REFLECTIVE WRITING 8: Rethinking the Value of English and Writing Studies

The decrement in the community’s interest in pursuing undergraduate English degrees causes the English departments across the United States to work to attract students to their programs. According to A Changing Major: The Report of the 2016–17 ADE Ad Hoc Committee on the English Major, there is a declining pursuit of undergraduate English degrees since 2009, and the efforts of departments to change this trend. Furthermore, based on other reports, journal articles, and studies, there is an acceptance that today's college students are skeptical of the utility and value of English studies, including composition and writing courses. As a result, two questions arose: how to persuade students to rethink the value of a degree in English or writing studies?; and what pedagogical approach could be used to engage students in discussions about why writing is important?

Subsequently, the researchers wanted to develop a pedagogical approach and create related materials for students in composition and general education courses in English studies degree programs and courses. They aimed to create a set of presentation materials that faculty members could incorporate into their curricula to engage students to their major and minor programs. Furthermore, they wanted to persuade first-year students that writing is crucial and that English studies is a viable option for preparing them for the workforce by putting up logical arguments.

This project started with the collection of relevant data. Evidence of qualitative and quantitative research on this topic was used to support arguments that writing matters and English studies can help students develop desirable skills and abilities. As reported by 2018 ADE through Humanities Indicators, a project of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the number of individuals completing English degrees has fluctuated for decades. It experienced an increase in the 1960s, a decline in the 1980s, and a slight resurgence in the 1990s. The current decline has been particularly significant since 2009 (American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2017). In addition, the researchers discovered that Peckham’s concept of critical thinking and tenets of critical pedagogy might offer an approach for reaching twenty-first-century college students and assisting them in rethinking the role of writing in their academic and professional careers.

The critical thinking concept is crucial to this project because it required us to create autoethnographic narratives about our experiences. Considering the collaborative learning aspects of critical pedagogy, this project shifted from delivering data for persuasion to creating spaces where the researchers could learn from students about their professional interests and perceptions about the kinds of skills they might need for their professional and personal lives. The researchers see this as shifting power to the students so that the students can articulate their career goals and interests, as well as their knowledge about degree programs and areas of study. These presentations then became collaborative spaces where we freely exchanged ideas and information. The researchers believe this approach will encourage students to engage in these discussions and rethink the data surrounding college degrees and professional careers.

References

Smith-Sitton, L., Rivera, S. (2018). Why writing matters: Helping students rethink the value of English and writing studies. Double Helix, 6. DOI: 10.37514/DBH-J.2018.6.1.08