Defining Disciplinary Literacy Practices and Evaluating the Professional Identity of Medical Laboratory Science

Abstract

Disciplinary literacy has been a growing area of interest in educational research (McConachie & Petrosky, 2010; Moje, 2007) in the last two decades, however much of the research has remained theoretical. While some studies have examined specific areas of disciplinary literacy, such as reading or writing, and compared that particular practice among different disciplines (Carter, 2007; C. Shanahan, Shanahan, & Misischia, 2011) very few studies have examined the entirety of the literacy of a discipline (Brill, Dohun, & Branch, 2007; Frick, 1990). This research study sought to define and understand the disciplinary literacy practices of medical laboratory science (MLS), an analytical and technical area of healthcare where professionals test patient samples in order to provide accurate data for physicians who are then able to diagnose the patient and provide effective treatment. In addition, this study investigated the professional identity of MLS, which has a long history of being indistinct and unorganized (Evans, 1968; Grant, 2007; Kotlarz, 1998a, 2000), and considered how the disciplinary literacy practices of the profession may contribute to a stronger professional identity.