EDF5760 - Assessment task one: Scoping literature review and annotated bibliography

Proposed Project Title:

An Autoethnographic Exploration of Academic Identity Development During A PhD

Word count: 3488 words

Introduction

Several years ago, as I was studying my PhD in Medicine, an unfortunate laboratory accident led me to develop an allergy to a commonly used laboratory chemical. This unforeseen event marked a pivotal moment in my academic journey (Pretorius, 2019). I could still complete my PhD thesis (see Pretorius, 2010), but I realised that I would never be able to teach and do medical research in the long term. Determined not to let this setback define me, I embarked on a journey to redefine my academic identity. When I use the term academic identity here, I refer to the stories I told myself about who I was and who I was not within academia (Pretorius & Macaulay, 2021; Yuval Davis, 2010). By exploring my academic identity, I realised that I could revisit other disciplinary areas I had previously studied to refocus my teaching career.

My academic narrative had begun to unfold, but several challenges lay ahead as I transitioned into the fields of Education and Counselling. I learned the art of perseverance in adversity, the power of purposeful reflection to understand personal academic narratives, and the importance of engaging with diverse perspectives (Pretorius, 2019). These skills were instrumental in helping me navigate the shift into a new field, but this journey was not just about changing disciplines; it was about crafting a new story about who I would like to be within academia. This narrative of adaptability and resilience now defines my academic identity. Consequently, for this project in EDF5760, I would like to explore how my journey to develop my academic identity has shaped my teaching practices now that I have my PhD students.

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To do this, I embarked on a literature search using educational databases (ERIC, A+, Scopus) and Google Scholar to look for studies focusing on doctoral education, academic identity, reflection (or reflective practice), and academic writing at the doctoral level. I included literature reviews and empirical research published as papers or book chapters, as I wanted to get a broad overview of the knowledge in the field before focusing my research inquiry. I then decided to narrow my focus to recent sources (published in the last five years) in English, including PhD students as co-authors. I did this to ensure that the studies’ authors considered the students’ perspectives in any of their findings.

Annotated Bibliography

Chakraborty, D., Soyoof, A., Moharami, M., Utami, A. D., Zeng, S., Cong-Lem, N., Hradsky, D., Maestre, J., Foomani, E. M., & Pretorius, L. (2021). Feedback as a space for academic social practice in doctoral writing groups. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 38(2), 238-248. https://doi.org/10.1080/20590776.2021.1972764

The article by Chakraborty et al. (2021) examines the role of peer feedback in doctoral writing groups and its impact on academic writing anxiety among doctoral students. The authors highlight the importance of academic writing in terms of academic identity development. Recognising academic writing as a form of identity work, the study explores how these writing groups function as spaces for social learning and collaboration. Methodologically, the study employs a thematic analysis of published peer-reviewed research. The study’s key findings emphasise creating a secure and trusting environment in doctoral writing groups to encourage participants to view writing as a social practice. The study highlights that such groups not only aid in skill development but also significantly contribute to building the students’ ability to navigate the often implicit narratives of academia, thereby enhancing their agency as researchers and scholars.

This study significantly contributes to the field, underscoring the importance of peer-based learning in doctoral programs. It extends the understanding of doctoral education by emphasising the social aspects of academic writing and the critical role of feedback in this context in terms of academic identity development. The study is comprehensive and the literature review strategy is sound. However, as highlighted by the authors, further work needs to be done regarding how this practice can be implemented in institutions with fewer resources. Additionally, some students do not enjoy collaborative learning, so other types of teaching strategies that can aid these students in their academic identity development should be developed. In terms of my proposed study, this paper will be useful because of its focus on the interplay of academic writing and academic identity development. Importantly, though, I will have to do further research to include more empirical studies into my future project, since this paper is a literature review. I can use the studies the authors found as part of their literature search as a starting point for my research project.