Applying Self-authorship Theory among Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students in U.S. Institutions

摘要

Despite a large representation of Chinese students in U.S. engineering doctoral programs, these students are understudied compared to their U.S.-born peers. In this study, we applied self-authorship theory among Chinese engineering doctoral students in U.S. institutions. Using this theory, we try to understand the Chinese engineering doctoral students' development towards self-authorship. Focusing on sixteen participants who had been identified to exhibit self-authorship in the epistemological dimension through prior research, we explored students' development in the other two dimensions of self-authorship theory, i.e. the intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions. Our preliminary results based on qualitative data suggest that these students have also demonstrated progress towards self-authorship in these two dimensions. The demonstrations of their development in these two dimensions are closely related to their development in the epistemological dimension. Specific examples of students' demonstrations of self-authorship in all three dimensions are provided. Future work includes exploring factors that can contribute to students' development towards self-authorship.