Poetry as a method for wellbeing in learning
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Other Title
Authors
Hawkins, Lucky
Mann, Samuel
Myers, Ruth
Mann, Samuel
Myers, Ruth
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Date
2026
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Type
Conference Contribution - Paper in Published Proceedings
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
poetic enquiry
autoethnography
lived experience
reflective writing
learner wellbeing
autoethnography
lived experience
reflective writing
learner wellbeing
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Hawkins, L., Mann, S., & Meyers, R. (2026). Poetry as a method for wellbeing in learning. In C. Dannenberg, J. Fleming, & K. E. Zegwaard (Eds.), Combined Refereed Proceedings of the 6th WACE International Research Symposium on Cooperative and Work-Integrated Education, and the WILNZ Annual Conference, Auckland, 2026 (pp. 92–97). WACE Inc. and WILNZ Inc. https://waceinc.org/resource/refereed-proceedings-of-the-6th-wace-international-research-symposium-2026/
Abstract
Learners in Work-Integrated Learning may at times face emotionally charged and culturally complex moments where traditional reflective methods may feel inadequate. In these cases, wellbeing and reflection are not separate processes, but one and the same. This paper examines poetry as a reflective mechanism that enables emotionally safe, culturally responsive meaning-making within WIL. The aim of this paper is to examine how poetry, as lived experience and reflection, can support wellbeing and meaning-making for learners in WIL. To maintain analytic clarity, the following personal reflections are presented as data within an autoethnographic inquiry. They illustrate how poetry functioned as a reflective mechanism during emotionally complex WIL experiences. Poetry first arose as a personal reflective practice during emotionally complex learning experiences. Over time, this practice revealed analytic value as a way of tracing how learners navigate emotion, identity and wellbeing within WIL.
Publisher
WACE Inc. and WILNZ Inc
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