peer support, and wellbeing through flow and inspiration. According to the results, creative writing communities offered the teachers a time and place for bouncing back and recovering, developing as writers and teachers, and engaging in narrative identity work. In conclusion, the findings indicate that creative writing communities can support teachers’ professional development through narrative identity work, peer discussions, and overall reflection on being a teacher.