My collaborator, Susan Holloway from the University of Windsor, and I are in the final year of a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) funded study called Creating a Canadian “voice”: Lifelong learning, citizenship and the craft of writing fiction. Life history interviews have been conducted with over forty authors across Canada as well a number of writers in the UK and the US for cross-cultural comparative purposes whose writing includes work in a) the literary or CanLit sector, b) crime fiction or mystery genre, and/or c) Children’s/YA (Young Adult) sector. The study includes interviews with over twenty “key informants” in the educational, government, community, and policy sector to explore some of the supports, challenges and programs that connect with fiction writing and opportunities for lifelong learning.
Fiction reading and writing provides opportunities for people to learn in a variety of contexts throughout their lifespan. This study examines how educators can use fiction to enhance their teaching practices to encourage the development of a literate and democratically engaged citizenry. It considers how fiction might be used across disciplines to enhance curriculum and various kinds of professional and community-based education programs. An examination of fiction provides opportunities to consider citizenship and identity issues. Insights into how individuals learn their way into a career of writing fiction are also taken up. The emergence of new technologies, such e-publishing, and changes in the global publishing world are assessed in terms of future possibilities and challenges for writers and learners.
Conference Presentations (Abstracts Published)
Gouthro, P.A. & Holloway, S.M. (2010). Connecting theory and practice to foster the development of critical literacies. Association of Atlantic Universities Teaching Showcase (AAU). University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI.
Gouthro, P.A. & Holloway, S.M. (2010). Creative connections within liberal arts and lifelong learning: Exploring linkages between lifelong learning, citizenship, and fiction writing in a Canadian context. International Conference for the Liberal Arts. University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB.
Conference Presentations
Holloway, S.M., Gouthro, P.A. & Careless, E.J. (2014). Women’s experiences in learning to write fiction: Exploring variations between individual learning experiences and engagement in communities of practice. Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education Conference. Brock University, St. Catherine’s, Ontario.
Gouthro, P.A. (2014). Selective and layered storytelling: Writers and their writing lives. ESREA: European Society for Research on the Education of Adults Network Conference on Life History and Biographical Research. University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Gouthro, PA.. (2013). Who gets to be a writer? Exploring pathways and challenges in learning to become a fiction writer. Researching Work and Learning Conference. University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK.
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Gouthro, P., Holloway, S.M. & Careless, E.J. (2013). Lifelong Learning and Canadian Writers: Fiction Writing, Citizenship, and Learning Around Identity Issues. Canadian Association For the Study of Adult Education. University of Victoria. Victoria, BC. Click here for paper
Gouthro, P.A., Holloway, S.M. & Careless, E.J. (2012). Fiction writing and lifelong learning: Reflecting on the role of educators in fostering well-being and happiness. Standing Conference of University Teachers and Educators of Adults (SCUTREA). University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
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Gouthro, P.A., Holloway, S.M. & Careless, E.J. (2012). Critical literacies and democratic learning: Using fiction reading and writing to engage in lifelong learning connected to citizenship. Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE). Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON. Click here for paper
Gouthro, P.A., Holloway, S.M. & Careless, E.J. (2011). Creative pedagogical practices using fiction to prepare educators for working in international and intercultural contexts. Standing Conference of University Teachers and Educators of Adults (SCUTREA). University of Lancaster, Lancaster, UK. Click here for paper
Gouthro, P.A., Holloway, S.M. & Careless, E.J. (2011). Fiction writing and learning for critical citizenship: Exploring the potential of reading and writing fiction to foster democratic learning opportunities. Joint Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) and the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC). Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto, ON. Click here for paper
Gouthro, P.A. & Holloway, S.M. (2010). Cultivating wisdom: Fostering critically reflective learning through an interdisciplinary approach to university teaching that draws upon fiction writing and reading. Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE). Newport, Wales, UK.
Gouthro, P.A. & Holloway, S.M. (2010). Reclaiming the radical: Using fiction to challenge the ‘facts’ of a neoliberal discourse in lifelong learning. Standing Conference for University Teachers and Educators of Adults (SCUTREA). University of Warwick, Warwick, UK.
Holloway, S.M. & Gouthro, P.A. (2010). Fiction writing and lifelong learning. Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE). Concordia University, Montreal, QC.
Gouthro, P.A., Grace, A.P. & Guo, S. (2010). Canadian eh? Issues around learning, identity, and citizenship in Canada. Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE). Concordia University, Montreal, QC. Click here for paper
Gouthro, P.A. & Holloway, S.M. (2009). Fact or fiction? A critical assessment of an alternative framework for knowledge construction using fiction to explore issues around identity and citizenship for Education students in Canadian universities. Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE). Newport, Wales, UK. Click here for paper
Gouthro, P.A. (2009). Powerful considerations: The challenge of combining ‘really useful research’ with ‘really critical theories’ in lifelong learning. Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults (SCUTREA). Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK. Click here for paper
Gouthro, P.A. (2009). Adult learning for active citizenship: Exploring learning pathways around citizenship and participation in governance. Adult Education Research Conference (AERC). National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Click here for paper
Gouthro, P.A. (2009). Lifelong learning and citizenship: Exploring the complicated question of what it means to be Canadian. Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE). Carleton University, Ottawa, ON. Click here for paper
Journal Articles
Gouthro, P.A. (2014). Women of mystery: Investigating learning pathways of Canadian and American female crime fiction writers. Adult Education Quarterly, 64(4), 356-373.
Gouthro, P.A. (2014). Who gets to be a writer? Exploring identity and learning issues in becoming a fiction writer. Studies in Continuing Education, 36(2), 173-187. DOI: 10.1080/0158037X.2014.904777
Gouthro, P.A. (2014). Stories of learning across the lifespan: Life history and biographical research in adult education. JACE: Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 20(1), 87-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.7227/JACE.20.1.6
Holloway, S.M. & Gouthro, P.A. (2014). A Foucauldian analysis: Adult education and publishing Canadian fiction in a globalized context. RELA: The European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 5(1), 81-96.
Gouthro, P.A. & Holloway, S.M. (2013). Preparing teachers to become lifelong learners: Exploring the use of fiction to develop multiliteracies and critical thinking. Special Issue of Language and Literacy, 15(3), 50-68.
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Gouthro, P.A. (2012). Grassroots and governance: A critical analysis of possibilities for learning for active citizenship within community-based organizations. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. 135, 51-59.
Gouthro, P.A. (2012). Learning your way into a life of crime (fiction): Assessing Sisters in Crime as a grassroots learning organization. The Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education. 24(2), 34-50.
Holloway, S.M. & Gouthro, P.A. (2011). Teaching resistant novice educators to be critically reflective. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. 32(1), 29-41.
Gouthro, P.A. (2010 invited submission). Lifelong learning and the pursuit of happiness: A reconsideration of the ‘value’ of learning. International Journal of Lifelong Education – Special edition on the NIACE Learning through Life report.