Searching for Identity as Researcher and Scholar: Transformative Stories From an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

Abstract

Two instructors in an Ed.D. program in educational leadership analyze narratives from four graduates regarding their identities as educational researchers. The research explores key narrative plot points in the developmental trajectory of professional identity formation for Ed.D. students. Project findings indicate the pedagogical and programmatic value of narrative-based course and program content for Ed.D. students, and the use of narrative to strengthen Ed.D. students' emerging sense of self as researchers and scholars. Project implications include the pedagogical and political value of doctoral instructors engaged in narrative-based identity formation to improve Ed.D. curriculum and program structure.