This article examines the role, meaning, and practice of letter writing in the lives of two Finnish girls during the Second World War (WWII). We use a particular set of letters (N = 41) from the wartime letter collection kept in the Tampere University Folklife Archives and argue that they give us an interesting perspective on not only the girls'…

Access to Friedrich Fröbel's essential writings continues to be a challenge for non-German-speaking scholarship. Many essential writings have never been translated, and existing translations are outdated. This article discusses the challenges of translating Fröbel by translating and analyzing one of the essential letters during the establishment…

Studies of both professional science practice and children's science learning show that care is not merely ancillary to disciplinary work but a core and generative constituent of science practice. In science education research, however, students' care is often overlooked. In this paper, we describe the expression of care across two STEM classrooms…

Professional references are widely used in hiring decisions, yet their effectiveness remains largely understudied. We analyze structured ratings collected from the professional references of teacher applicants and conduct an experiment to see whether the ratings influence hiring managers' assessments of applicants and hiring decisions. We find…

This article uses excerpts from poetry, memoir and epistolary genres emerging from research that has utilized close writing practices to interpret the interplay among memory, narrative, and agency. Biographical, historical, archival, and interpretive processes are used to reveal deferred, not noticed, and/or not counted experiences of those…

This article discusses the notion of a 'morally equipped' childhood and adolescence, and how such a notion can help us get a fresh perspective on the relation between young people's participation and empowerment, and the formation of personal and the collective moral repertoires of modern society. Utilising a mixed-methods approach inspired by the…

Students explored using generative AI to create relational messages as well as audience reactions to both human-created and AI-created notes of encouragement. The activity helped students understand the practical, relational, and ethical implications of incorporating AI into communication tasks. By the end of the activity, students could discern…

Purpose: This paper delves into the profound influence of societal beauty standards and the prevalence of body shaming in contemporary culture. It explores how these societal norms contribute to self-esteem issues and psychological distress among individuals, particularly young people. Design/methodology/approach: Through the poignant medium of…

From James Baldwin's (1962) "A Letter to My Nephew," which laid bare the brutalities of being black in 1960s America, to Chanelle Miller's published victim impact statement addressed to her assailant, which provided vocabulary and was kindle for #MeToo, examples abound demonstrating the ways in which the open letter continuously surfaces…

Heeding Gloria Anzaldúa's (2012) call to cultivate, "new theories with new theorizing methods," this article articulates the contours of a Critical Race Feminista Epistolary Praxis (CRFEP). CRFEP, a writing-based methodological intervention nestled within anti-racist and social justice traditions, fosters opportunities for Women of Color…

What is the role of teachers in constructing loving dialogic space that is liminal in nature? How can curricular boundary objects catalyze new dialogic spaces connecting people in different social locations? Illuminating these questions, Ms. Thompson opened new doors for elementary students in an urban Reformed Christian school community, inviting…

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a renewed interest in intergenerational letter and email writing. Evidence shows that expressive writing, including letter writing, has a number of benefits including improved literacy and perceived well-being, and it can also facilitate a deep connection with another person. This scoping review provides an…

Teaching is a stressful profession that requires individuals to balance their time, resources, and emotions. While many districts have plans in place to support the needs of their new teachers, few resources exist for those individuals who have given the most to the profession--veteran teachers. Attrition in education negatively impacts…

This study explored the letter-writing practices of incarcerated adult students at a facility within the Los Angeles County jail system. The study sought to understand the role that letter writing plays in the lives of these individuals, their unique composition processes and products, their beliefs about themselves and their skills as writers,…

Writing and publishing are critical components of an academic career. For many years however, my idealized notions of scholarly writing were demolished by painful and traumatic attempts to publish. The significant time and effort poured into crafting an academic article yielded desk rejection after desk rejection, at times unkind and unhelpful…