Identity-Conscious Scholar Formation: Shaping More Inclusive Academic Communities

Abstract

As colleges and universities commit to creating and sustaining a more inclusive and equitable community, it is important to understand how the role of identity intersects with the existing processes of socialization and development. An identity-conscious practice is the process of realizing that who we are informs and impacts how we act, interact, and see the world around us. In particular, how identity should be considered as part of bidirectional socialization. Understanding socialization as bidirectional means that organizations can contribute to healthier communities that not only retain scholars but also engage with the identities and experiences of their students. This paper explores the ways in which doctoral students of color, in particular, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, experience the socialization and development processes through the lens of race; identifies the key organizational challenges; and provides recommendations for how colleges and universities can move towards a more inclusive and equitable community. This paper advances a framework for an identity-conscious model of the formation of scholars.