Building academic identity in the context of STEM

This article reports on an investigation into the role of academic identity within collaborative research in higher education in South Africa. The study was informed by the literature on academic identities, collaborative research and communities of practice. It was located within a multi-site study, with involvement of researcher collaborators from eight South African higher education institutions. Eighteen academic development practitioners recorded their perceptions of their participation in one higher education research project. An analysis of the research team members' experiences of participating in the first phase of the research project lent credence to the factors influencing participants' academic identities. The study found that collaborative research provided potential for knowledge generation and personal and professional growth, but noted that in order to enable participation, attention needs to be paid to the interrelationship between researchers' academic individual and collective identities and their sense of expertise in the field of educational research.

The establishment of academic voice, authority and identity in international fora, this chapter argues, is both a central challenge and a central benefit of international academic relations. For the presentation (of new ideas, papers, paradigms: the lifeblood of academic interchange) entails the mediation not just of a text but also of persona: both must be ‘translated’ for the ‘foreign’ and host audience; both are changed in the process. As always, that which is found, as well as lost, in translation reveals much about the essential qualities of the ‘original’: here the author's ‘original’ academic voice and identity. This chapter draws on ethnographic and inter-cultural representational models to explore the proper form of recording and reflecting/reflecting on one particular intercultural academic encounter. It uses explanatory models drawn from Academic Literacies, Sociolinguistics and Translation Studies to try to analyse and understand the process, effect and implications of that encounter. In order to establish that which is performative in academic identity, it gives an evaluative account of what it means to lose, and regain, one's academic voice.

The academic identity is in the focus of the paper. The study is relevant as Academic Identity represented in English determines a young scolar`s entering the global academic community, acknowledgement by the dicourse community and science ambition realisation. The paper is aimed at analising lingvo-didactic ponential of revising academic text in English as an efficient methodological technique in enhancing English proficiency of research students; the way revising facilitates Academic Identity construction. The aim involves the following objectives: (1) considering various viewponts of both foreign and Russian scientists on the notion and major components of Academic Identity, our fomulating the definition of Academic Identity; (2) revealing the lingvotextual peculiarities of a scientific paper which influence Academic Identity construction, analising their potential of representing author and his/her academic status; (3) discussing methodological relevance of using English academic text revising as an efficient methodological technique in enhancing English proficiency of research students and developing Academic Identity; (4) hypothesis testing on the co-working academic case-studies of university teachers and research students at BMSTU; (5) interpreting the obtained results in terms of their verification and relevance in reaching the goal. The authors employ empirical techniques of pedagogical observation, quantitative and qualitative (discourse-interpretation) analyses. The novelty and theoretical value of the study are determined by the fact that it has proved the possibility of constructing Academic Identity at the International level as a holistic structural dynamic process of developing identity by mastering academic communication language characterised by its discourse functional peculiarities. It has been established that Academic Identity of research students may be nurtured during writing academic texts by applying structural-linguistic norms of academic writing, author's self-identification by means of linguistic and text markers, revising texts and manipulating reasonable language resources to vary the degree the author and his vewpoint are visible in a scientific paper. The practical value lies in its relevance for successful Academic Identity constructing of young scholars by English resourse, for research students' awareness at technical higher education institutions how revising academic texts influences Academic Identity degree. Therefore, the co-working of university teachers and research students on revising their scientific papers facilitates mastering academic discourse knowledge while enhancing Academic English proficiency, self-confidence and self-consistency, i.e. constructing Academic Identity.

