Why Writing Matters

This book brings together the work of scholars from around the world – UK, Pakistan, US, South Africa, Hungary, Korea, Mexico – to illustrate and celebrate the many ways in which Roz Ivanič has advanced the academic study of writing. Focusing on writing in different formal contexts of education, from primary through to further and higher education in a range of national contexts, the twenty one original contributions in the book critically engage with theoretical and empirical issues raised in Ivanič’s influential body of work. In their exploration of writers’ struggles with the demands of dominant literacy the authors significantly extend understandings of writing practices in formal institutions. Organized around three themes central to Ivanič’s work – creativity and identity; pedagogy; and research methodologies – the twelve chapters and nine personal and scholarly reflections reveal the powerful ways in which Ivanič’s work has influenced thinking in the field of writing and continues to open up avenues for future questioning and research.