Jen’s Journal: 
a reflective story of my doctorate journey. 
Aim of presentation 
•	To outline my EdD study and share extracts from my research journal. 

•	To analytically explore my use of the personal reflective voice in professional academic work. 

•	To support reflective writing as a strategy for professional groups development within the academy.
My Educational Doctorate 
	Within my study the focus was to explore stories surrounding childbirth. 

	The objective of the study was to explore the narratives themselves and to consider the educational possibilities of stories within pre and post registered midwifery education.  

	The stories about childbirth were gathered from the perspectives of cared for and carer using a narrative and reflective inquiry approach. 
Theoretical influences at the start

•	When starting the study I drew on the work of a number of authors / researchers who had found away to link peoples experiences within their life journey (Clandinin & Connelly, Foley). 

•	As the researcher I was seeking to record within the study  my story of the research journey. In doing this I was influenced by Bocher who described: “Academic life is impersonal, not intimate… a life of theory can remove one from experience, make one feel unconnected” . I wanted to find a way to be connected with my study. 

The Context of the Stories
Theoretical Influences that emerged
•	As the study progressed the theoretical influences informing the study subtlety changed towards those that supported the not only the use of the first person in academic writing but also those that called for different ways multiple ways of writing up research. This includes writing as autobiography, narrated accounts, auto-ethnography, poetry  and drama.

•	As my ambition was to explore ways of learning from the stories about childbirth I was interested if these different modes of communicating would enable learners to engage in a reflective way with the stories and with their midwifery practice. 

•	In taking such a stance I was challenging as others do the status of the objectified author in academic writing. The objectified status is associated with 'Mature Scholarship‘ (Charmaz & Mitchell). 
Introduction to me your narrator 
	“I'm not sure where my interest in stories came from. As a child I had difficulty in reading and writing. At the age of seven having changed schools I found a trip to the school library a trial. Would I be found out? I remember one visit in particular. Like the other children I chose a book. Mine had no pictures. When I went to get it stamped the teacher asked kindly if I enjoyed sport.  I said I did, which was true. I had chosen a book titled 'England verses Australia at Cricket' .“

Reflections on Sharing my Story
•	In presenting work that is written in the first person it responded to the theoretical sources of influences in the study. 

•	It felt, and still feels intellectually appropriate but emotionally exposing. As I step out into an arena where many retain and uphold a hierarchy of research methods and the traditional mode of academic writing. 

•	As P.Usher notes; we can not know when sharing our experiences how they will be read or heard by others.  
Conception of the Study
	I remember a lunchtime conversation. There were five or six of us sitting around the tired Formica table in the diner, munching away at sandwiches and sipping drinks. The talk was about a novel someone had read. I used to feel slightly excluded from these conversations as I felt my reading 'Curriculum Vitae' was not as extensive as others in CARE. Part of the novel's story was being told, I can't remember what it was, but in some way it must have resonated with me as I joined the conversation with a story of my experience from midwifery. One of the guys reflected on how I often would bring a story from my practice experience into a conversation about stories from a book. The conversation moved on. Later I thought more about this and realised he was right.
Reflective Journal 17th April 1999
Pregnant Pause
•	This chapter explored how for pregnant women it was a time of growth, development, and meaning. 

•	For students and midwives it was also associated with development via learning, constructing meaning from experience and for all involved the movement between private and public spaces. 

•	For me this stage of the study was associated with gathering the stories via open framed interviews. As I did this so I developed a deepening understanding of how and why I was using the narrative approach and the ethical implications of it was developed. 

Reflective Journal October 99
	
Planning for the Birth 
•	Women in the study when half way through their pregnancy started to focus on the birth.  Their stories were full of talk about the physical, mental and family preparations for the 'big day'. 

•	For students and midwives their stories were also often focused on the big day. For students the anxiety of knowing enough about what to do and when to do it was important. For midwives and students alike the development of professional relationships was significant. 

•	For me this phase was associated with analysing the data. 
Reflective Journal 8.3.2000
	
Reflective Journal 7.5.00
	
Labour & Birth 
•	Within this chapter I move away from the analysis of narratives where themes of data are presented with analysis, towards narrative analysis where the storytellers and their experience was centrality retained. Polkinghorne (1995).

•	The storytelling formats I used were; an autobiographical story, 'spoken play', letters, a reflective account, monologue and ‘talking heads’ dialogue. 

•	The choice of story format was influenced by the analysis and the essence of the storied experiences of labour and birth. 
Reflective journal 7.11.00
	
Reflective journal 18.11.00 
submission date 9 weeks away
Reflecting on What Happened Next ? 
Story Sharing in the Midwifery Curriculum 
What it appears to do for Students 
•	Develop Listening, hearing, attending skills towards our selves and others which intern supports empathy. 

•	Recognition of the emotional dimension of learning and emotional intelligence in midwifery practice.

•	Creative problem solving in how the students show their experience, knowledge and developing understanding via different story genres.

•	Via supportive sharing enables living with uncertainty, as the story teller does not know how the story will be received and the listener does not know how it will end.

The BU Story Sharing Work Published to date
Cook.M       A Beautiful Birth. MIDIRS Midwifery Digest (2003) vol 13, no4 pp447-448
Edwards D  The Storm,MIDIRS Midwifery Digest , vol 14, no 3,  pp 309-310  (2004) 
Leamon J    Sharing stories: what can we learn from such practice?  MIDIRS Midwifery Digest   vol 14, no 1, March 2004, pp 13-16 (2004) 
Leamon J.   Review of Callister.L (2004) Making meaning : Women’s birth narratives. JOGNN 33(4)pp508-518 in MIDIRS Midwifery Digest pp458-45(2004) 
New.S        Giving birth the Swedish way. MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 14 (4)pp439-446 (2004) 
Sedgwick.J   If only. MIDIRS Midwifery Digest vol 13, no4 pp445-447
Wookey.R    Just fifteen minutes. MIDIRS Midwifery Digest vol 17, no1 pp15-16 (2007) 
Reflecting on What is happening now?
Story Sharing is being reviewed via an Action research project. 
•	We have gathered students views via questionnaire on the value and process of story sharing, which informed focus group discussion with students. 
 
•	Tutors have been invited to provide their responses to issues arising from the data from students. 

•	We are now moving to the final stages of reviewing all the evidence of the 4 elements of the pre reg’ programme reviewed. 

•	We are hopeful the results can be used as a resource for tutors and students in further development of our well respected midwifery programme. 

The study frame over time and process