Much of the literature around the notions of discourse and identity explores how education (particularly higher education) might develop academic discourses and identities in students. There is however a dearth of work relating to what the development of academic discourses and identities in students might mean for the lecturers who teach them. The identities of lecturers, especially those in applied science/engineering fields, are generally framed in terms of their disciplinary affiliation rather than their role as professional educators. This construction of a science/engineering-based identity in many ways militates against the incorporation of an identity as a professional educator. Using narrative methodology, life history approaches and discourse analysis to trace twenty lecturers' perceptions of their changing roles and identities as academics, this paper argues that the incorporation of a professional educator identity would enable the explicit teaching of academic discourses. The findings show that the identity of professional educator can be developed in science/engineering lecturers through their interaction with academic developers from ‘other’ disciplines such as Education and Language/Linguistics. Bringing academic developers and science/engineering lecturers into dialogue with each other facilitated the development of an alternate identity, that of professional educator, in science/engineering lecturers. The paper concludes that academic developers, through the generic academic literacy courses offered at most tertiary institutions, occupy a space that science/engineering lecturers should be filling, that of inducting students into the discourses of science and engineering. Finally the paper recommends that sustained interaction between academic developers and science/engineering lecturers facilitates a shift in the academic identities of the science/engineering lecturers, towards incorporating an ‘otherness’ as discourse teachers.

Student-athletes’ athletic and academic identities have been recognized as important determinants to their academic and athletic performance. Yet, there is scarce information on how these two identities may be related to student-athletes’ overall or sport-wellbeing. Therefore, this study examined how student-athletes’ academic and athletic identities are associated with their overall and sport well-being in a US national sample of 241 NCAA Division I student-athletes. We examined whether the relationship between these two identities and well-being would be moderated by student-athletes’ demographics. We also explored whether interruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic affected student-athletes’ overall and sport well-being. Results showed a significant positive relationship between academic identity and overall well-being, and a negative relationship between athletic identity and sport well-being. Additionally, year in school, race, and gender were significant correlates of sport and overall well-being. Finally, results indicated that COVID-19 pandemic was negatively associated with participants’ overall and sport well-being.

Academic performance is one of the indicators of the success of educational systems in achieving their goals, influenced by various factors. The aim of this study was to examine the status of academic performance and predict it based on the variables academic identity, academic excitement, and academic enthusiasm among students of Jiroft University of Medical Sciences in southern Iran in 2024. This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 290 students. Data were collected using standardized questionnaires on academic identity, academic excitements, academic enthusiasm, and academic performance. The data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression at a significance level of 0.05. SPSS version 23.0 was utilized for data analysis. The mean scores for academic identity, positive academic excitement, negative academic excitement, academic enthusiasm, and academic performance of the studied students 112.45 ± 9.38 out of 195, 56.66 ± 8.34 out of 110, 199.38 ± 9.34 out of 265, 40.41 ± 6.32 out of 75, and 136.35 ± 6.85 out of 240, respectively. A statistically significant correlation was observed between academic performance and academic identity (r = 0.576, P < 0.001), positive academic excitements (r = 0.627, P < 0.001), negative academic excitements (r = -0.635, P < 0.001), and academic enthusiasm (r = 0.656, P < 0.001). The correlation between academic performance with academic identity, positive academic excitements, and academic enthusiasm was in a direct direction and inversely correlated with negative academic excitements. According to the results of multiple linear regression, the components of academic identity (academic commitment; β = 0.648, future orientation; β = 0.643, personal agency; β = 0.638, belonging academic; β = 0.631, self-concept; β = 0.629), positive (hope; β = 0.669, enjoyment; β = 0.665, pride; β = 0.647) and negative (hopelessness; β= - 0.657, fatigue; β= - 0.653, anxiety; β= - 0.641, shame; β= - 0.632, anger; β= - 0.531) academic excitements, and academic enthusiasm (cognitive enthusiasm; β = 0.662, behavioral enthusiasm; β = 0.659, emotional enthusiasm; β = 0.652) were identified as predictors of students' academic performance (P < 0.05). Academic Identity, positive and negative academic excitements, and academic enthusiasm were identified as predictors of students' academic performance. Therefore, it is recommended that senior educational managers of the university facilitate the improvement of academic identity, positive excitements, and academic enthusiasm, while controlling negative excitements among students by organizing relevant courses and workshops, to witness the growth and enhancement of their academic performance. In addition, faculty members' capacity and role can be leveraged to shape and strengthen students' academic identity. Moreover, fostering vibrant cultural, social, and academic environments within universities is recommended to boost positive academic excitement, reduce negative academic excitement, and cultivate academic enthusiasm. Not applicable.

