2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This research paper examines the experiences of STEM education postdoctoral scholars, an understudied population in higher education that occupies a liminal space between student and faculty roles. Despite the increasing number of postdoctoral scholars in STEM education, postdoc responsibilities and challenges remain poorly defined in literature, particularly during the transition to full-time faculty positions. Postdocs face challenges unique from full-time faculty, including compensation and role uncertainty, which have been exacerbated in the current funding climate. Additionally, postdoctoral scholars' experiences in academia vary widely, which has contributed to their roles and responsibilities being poorly outlined in the literature. To fill these gaps in the literature, our study examines the responsibilities and challenges faced by a cohort of three STEM education postdoctoral scholars in their transition to full-time faculty and into more formal STEM education spaces. Specifically, our work answers the following research questions: What are the experiences of a cohort of interdisciplinary STEM education postdoctoral scholars regarding their 1) roles and responsibilities, and 2) the challenges they face in career development today. This study utilized a case study methodology embedded within a collaborative inquiry following three interdisciplinary STEM education postdoctoral scholars in their professional development. Informed by the Systems Theory Framework (STF) of career development, each scholar is represented through multiple lenses of influence on their self-concept as academics. The STF framework illustrates the diverse range of individual, social, environmental-societal systems, and their influence over each other with respect to career development. This case study leverages 12 months of weekly written reflections, memos, and weekly meetings to capture the postdoc experiences. The analysis focuses on professional responsibilities and challenges in the transition to their new roles through the STF, looking at personal, societal, and economic trends to understand their unique roles. Preliminary analysis of the artifacts suggests that postdoctoral roles and responsibilities can be broken down into two themes, academic research, including project development, theory, and grant writing, and professional development, which included mentorship, program management and teaching responsibilities. These roles intersect with some new-faculty roles, but without clear boundaries or delineations. Challenges faced by postdoctoral scholars were similarly broken down into three themes, 1) Navigating Competing Demands, 2) Relational Academic Spaces, and 3) Living and Working Under Constraint. Together, these themes highlight the uncertainty in postdoctoral roles and the need for institutional structures on postdoctoral affairs.