It “Made Me Who IAm” - Using Interpretive and Narrative Research to Develop a Model for Understanding Associate Deans’ Application and Development of Academic Identity

Oct 15, 2026

Interpretive and narrative research is used to address gaps in higher education administration literature about how associate deans develop and apply their academic identities. Drawing on interpretive lenses from higher educational administration theories, the study co-constructs five in-depth career-life stories. Findings show identities shape associate deans’ approaches to their roles, views of their organizations, and reasons for taking the position, without experiencing the transition as an identity crisis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background Literature

Narrative and Interpretive Research Approaches

Purpose and Proposed Model

It “Made Me Who IAm”: Using Interpretive and Narrative Research to Develop a Model for Understanding Associate Deans’Application and Development of Academic Identity Abstract Interpretive and narrative research approaches, the experiences of academic administrators other than deans, chairs, and presidents, and academic identity work beyond graduate students and beginning professors are all areas that are underrepresented in the literature on higher educational administration. This article builds on recent narrative research by applying higher educational administrative theories as interpretive lenses to propose a model for helping to understand the development and application of associate deans’ academic identities. Among the findings were that academic identities helped explain associate deans’ approaches to their roles, their views of their surrounding organizations, and their reasons for assuming the role. Further, the associate deans who participated in this research did not experience their transition to the role as an identity crisis in the ways typically described and assumed by higher educational leadership scholars. Instead, they drew upon their well-established academic identities and, in keeping with thenascent research on academic identity work, were intentional in their efforts to maintain their academic identities. Keywords: narrative, interpretive, identity, leadership, organization, university, higher education, administration, dean, chair, academe Résumé Les approches de recherche interprétative et narrative, les expériences des administrateurs universitaires autres que les doyens et présidents, ainsi que les travaux sur l’identité universitaire au-delà de celle des étudiants des cycles supérieurs et des professeursdébutants sont autant de domaines sous-représentés dans la littérature sur l’administration de l’enseignement supérieur. Cet articles’appuie sur une recherche narrative récente et applique des théories sur l’administration de l’enseignement supérieur comme lentilles interprétatives afin de suggérer un modèle pour mieux comprendre le développement et l’application de l’identité universitaire des doyens associés. Entre autres résultats, il s’avère que cette dernière aide à expliquer les approches adoptées par les doyens associés relativement à leur rôle, leur point de vue quant aux organisations connexes et ce qui les motive dans leur poste. De plus, les doyens associés qui ont participé à la recherche n’ont pas vécu la transition vers ce poste comme une crise identitaire, contrairement à ce que décrivent et supposent généralement les chercheurs qui se penchent sur la haute administration universitaire. Plutôt, ces doyens associés ont tiré parti de leur identité universitaire bien établie et, conformément à la recherche émergente sur le travail d’identité universitaire, ils ont déployé des efforts intentionnels pour conserver cette dernière. Mots-clés : narration, interprétation, identité, leadership, organisation, université, enseignement supérieur, administration, doyen, président, monde universitaire Canadian Journal of Higher Education | Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur 52:3 (2023) Introduction Within higher educational literature there is a lack of research on the experiences of academic administrators in roles other than president, dean, or chair (Zodikoff & Pardasani, 2020) . Recent research explored the experiences of five associate deans, which is a position among these underrepresented roles and is located close to the nexus of the university (Stovin, 2021). However, rather than focusing on the organizational impact these leaders had, this research began with a holistic interest in them as individuals. Given this, and the dearth of research falling within interpretivist and narrative traditions in higher educational literature (Lavigne, 2022), an interpretive and narrative approach was used to co-construct five in-depth career-life stories. Narrative and interpr

FAQs

What gap does the study address in higher education administration research?

It targets underrepresented experiences of academic administrators, specifically associate deans, and identity work beyond graduate students and beginning professors.

How was the research approach designed?

An interpretive and narrative approach co-constructed five in-depth career-life stories, using higher educational administration theories as interpretive lenses.

What key outcomes explain associate deans’ role-related behavior?

Academic identities help explain their approaches to the role, their views of surrounding organizations, and their reasons for assuming the position.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Danger Angel