Self-narrative Inquiry on the developmental experience of ‘Academic literacy’ of a middle-aged female Ph.D. graduate student

The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of ‘academic literacy’ as it is acquired through the experiences of middle-aged female Ph. D. students and the impact of academic literacy on their identity formation as members of the academic community. For this study, the experiences of middle-aged female in the academic context during the fifth semester of their Ph. D. program were studied through Self-narrative inquiry method, and the researcher’s reflection journals were analyzed as the primary data, and memory data, assignments, and feedback data were used as secondary data. For this researcher, ‘academic literacy’ has become a social practice competency that recognizes and expresses the identity of an academic community. The impact of academic literacy on the formation of academic community identity: the language used during academic work is a lens through which the researcher’s life and academic context are read, and the act of revealing knowledge and making it visible is a social practice that shapes and embodies meaning. It was a competency necessary for interacting with other members of the academic community, and it manifested itself in critical literacy that made them aware of the power relations that underlie knowledge. The implications of this study are that it may provide a basis for a shift in understanding and perception of the growing participation of adult learners in higher education and the academic environment.