Collaborative self-study of early career academics identity transition: a positioning theory perspective

Abstract

Purpose Recent research has indicated the significance of the early career phase for academic identity development. The purpose of the study is to generate a picture of how early career academics' (ECAs) identity development took shape through conceptual perspectives of positioning theory and communal self. Design/methodology/approach This article presents a collaborative self-study that documented how past, present, and future identities influenced the transition to being ECAs for an international team of doctoral candidates and assistant professors. Data sources included six ECAs' written narratives of their trajectories. Findings Thematic analysis indicated that we experienced geographic and psychological fractures as we moved into new environments, we recognized the role of others as we grounded ourselves in new environments, which facilitated our identity formation, and we exercised agency within the system. We found ECAs' identity development to be a process of continuously connecting to our purposes, passions and commitment and of negotiating our identities in relation to others for communal self. Practical implications Based on the findings, we recommend that ECAs engage in identity-focused conversations with others to help (re)negotiate tensions between past, present, and future selves as academics. We suggest that faculty members and ECAs alike be open about the ways in which they agentically and creatively operate within the academic system. Originality/value As an international team of six ECAs spanning across differing career stages, we provide concrete examples in different contexts to illustrate how the identity transitions take shape.