ABSTRACTAs an officially bilingual institution, the University of Ottawa, the world's largest bilingual French/ English university, requires that some of its professors teach in their second language. Although the needs of students studying in their second language are well documented, very little is known about the experience of professors who teach in their second language. It is therefore important to study the impact of this situation on professors’ academic roles and identities in order to understand their needs.We interviewed forty-two University of Ottawa professors who teach or have taught in their second language about the professional, personal, and emotional impact of this situation. We analyzed the interviews using a mixed methodology. This paper presents the preliminary findings from the twenty-one Francophone professors who teach in English regarding the impact of this situation: although their linguistic and cultural identities are not affected, their emotional selves, their academic identities and their professional roles are significantly impacted.

There has been little empirical research that has paid attention to the identity formation of academics, who experience transitions across communities and changing forms of academic membership. Drawing on the narratives of two academics based in Cypriot public universities, who were part of a qualitative study examining the impact of communities of practice on academic development and identity, this article discusses how the boundaries of academic communities can lead to peripheral participation for academics, who may be at different stages in their careers – as newcomers and old-timers, creating complexities in identity development. It will also illustrate the unequal power relationships that can emerge in the culture of academic practice. The article will use Lave and Wenger’s concept of community of practice and Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and field to show how peripheral participation can dismantle academic identities and status positions and affect mutual engagement between academics. In spite of these challenges, the article concludes by exploring how communities of practice might be used to facilitate and support academic identity and development.

Objective: The sense of school belonging is a type of psychological need that has been confirmed to have positive psychological outcomes and supports the positive functioning of students in learning environments. Therefore, identifying individual and motivational factors that affect this sense is important. This study aimed to develop a structural model of school belonging based on academic identity, with the mediating role of students' academic engagement. Methods and Materials: This correlational study utilized structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all female high school students in Khorramabad during the 2023-2024 academic year. Among them, 800 students were selected through multistage cluster sampling. They were then evaluated using the School Belonging Questionnaire (Barry et al., 2004), Academic Identity Scales (Vaz &amp; Isakson, 2008), and Academic Engagement Scale (Reeve, 2013). Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Findings: A positive and direct relationship was found between successful academic identity and academic engagement with school belonging, while a confused academic identity had a direct and negative relationship with school belonging (P&lt;0.001). Successful and follower academic identities had a positive and direct relationship with academic engagement; confused and delayed academic identities had a direct and negative relationship with academic engagement (P&lt;0.001). Academic engagement mediated the relationship between academic identity and school belonging. The overall model fit indices also indicated that the proposed model had a good fit. Conclusion: Based on the study's findings, it can be concluded that students' academic identity and academic engagement contribute to their sense of school belonging.

This chapter covers the ways in which assessment practices are shaping students' academic identity in the contemporary transnational higher education (TNHE) market in the Arabian Gulf region. Drawing on Foucault's notion of power and discourse, this chapter argues that the power of language testing practices within TNHE contexts in the Arabian Gulf region is creating a new self (new academic identity) for students. Within this new academic identity, students conform to a more transnational education provider-oriented definition of knowledge and membership of academia perpetuated by language testing practices. The chapter explores two cases of assessment within TNHE programs within the Arabian Gulf region and their impact on students' academic identity and educational experiences. Proposals are made for the adoption of a posthumanist orientation to relocate the power of language in language testing and assessment practices within TNHE programs in the Gulf region.

