Narratives of TESOL Professionals

Experiences Navigating the Doctoral Program

Edited by:
Hayriye Kayi-Aydar, University of Arizona
Angel Steadman, Highline College
Kate Shea, University of Arizona

A volume in the series: Contemporary Perspectives on Learning Environments. Editor(s): Erin A. Mikulec, Illinois State University. Hayriye Kayi-Aydar, University of Arizona.

Published 2023

Through insiders’ perspectives and narratives, this edited collection provides insight into the lived experiences of recent graduates of various English Applied Linguistics and/or TESOL doctoral programs in North America. The authors document how their personal and professional identities intersected during their doctoral studies and how these doctoral programs, as learning environments, supported them in their professional development and dissertation research. As such, their insider perspectives and narratives are of special value to those contemplating pursuing such a program, or are in progress towards their own degree, as well as the faculty members who advise and support these doctoral students. Chapters focus on topics immediately relevant to success and persistence in a doctoral program, such as developing a network of mentors, establishing a work-life balance, and professional socialization, among others.

All authors are recent graduates of their programs who have been intentionally selected for their recent memories in navigating the process. At a time when doctoral program persistence declines at the intersection of students’ gender and racial background (see Okahana & Zhou, 2019) there is a pressing need to share the insights and lived experiences of those less commonly featured in narratives of the successful doctoral scholar. This need is especially true among TESOL professionals who will teach and learn in diverse, global settings throughout their careers following their graduation. This book contributes to that need, and it is an essential resource for scholars in TESOL/English Applied Linguistics and other similar doctoral programs.

CONTENTS
Foreword, Hayriye Kayı-Aydar, Angel Steadman, and Kate Shea. Preface: Understanding Doctoral Student Experience and Intersectional Identities in TESOL Programs: A Narrative Approach, Hayriye Kayı-Aydar, Angel Steadman, and Kate Shea. Interlude to a Degree: Autoethnographic Reflections on Dissertating After a Cancer Diagnosis, Silvia Vaccino-Salvadore. En La Brega: Puerto Rican Female Scholars Navigating U.S. Educational Pathways, Nidza V. Marichal and Raisa Ankeny. A Third Space where I Went into a Slump: Struggles, Inner Conflicts, and Reflections, Siti Juwariyah. PhD Pursuit: A Doctoral Mother’s Journey to Graduation, Yuliya Summers. Spatializing Researcher Identity Through the Multiple Spaces During Dissertation Writing and Motherhood Life, Inggrit Olivin Tanasale. Affordances and Constraints of Pursuing a TESOL PhD in an English Studies Model, Md Mijanur Rahman. Learning to Teach as an Outsider: The Stories of a Beginning Transnational Educator, Yue Bian. Grappling With Native-Speakerism as an International Multilingual Researcher: When Idealism Clashes With Reality, Yiran Xu. A Virtual Writing Community: Stories of Personal and Professional Growth, Elnaz Kia, Idée Edalatishams, and Fatemeh Bordbarjavidi. International First-Generation College Students Pursue TESOL PhD Programs in the U.S.: Navigating the Profession as Emerging Scholars, Lei Jiang, Shuzhan Li, and Wenyang Sun. Developing a Network of Support Through Collaboration: My Academic Socialization Journey as a PhD Student, Wendy Li. Spreading My Wings in Academia: An International Doctoral Student Developing Scholarly Identity Through Empowering Mentoring Relationships, Anna Sanczyk-Cruz. Unveiling the Hidden Curriculum: The Mentoring and Socialization Experiences of an International TESOL Student, Fares J. Karam and Amanda Kibler. A Few Final Words and Future Directions, Hayriye Kayı-Aydar, Kate Shea, and Angel Steadman. Biographies.