Formation of academic identity of political science students at a South African higher education institution

Abstract

Higher education institutions serve as crucibles for shaping students' identities. Despite much research on students' identity formation, studies in the discipline of political science are limited. This study delves into the views of final-year political science students regarding the objectives of their studies, specifically examining whether they view their academic journey as a catalyst for personal transformation and the key causal mechanisms that facilitate or impede identity formation. Using an intensive approach, the research relies on in-depth interpretative data gathered through interviews with 12 students majoring in political studies, selected using snowball sampling. The morphogenetic framework, rooted in Archer's social realism, provided the theoretical foundation for this investigation. Qualitative data analysis reveals emerging themes that show that the student’s objectives in enrolling in the discipline were to improve their employability and acquire skills to uplift their communities. Many constraints and enablements also affected the students, although some used their agency to realise identity change through their discipline. It is recommended that the student discipline be developed and that graduate attributes that are consistent with the teaching and learning strategies of the discipline be formulated