هدف البحث الحالي إلى التعرف على العلاقة بين الهوية الأکاديمية وبعض المتغيرات النفسية (التوافق الأکاديمي- الدافعية للإنجاز- قلق المسقبل) لدى طلبة الجامعة، والتحقق من إمکانية التنبؤ بالهوية الأکاديمية في ضوء بعض المتغيرات النفسية، والکشف عن الفروق في الهوية الأکاديمية وفقا للنوع (ذکور- إناث)، والتخصص الأکاديمي (أدبي- علمي)، والمستوى الدراسي (الفرقة الأولى- الفرقة النهائية) لدى طلبة الجامعة. وشارک في البحث (400) طالب وطالبة (200 طالب، و200 طالبة) بکليات جامعة الأزهر، ممن ينتمون للفرق الدراسية الأولى والنهائية بکلية أصول الدين بالقاهرة وکلية العلوم للبنين بالقاهرة، وکلية الدراسات الإنسانية بنات بالقاهرة، وکلية العلوم بنات بالقاهرة، وتتراوح أعمارهم ما بين (18- 23) عاما وذلک بالعام الجامعي 2020/2021م؛ وقد تکونت أدوات البحث من مقياس الهوية الأکاديمية (إعداد الباحثة)، ومقياس التوافق الأکاديمي (إعداد الباحثة)، ومقياس الدافعية للإنجاز (إعداد عبد اللطيف خليفة، 2006)، ومقياس قلق المستقبل (إعداد الباحثة). وأسفرت النتائج عن وجود علاقة ذات دلالة إحصائية بين الهوية الأکاديمية وکل من (التوافق الأکاديمي- الدافعية للإنجاز- قلق المستقبل)، وإمکانية التنبؤ بالهوية الأکاديمية لدى طلبة الجامعة في ضوء بعض المتغيرات النفسية، ووجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية في الهوية الأکاديمية وأبعادها وفقا للنوع (ذکور- إناث)، والمستوى الدراسي (الفرقة الأولى- الفرقة النهائية)، وعدم وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية في الهوية الأکاديمية وأبعادها وفقا للتخصص الأکاديمي (أدبي- علمي). تمت مناقشة نتائج البحث، وتقديم بعض التوصيات والبحوث المقترحة. The current research aimed to identify the correlation between academic identity and some psychological variables (academic adjustment- achievement motivation- future anxiety) among university students, and to verify the possibility of predicting academic identity in the light of some psychological variables. The study also aimed to examine the differences in academic identity according to gender (male- Female), academic major (literary- scientific), and academic level (first year- final year) among university students. 400 male and female students (200 male, 200 female) participated in the research at Al-Azhar University faculties, who belong to first and final year at Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion in Cairo, Faculty of Science for Boys in Cairo, Faculty of Humanities for Girls in Cairo, and Faculty of Science for Girls in Cairo, aged between (18-23) years at the academic year 2020/2021. The research instruments consisted of the academic identity scale (Prepared by researcher), academic adjustment scale (Prepared by researcher), achievement motivation scale (Prepared by Abdul-Latif Khalifa, 2006), and future anxiety scale (Prepared by researcher). The results of the research revealed that there is a statistically significant correlation beteen academic identity and (academic adjustment- achievement motivation- future anxiety). The possibility of predicting academic identity of university students in the light of some psychological variables. The study also showed that there were statistically significant differences in academic identity and its dimensions according to gender (males- female), academic level (first year- final year), and the absence of statistically significant differences in academic identity and its dimensions according to the academic major (literary- scientific).

The study aimed to determine the levels of the quality of academic life factors (quality of professors, quality of courses, quality of university services, and quality of classmates). The study also aimed to examine the role of the quality of academic life in predicting students' academic identity. The study also sought to test the differences in academic identity based on students' majors, levels, mother's and father's education levels. The researcher used the Quality of Academic Life Scale developed by the researcher and the Academic Identity Scale (Al-Zubaidi, 2019) among (563) female students. Results found that the level of the quality of academic life was high. Students reported the quality of professors as the highest responses, followed by the quality of courses, then the quality of classmates, and finally the quality of university services. The results also found that all the quality of academic life factors had an impact on students' academic identity except the quality of university services. Finally, The results indicated no statistically significant differences in academic identity attributed to students' academic level, major, and mother's education level. However, there were statistically significant differences in academic identity attributed to the father's education level.

