Identity‐trajectory: Reframing early career academic experience

Abstract

Our longitudinal qualitative research program examining doctoral student, post-PhD researcher and new lecturer experience is situated in an international literature documenting how early career academics learn through experience. In common with others, our work is framed within an identity perspective. What makes our view of identity distinct is a biographical focus: emphasizing individual agency; situating academic work within the personal arena; and encompassing transitions across roles. This paper demonstrates how the construct of 'identity-trajectory' which links a narrative approach with identity construction contributes to understanding how early career academics learn through experience and navigate their journeys.

CHARACTERIZING THE ENGINEERING EDUCATION GRADUATE STUDENT EXPERIENCE IN CANADA: RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT & REFLECTIONS

“…The intellectual strand focuses on learning both in the classroom and within the disciplinary space, and the contributions made as a result of that learning (i.e., journal publications, presentations, course projects, milestone exams and research findings) [3] [4]. It is comprised of past experiences, personal agency, individual ability and personal circumstances [3] [4].…”

“…It is comprised of past experiences, personal agency, individual ability and personal circumstances [3] [4].…”

Through 'Collaborative Autoethnography': Researchers Explore Their Role as Participants in Characterizing the Identities of Engineering Education Graduate Students in Canada

“…The second phase will be a narrative analysis of individuals' stories derived through semi-structured interviews using a protocol constructed from the analyses of the survey data. The survey was built using McAlpine and colleagues' identity-trajectory framework [3][4][5] , which accounts for the interconnectivity of the intellectual, institutional, and networking influences on a student's identity. The findings from these two phases will be used to describe the diversity of identities of students studying EngEd in Canada, and to ascertain challenges and opportunities that exist for them in this developing and unfettered field 1 .…”

Identifying as an Engineering Technology Graduate

“…In general, these three aspects consist of some sort of social networking, intellectual pursuits or role identity, and organizational environments. 4,5 This work focuses on the engineering technology graduate and will employ the results of a survey of this population, interpreting the findings using the Identity-Trajectory theoretical framework 5,6 . The survey consists of three sections with questions developed using constructs in networking, intellectual pursuits/role identity, and institutional culture.…”

“…These components provide an individual value, emotional significance, and how they look at themselves as they relate to others 7,8 . The second section of the Identity-Trajectory Theory 5,6 is the least cohesive from theory to theory, ranging from consideration of intellectual artifacts to how someone identifies in their various roles. We will utilize this portion of the theory to evaluate how the engineering education technology graduates identify to their job title, and issues regarding tenure in those positions.…”