"No Matter How You Word It, It's for Me": Mandated Writing Practices in a Homeless Shelter for Mothers in Recovery

Autor/inn/en	MacGillivray, Laurie; Curwen, Margie Sauceda; Ardell, Amy
Titel	"No Matter How You Word It, It's for Me": Mandated Writing Practices in a Homeless Shelter for Mothers in Recovery
Quelle	In: Journal of Literacy Research, 48 (2016) 2, S.192-220 (29 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1086-296X
DOI	10.1177/1086296X16662174
Schlagwörter	Required Courses; Writing Instruction; Homeless People; Emergency Shelters; Mothers; Drug Rehabilitation; Drug Addiction; Case Studies; Literacy Education; Journal Writing; Communities of Practice; Power Structure; Writing Assignments; Outcomes of Treatment; Religious Factors; Christianity; Qualitative Research; Interviews + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Pflichtkurs; Schreibunterricht; Homeless person; Homeless persons; Obdachloser; Notunterkunft; Mother; Mutter; Drogentherapie; Drug dependence; Drug consomption; Drogenabhängigkeit; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Zeitschriftenaufsatz; Community; Christentum; Qualitative Forschung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik
Abstract	This case study is part of a larger investigation of literacy practices at New Beginnings shelter, a long-term transitional homeless shelter for addicted mothers and their children. We asked, "What is the nature of writing in a homeless shelter committed to the rehabilitation and recovery of mothers from addiction?" At New Beginnings, mandated writing serves as a way to help women confront their addictions and develop necessary skills to live independently. The social nature of writing is partly determined through explicit norms and routines for purpose, format, and audience and includes regular feedback from shelter staff and/or peers. Of the various writing practices undertaken, we discuss (a) required letters addressed to one's inner child, one's body, and one's disease; (b) "staff actions," which is on-demand writing on a required topic due to a shelter infraction; and (c) daily journaling. Drawing upon complementary theories of literacy as a social practice, literacy events and practices, a community of practice, and Foucault's concept of power as relations, we explore the social processes surrounding mandated writing among members of this shelter community. We note how writing can be a signal of legitimate participation in the rehabilitation process and how it serves as a form of dialogue between participants. Although these practices were sometimes filled with tension, their shared nature strengthened the shelter community through a productive process. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01