Threshold practices: becoming a student through academic literacies

Abstract

Student transitions into the university are often conceived of via an apprentice-type model, or as entrance into a 'community of practice'. This paper disputes the applicability of these models to the indeterminate and opaque nature of student experiences of academic writing, and proposes that emotional destabilization and struggles around identity are a normal part of both transitions and writing. With reference to student text/visual journals and in-depth interviews, it argues for extending the notion of 'threshold concepts', proposing academic literacies as 'threshold practices' which can lead to a reinforced sense of identity as a student. It concludes with implications for practice.

Publishing and perishing: an academic literacies framework for investigating research productivity

“…Many of the junior researchers indicated that they felt that they were somehow 'doing it wrong,' which mirrors the student experience (Gourlay 2009). The more experienced writers seemed less concerned about whether they were doing it the 'right way' and more concerned about what worked for them as individuals -specifically their own strategies for disengaging from other tasks (Murray 2013), and engaging with writing, including starting and finishing (Murray and Moore 2006).…”

Why Does It Have to Be so Flashy? Student Perspectives on Academic Tasks

“…Becoming academically literate involves not only being aware of the rules and expectations of the academic community, but also being able and willing to follow them. It is well documented that many students, particularly those at the beginning of higher education, find the rules of the academic community daunting and challenging especially if they have had limited prior exposure to academic Discourse (Gourlay, 2009;Ivanič, Edwards, Satchwell, & Smith, 2007;Lea & Street, 1998).…”

Liminality in preregistration mental health nurse education: A review of the literature

“…Many of the studies in this review do not have liminality as their main focus, and some merely offer a description of the concept within the introductory sections of the papers in order to provide a background and context for the primary aim of the study -for example, examining threshold concepts and practices (Meyer and Land 2003, Clouder 2005, Gourlay 2009), professional socialisation (Holland 1999, Clouder 2003, transition into first year in higher education (Palmer et al 2009), transition into first year undergraduate nursing (Andrew et al 2009) and student identity (Field 2012). However, within these studies, the authors often returned to comment further on the possibilities and potential of liminality in their discussion or conclusions, and liminality appears as a conceptual thread within many of the articles.…”

“…7 interpretation of threshold concepts (derived from Meyer and Land), in their case study of social work field education; Wallace (2010) considers threshold concepts in relation to adult literacies, and Gourlay (2009) proposes academic literacies as threshold practices, which would benefit from a "liminality analysis" (p189) in order to better understand the transitions some students may experience in developing their academic writing skills. Hurlock et al (2008) offer the most detailed and illuminating examination of the concept of liminality as applied to professional education in their hermeneutic interpretation of interview and email data gathered over a five month period from Tina, a senior social work student.…”