The rich get richer: international doctoral candidates and scholarly identity

Abstract

Identity lies at the heart of doctoral study – a mysterious learning process which culminates in Ph.D. students’ metamorphosis into doctors. This paper explores the identity-related experiences of six international Ph.D. students enrolled at an Australian university by examining how different individuals, events and interactions contributed to (or disrupted) their sense of themselves as researchers and scholars. Analysis of the participants’ learning narratives revealed significant disparities in the agency they exercised and the opportunities and support they received, ultimately suggesting that those individuals endowed with the most cultural capital experienced the most favourable identity trajectories. Accordingly, the paper argues that greater efforts are needed to support non-traditional doctoral candidates in their journey to become confident scholars and researchers.

Keywords:

• doctoral education
• narrative research
• international students
• activity theory
• departmental experiences