2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Objectives: Interdisciplinary student outcomes are improved when faculty have interdisciplinary identities of their own. This study develops a new framework for understanding the protective factors of developing an interdisciplinary professional identity for faculty within engineering education.

Context and Significance: Engineering education has become increasingly inter- and transdisciplinary to prepare students to cross disciplinary boundaries as they solve unique and complex problems of our increasingly dynamic world. This need for integration of expert knowledge from multiple fields has fueled the launch of inter-, trans-, and multidisciplinary programs at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Despite the rise of such programs, affiliated faculty still mainly reside in monodisciplinary departments with conflicting policies, procedures, and budget models that can impede the development of interdisciplinary students and successful program outcomes (Paretti et al., 2022; Welch-Devine et al., 2018).

Previous research has explored the interdisciplinary identity formation of doctoral students in a bid to better understand outcomes of emergent interdisciplinary programs (Kiley & Halliday, 2019; Holley, 2015; Culpepper et al., 2020; Xu et al., 2023; Wainscott et al., 2024; Webb & Paretti, 2023) and undergraduate students (Wang & Zarske, 2023). The literature on interdisciplinary faculty identities largely focuses on addressing effective identity-fostering teaching practices (e.g., Feng et al., 2023) and the decision-making processes of the faculty who engage in interdisciplinary graduate education (e.g., Menon et al., 2023). However, limited attention has been given to how faculty who are trained and exist within monodisciplinary structures develop and sustain their interdisciplinary scholar/teacher identities. Hence in this study we will explore how faculty with traditional STEM backgrounds develop interdisciplinary scholar and teacher identities. This analysis can inform strategies for fostering interdisciplinary identity among engineering educators.

Methods: This study uses grounded theory, a qualitative design that is appropriate when there is not yet consensus on an adequate explanation for how a phenomenon occurs (Charmaz, 2015). Interviews are being conducted with a group of faculty who meet two primary criteria: 1) their expertise is in an interdisciplinary STEM area (e.g., neuroscience, environmental science), and 2) they have been successful in achieving major career milestones (e.g., tenure, teaching award). Sampling in grounded theory involves theoretical sampling in multiple rounds based on emerging findings. We have not yet reached saturation in our analyses for this study. Coding of data is being conducted in a first round of open coding, using gerund codes to describe mechanisms of identity development and contextual codes to describe elements of faculty development environments. Axial coding will be conducted after we reach saturation in the first round of analysis.

Anticipated Findings: As a work-in-progress paper, we plan to present initial findings from our analysis as we refine the initial theory. The emerging framework informs guidance for interdisciplinary education programs, centers for teaching and learning, and other academic leaders in higher education.