Exploring pedagogic and practical intersections of academic writing support for Faculty in higher education

This is a case study of Faculty perceptions of the nature and effectiveness of academic writing provision and practice in a university in Ireland. It is presented in tandem with a case study of student persecptions from an Academic Writing Centre and taken together, both discuss the pedagogical approach adopted by the two pan-university initiatives. The focus of this case study is a Professional Development module for Faculty designed with a dual purpose - to support them to develop their own professional writing for publication, and enabling them to use the same strategies to support and reinforce their students’ academic writing. The research design used a qualitative approach to gather three forms of data for capturing the dual perception of Faculty and students across the two case studies: Faculty survey (n=30), a Faculty focus group (n=6), and student survey (n=21). Findings across the two case studies indicate that Faculty and students hold different perceptions about the nature and effectiveness of academic writing support. The results help validate, consolidate and support the current approach and inform the future role of writing support within the institution.