“Feel Like a Failure”: Identity, Affect, and Scholarly Production Among Historically Underrepresented Educational Developers

• In Event: VITAL (Visiting, Instructor, Temporary, Adjunct, and Lecturer) Faculty

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the role of identity and affect in the writing experiences of educational developers from historically minoritized identities and institutions. Interviewees participated in a pilot writing program focused on diversifying the scholarship of educational development (SoED). Drawing on Affect Theory, the study explores participants' orientation to writing and feedback, and helpful programmatic supports. Findings include the salience of negative affect in participants' relationship to both writing and feedback stemming from prior experiences, and the importance of mentoring in scholarly production. These findings suggest the relevance of identity and affect in academic writing, and highlight the structural roadblocks educational developers from minoritized groups face in knowledge production.

Authors

• Derisa Grant, University of California - Los Angeles

• Laura Cruz, Pennsylvania State University