Acculturation Into Academia: A Narrative Analysis of the Identity Dynamics Among International Graduate Teaching Assistants

• In Event: Unearthing Graduate Student Experiences Across Multiple Educational Contexts

Abstract

This paper explores the acculturation of Asian International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) into the American academic workplace through their day-to-day teaching when they identify as both students and instructors. I apply narrative inquiry to depict the identity dynamics among a group of Asian ITAs in a Midwest university as they develop scholastically. I argue that each identity can take up a different pathway to acculturate, and learn that as instructors, Asian ITAs struggle the most to strike a balance between asserting and withholding their authority on students. Furthermore, they also wrestle to grow beyond the student identity, mostly by disassociating themselves with being a student. Thus, support mechanisms are needed for ITAs who experience a subtle but emotionally challenging acculturation process.

Author

• Trang T Pham, University of Missouri - Columbia