Abstract
A descriptive phenomenological research design using a socialisation theoretical framework is employed to describe the lived experience of socialisation and its influence in the career pathways of 16 engineering postdoctoral scholars. Descriptive phenomenological data analysis strategies resulted in four constituents regarding effective postdoctoral socialisation: (1) academic identity is nurtured, (2) disciplinary belonging is reinforced, (3) scholarly performance is strengthened, and (4) career development is essential for pursuing the professoriate. The essential structure was conceptualised as follows: Effective socialisation of engineering postdoctoral scholars includes the enhancement of their academic identity, disciplinary belonging, and scholarly performance, as well as attention to the career development needs of those aspiring to be a professor. These findings shed light on the importance of the supervisor-supervisee relationship in the socialisation process and the role of supervisors in shaping postdoctoral scholars’ career trajectories.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 382-396 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of Further and Higher Education |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 UCU.
Funding
This research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP; award number 1821008). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are those of only the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Alliances for Graduate Education | |
| National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program | |
| Directorate for Education and Human Resources | 1821008 |
Keywords
- Descriptive phenomenology
- engineering
- postdoctoral socialisation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education