TY - JOUR
T1 - Three constructs of institutional identity among international doctoral students in Australia
AU - Fotovatian, Sepideh
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Postmodern institutional interactions in Australian universities, among students and staff, entail negotiation of identity, legitimacy, and social capital . For many international students, this happens in an additional language and culture, in English. The case study presented here profiles four international non-English speaking background Ph.D. students in an Australian university, observes their out-of classroom departmental interactions, and uses a sociocultural perspective of second language in use to map their approaches to the negotiation of institutional identity. Two focus group interviews with the participants illustrated how, despite similarities among the participants in the beginning as newcomers to a Western university, students chose different pathways for integration, engagement in institutional interactions, and identity construction. The discussions highlight the role of agency and intentionality in participation and learning through interaction which leads to a critique of the international student as a label that underplays student agency.
AB - Postmodern institutional interactions in Australian universities, among students and staff, entail negotiation of identity, legitimacy, and social capital . For many international students, this happens in an additional language and culture, in English. The case study presented here profiles four international non-English speaking background Ph.D. students in an Australian university, observes their out-of classroom departmental interactions, and uses a sociocultural perspective of second language in use to map their approaches to the negotiation of institutional identity. Two focus group interviews with the participants illustrated how, despite similarities among the participants in the beginning as newcomers to a Western university, students chose different pathways for integration, engagement in institutional interactions, and identity construction. The discussions highlight the role of agency and intentionality in participation and learning through interaction which leads to a critique of the international student as a label that underplays student agency.
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/13562517.2012.658557
U2 - 10.1080/13562517.2012.658557
DO - 10.1080/13562517.2012.658557
M3 - Article
VL - 17
SP - 577
EP - 588
JO - Teaching in Higher Education
JF - Teaching in Higher Education
SN - 1356-2517
IS - 5
ER -