Rethinking Reading in Writing Centers: A Content Analysis for Imagining Future Literacies

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 1:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Roundtable Session 10: Student Learning and Development in College and Beyond

Abstract

This paper investigates how reading is conceptualized and positioned within writing center scholarship. Drawing on Street’s (1984) ideological model of literacy, we conducted a thematic analysis of 54 peer-reviewed articles published between 2016 and 2023. Findings reveal two dominant themes: reading as a session-bound activity focused on revision and error correction, and reading as a broader literacy practice. While the former treats reading as a tool to fix writing, the latter recognizes it as central to meaning-making, academic identity, and disciplinary participation. We discuss implications for writing center pedagogy and tutor education and argue for the integration of reading theory and instruction into training programs and institutional missions. Recommendations are offered for reshaping writing centers as comprehensive literacy support spaces.

Authors

• Nasim Layegh, Texas State University

• Emily Suh, Texas State University

• Lance S. Womack, Texas State University

• Ali Dezhkameh Bejoshin, Texas State University

• Elahe Mahmoudi, Texas State University