ERIC Number: EJ1467845
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Apr
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0742-5627
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1758
Available Date: 2024-09-05
Postdoctoral Scholars' Emancipatory Strategies to Socialization through Agency
Elizabeth A. Jach1; Chelsea O'Brien2
Innovative Higher Education, v50 n2 p371-388 2025
While prior research often depicts a dire scenario for postdoctoral scholar employment and career trajectory, we offer evidence of postdocs' agency despite challenging circumstances. Through interviews with 30 postdocs employed full-time in the United States, thematic analysis illustrated postdocs' demonstration of agency as an asset they bring into their employment. We review prior literature about individuals' sense of agency and argue for the extension of considering agency to postdocs. Our findings emphasize the importance of recognizing postdocs' sense of agency amidst efforts to improve systemic issues within the research enterprise.
Descriptors: Socialization, Professional Autonomy, Scholarship, Writing (Composition), Researchers, Postdoctoral Education, Career Development, Employee Attitudes, Employment, Employment Potential, Cultural Capital, Human Capital, Self Concept
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1The State University of New York, System Administration, Office of Institutional Research and Data Analytics, Albany, USA; 2University at Albany, State University of New York, Department of Educational Theory and Practice, Albany, USA