Professional Identity Development Through a Nontraditional Program for STEM Graduate Students: A Grounded Theory Study

• In Event: Careers, Identities, and Disciplinarity in Doctoral Education

Abstract

Doctoral programs in STEM fields (sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics) excel at imparting to students the knowledge and skills needed to advance scholarship in their disciplines, yet have been less successful in preparing students to relate scientific concepts to non-scientists. Nontraditional STEM graduate programs have aimed to address this gap. For doctoral students who have participated in these programs, immediate outcomes have been well documented, but lasting impacts of participation remain underexplored. Thus, this grounded theory study generated a model that explains the process of professional identity development from the perspectives of students who participated in a nontraditional GK-12 graduate education program. The model may provide important insights into how doctoral students engage in and derive outcomes from nontraditional programs.

Authors

• Theresa R.F. McKinney, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Vicki L. Plano Clark, University of Cincinnati

• Amanda Leigh Garrett, University of Nebraska

• Diandra L. Leslie-Pelecky, University of Nebraska - Lincoln