Dynamics of identity in the academic field and implications to science students’ identity formation

Abstract

Aydeniz and Hodge investigated how college professors negotiate their responsibilities as teachers and as researchers and the rationales behind their pedagogical approaches. Their findings illustrate how difficult it can be to keep the balance between these two responsibilities in a university that does not support professor’s enactment of teaching goals. Thinking identity as a dynamics in self and institutional boundary, Albrecht and Fortney in their forum contribution, expand the analysis of Professor G’s professional identity and conclude that in his case, institutional boundary is impermeable as it values research scientist more than teacher identity. In this forum contribution I emphasize the role of institutional culture in the identitarian process, interpreting the identity and identity formation of a science college teacher within the dynamics of the academic field. I expand the discussion to the other side of the problem, bringing excerpts of an interview with a Physics student from a Brazilian university as an illustration of how the academic habitus can impact the formation of a student’s identity.