A Narrative Inquiry into International Doctoral Students’ Emotional Experiences in Navigating Their Researcher Identity Development

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 3:45 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Belonging & Identity: Diverse Doctoral Journeys

Abstract

This narrative inquiry explored the lived experiences of navigating emotions in relation to the researcher identity development of international doctoral students through the revised Perceptual Control Theory. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the four purposefully selected international PhD students in a US university. Analysis of the participants’ narratives reveals that international doctoral students experience a carousel of positive and negative emotions during their research work. However, emotions alone do not influence their researcher identity. A framework of interrelated goals, cognition, motivation, and emotions was proposed to enrich our understanding of international doctoral students’ lived emotional experiences in relation to their researcher identity development. The study results offer significant and practical implications for various stakeholders of doctoral education.

Authors

• Ngoc Kim Tuyen Pham, Texas Tech University

• Jeasik Cho, Texas Tech University