Understanding racial/ethnic meaning making: Narrative analysis of STE[A]M doctoral student experiences

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the racial and ethnic aspects of the doctoral socialization to provide a meaningful insight into the belief systems and decision-making processes related to academic success and degree completion. This paper addresses a gap in literature focusing on the racial and ethnic aspects of the doctoral student experience as they relate to student agency.

Design/methodology/approach

This narrative research of four doctoral students uses a postmodern active interview method to foreground the role of a doctoral agency as manifested in the ways students make meaning of their experiences as members of the science, technology, engineering, agriculture and math academic community. A dialectical approach to the traditional socialization models provides the framework for understanding the meaning-making processes within a critical context of academia.

Findings

Findings present the intrinsic foundations for a doctoral agency and forces that shape key decision-making processes for doctoral students.

Research limitations/implications

Implications for research and practice provide guidance for faculty, graduate school administrators and organizations interested in supporting degree completion for historically marginalized doctoral students.

Originality/value

This study examines doctoral socialization as a meaning-making process of racial/ethnic students in engineering and agricultural programs. Narrative research design provides depth into the individual experiences and the role of racial/ethnic histories in students’ socialization (meaning-making) processes in a predominantly White academic environment.

Citation

Azizova, Z.T. and Felder, P.P. (2017), "Understanding racial/ethnic meaning making: Narrative analysis of STE[A]M doctoral student experiences", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 144-168. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-D-17-00004