Doing the work of the "woke" : writing center tutoring and social justice

The purpose of this study was to examine the divide between theory and practice \nand contribute to empirical research on social justice in writing centers. A mixed methods \napproach, involving a survey and a case study, was used to better understand the nature \nof tutors’ critical consciousness and its contribution to social justice in writing center \ntutoring. Findings indicate that participants’ critical consciousness, especially as applied \nto the writing center context, is still developing, and tutors’ tendency toward “niceness” \nmay inhibit them from engaging in difficult conversations about social justice issues with \ntheir clients. This information has implications for writing center directors and their \napproach to tutor education.