Procrastination is a widespread problem among students, yet feasible solutions have remained elusive. Recognizing the detrimental impact of procrastination on students’ potential, this study aims to investigate the underlying factors contributing to this problem. Specifically, this study explores the associations between academic identity, self-esteem, and procrastination in both male and female participants. Previous research suggests a negative relationship between self-esteem and procrastination. There has been substantially less research examining the relationship between academic identity types (i.e., achieved, foreclosed, moratorium, and diffused academic identity) and procrastination. The current study surveyed 244 college students about their personality habits, academic identity, and self-esteem. It was hypothesized that self-esteem would moderate the relationship between achieved academic identity and procrastination. Regression analyses support this hypothesis, indicating that college students who have a well-developed sense of achieved academic identity are less likely to procrastinate in academic settings, especially for students high in self-esteem. Additionally, results suggest students who have not made a commitment to academic goals and values, are more likely to procrastinate. Theoretical implications for studying academic identity and procrastination will be discussed, along with intervention recommendations for college students.

This research explores the formation of academic identities in a large, northern post-1992 UK university. The study is contextualized within the current discourse of a managerialist, neo-liberal, marketised higher education context and the dominance of notions of 'excellence'. The research aimed to ascertain how academics conceptualise their academic role and practice over time and what might account for this, with an intention to identify implications for the support and development of new academic staff. The participants were academics who were undertaking or had recently undertaken a Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. A set of longitudinal interviews, three per participant, formed the primary data set with current course participants, with a secondary data set of one off interviews with a separate group of alumni course participants. The research sits within a constructivist paradigm and adopted a reflexive, interpretative approach to data collection and analysis, with both the voice of the researcher and participants remaining visible throughout. An iterative process of qualitative data analysis was used, with themes inductively generated from the data, using first open coding and then qualitative content analysis. Although participant narratives are heterogeneous, overarching themes were identified relating to conceptions of identity and factors influencing this. Conceptions of identity typically saw 'hybridised academic identities' emerging, together with the notion of the academic as a 'tri-professional'. Whilst the notion of 'research' was considered an essential aspect of the academic identity, differing conceptions of what this entailed highlighted disciplinary differences in approaches to research and scholarly practice. Several interdependent factors influencing the development of academic identity and practice were identified from the data. These were self-efficacy, pedagogical agency, mattering, and belonging, which were interrelated with a key aspect of a stable academic identity, pedagogical resilience. These findings informed the development of a tentative conceptual model for the formation of the academic, the 'new academic identity nexus'. Whilst it appeared that courses like a PgCert LTHE can contribute to the development of an academic identity, experiences in local subject contexts were the critical mechanisms through which an academic identity can be developed and realised. The proposed 'new academic identity nexus' has significant implications for leaders and managers in academic institutions.

Interpretive and narrative research approaches, the experiences of academic administrators other than deans, chairs, and presi-dents, and academic identity work beyond graduate students and beginning professors are all areas that are underrepresented in the literature on higher educational administration. This article builds on recent narrative research by applying higher educational admin-istrative theories as interpretive lenses to propose a model for helping to understand the development and application of associate deans’ academic identities. Among the findings were that academic identities helped explain associate deans’ approaches to their roles, their views of their surrounding organizations, and their reasons for assuming the role. Further, the associate deans who partic-ipated in this research did not experience their transition to the role as an identity crisis in the ways typically described and assumed by higher educational leadership scholars. Instead, they drew upon their well-established academic identities and, in keeping with the nascent research on academic identity work, were intentional in their efforts to maintain their academic identities.