Doctoral Student Agency in the Process of Professional Socialization: Insights from Funded International Students from Kazakhstan

• In Event: Student experiences in higher education

Proposal

Professional socialization is defined as “a process through which a person becomes a legitimate member of a professional society” (Shahr et al, 2019, p. 17). The main outcomes of this process are the formation of professional identity and professional development, which are associated with internalization by the newcomer of “the specific culture of a professional community, including expectations, values, beliefs, customs, traditions, and unwritten rules of the profession, as well as understanding the hierarchy and power structure, and the responsibilities” (Shahr et al., 2019, p. 17). While doctoral education is not the only mechanism of professional socialization in academia, it plays one of the most important roles in the process.
Numerous studies have explored the professional socialization of doctoral students (Gardner & Doore, 2020; Gardner & Mendoza, 2023; Weidman & DeAngelo, 2020). Nevertheless, prevailing theories on doctoral socialization often neglect the agentic dimension of the process—the self-determination and autonomy doctoral students are capable of exercising in shaping their doctoral pathways and developing their scholarly identities (Hopwood, 2010).
In the case of international students, the agentic aspect is disregarded to a greater extent (Nguyet Nguyen & Robertson, 2022). Specifically, international students often face negative stereotypes portraying them as passive, academically deficient, and lacking the skills for success in Western higher education (Ding, 2016; Nguyet Nguyen & Robertson, 2022). However, recent research started to challenge this deficit-based identity, presenting international students as active self-forming agents capable of independent action and proactive choices (Li et al., 2022; Marginson 2014; Oleksiyenko & Shchepetylnykova, 2023; Tran & Vu, 2016, 2018). Nevertheless, more understanding of doctoral students’ agency is necessary, especially concerning international students, who might be preparing to work in academic contexts, which are different from the ones where they are pursuing their doctoral education. Such an understanding might facilitate the development of differentiated approaches for training scholars from diverse academic contexts.
This study seeks to address the gap in existing research by exploring the role of agency in the socialization of funded international students from Kazakhstan pursuing their doctoral degrees in education in the UK and the US. The focus on state-funded international doctoral students is related to the fact that the students are obligated by the funding agency to return to their home country upon graduation. We assume that this obligation limits future employment choices for the students to the home-country academic job market, thus pushing them to be more proactive in agentic socialization to the norms and realities of Kazakhstani rather than host-country academia.
Using a qualitative interview-based approach to collect data and drawing on two major frameworks—the emerging concept of student self-formation that highlights the pivotal role of reflexive agency in shaping their higher education trajectories (Marginson, 2014, 2023) and the developmental network theory (Sweitzer, 2009)—for data interpretation, the study answers the following research questions: (1) What are the career aspirations of the funded international doctoral students? (2) To what extent do the students exercise agency in the process of preparation for the aspired careers? (3) How do the students perceive the role and value of different developmental networks in the process of socialization?
Drawing on the results of in-depth online semi-structured interviews with 10 international doctoral students from Kazakhstan, equally split between the two host countries, this study demonstrated that both UK and US male students aspired to leadership roles within the home country’s educational sector while US male students also exhibited a strong interest in pursuing faculty positions in the host country despite the return requirement of the funding agency and their keen awareness of the competitive nature of the US job market. Unlike their male peers, female doctoral students studying at US and UK universities connected their career aspirations solely with Kazakhstan, focusing on teaching, research, and mid-level administrative positions. The gender differentiation in aspirations could be linked to gendered practices in the Kazakhstani education sector, where despite women comprising the majority, top leadership positions are predominantly held by men. Male students may recognize this gender dynamic and see a strategic advantage in aiming for high-level administrative roles in Kazakhstan while exploring alternative opportunities in their host countries.
The interview analysis revealed distinct patterns in how male and female participants exhibited agentic behavior in their academic and professional journeys. Facing dual responsibilities at home and at work (as well as in their studies), being aware of gender biases and discrimination in patriarchal Kazakhstani academia, women tended to adopt a longer-term, strategic approach to ensure their efforts lead to tangible career advancements. Several female participants emphasized efficiency and alignment in their activities, avoiding unrelated tasks and ensuring that every effort contributed to their long-term goals. Such pressure was not exerted on males. In addition, female doctoral students seemed to exhibit greater agency taking ownership of their educational and career paths, while some of their male counterparts, who have had historically received more institutional support, continued to expect such support from various sources during their studies.
In terms of social networks, the participants appeared to develop and sustain a diverse array of connections, including those with academic advisors, host and home faculty members, host and home peers, as well as family members. The study concludes that the requirement for students to return to their home country directs their focus toward the domestic job market, motivating them to actively prepare for it and encouraging them to strategically participate in both host-country and home-country social networks. The research findings suggest that doctoral training programs in host countries should acknowledge the external academic market focus of certain international doctoral students and take more proactive measures to support their involvement in relevant home-country social networks while future research should take into consideration the importance of home country players in doctoral student socialization.

Authors

• Aliya Kuzhabekova, University of Calgary

• Tatyana Kim, University of Calgary