Reflexive Practice as a Site for Identity Work: A Duoethnographic Study of Doctoral Pedagogy and Support

Doctoral study is marked by identity disruption, emotional strain, and isolation. Students may benefit from pedagogical support that facilitates identity development. While reflexivity is commonly positioned as a critical competence in doctoral training, it is less frequently explored as a pedagogical process for identity work. The study aimed to interrogate reflexive practice as a site for identity work. Adopting a duoethnographic methodology, two lecturers engaged in dialogical reflection about their experiences of teaching reflexive practice. Data included recorded dialogues and written reflections to explore how reflexive practice was enacted in teaching. Data were analysed with identity work theory as the analytic spine. Findings pose reflexive practice as a site where identity formation can be made explicit, strengthening selfhood and belonging through ongoing relational sensemaking. Teaching reflexive practice is framed as the task of creating and holding space for the emotionally demanding self-work fundamental to a doctoral journey. Teachers of reflexive practice should intentionally engage in reflexivity to enhance their use of self in service of facilitating students’ identity work in this pedagogy. By foregrounding educators’ identity work through reflexive practice, the study contributes to the doctoral support literature without claiming that reflexive pedagogy is a straightforward solution to the emotional challenges that doctoral students experience.