The Development of Academic Identity in the Patriarchal Society through Doctoral Student Communities

El-Usrah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga https://jurnal.ar-raniry.ac.id/index.php/usrah/index ISSN: 2620 – 8075 ║ E-ISSN: 2620 – 8083 Vol. 8. No. 2. December 2025 DOI: 10.22373/ujhk.v8i2.28195 The Development of Academic Identity in the Patriarchal Society through Doctoral Student Communities Jarjani Usman,1 Fakhri Yacob,1 Nuralam Syamsuddin,1 Murni Ishak,1 Alimuddin1 1 Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh, Indonesia Email: Abstract The development of academic identity among doctoral students has become increasingly important, as it influences their future roles as scholars. Although this transition has been widely studied, the experiences of doctoral students in patriarchal Indonesian societies remain underexplored. This study examined the experiences of twelve male and female doctoral students at six Indonesian universities, focusing on the challenges and barriers they faced while developing their scholarly identities. Using narrative inquiry, the research captured the perspectives of students from Sumatra and Java. The findings indicate that students formed communities to support their academic identity, gaining both academic and psychological benefits through peer interaction. However, these communities were often unsupportive unless lecturers provided guidance, involved students in research, or encouraged participation in conferences and external groups. While all students recognized the importance of academic communities, many could not participate regularly due to full-time employment, childcare, domestic responsibilities (particularly for women), social obligations, and distance from campus. So in conclusion, there is a slight influence of patriarchal culture on the participation of women in academic communities. Postgraduate programs should therefore promote community development to help students build scholarly identities and address psychological and cognitive challenges during their studies. Keywords: Community of practice, doctoral students, patriarchal society, academic identity 1184 Jarjani Usman, et.al., The Development of Academic Identity 1185 Abstrak Pengembangan identitas akademik di antara mahasiswa doktoral menjadi semakin penting, karena hal ini memengaruhi peran mereka di masa depan sebagai cendekiawan. Meskipun transisi ini telah banyak diteliti, pengalaman mahasiswa doktoral di masyarakat patriarki Indonesia masih kurang dieksplorasi. Penelitian ini menelaah pengalaman dua belas mahasiswa doktoral laki-laki dan perempuan di enam universitas di Indonesia, dengan fokus pada tantangan dan hambatan yang mereka hadapi saat mengembangkan identitas keilmuan mereka. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan naratif, penelitian ini menangkap perspektif mahasiswa dari Sumatra dan Jawa. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa membentuk komunitas untuk mendukung identitas akademik mereka, memperoleh manfaat baik akademik maupun psikologis melalui interaksi dengan sesama mahasiswa. Namun, komunitas-komunitas ini seringkali tidak mendukung kecuali dosen memberikan bimbingan, melibatkan mahasiswa dalam penelitian, atau mendorong partisipasi dalam konferensi dan kelompok eksternal. Meskipun semua mahasiswa menyadari pentingnya komunitas akademik, banyak yang tidak dapat berpartisipasi secara teratur karena pekerjaan penuh waktu, mengurus anak, tanggung jawab rumah tangga (terutama bagi wanita), kewajiban sosial, dan jarak dari kampus. Jadi kesimpulannya, ada sedikit pengaruh budaya pathiarkis dalam keikutsertaan kaum perempuan dalam komunitas akademis. Oleh karena itu, program pascasarjana sebaiknya mendorong pengembangan komunitas untuk membantu mahasiswa membangun identitas keilmuan dan mengatasi tantangan psikologis serta kognitif selama masa studi mereka. Kata kunci: Komunitas praktik, mahasiswa doktoral, masyarakat patriarkal, identitas akademik Introduction Identity plays a crucial role in the development of early career researchers, particularly for doctoral students who must transition into scholars through a demanding and extensive process. The scholarly identity development from doctoral students to scholars in many parts of the world is complex and challenging.1 They mostly experience significant personal struggles throughout their programs,2 especially during their tough efforts of solely consuming knowledge to produce knowledge. The transformation involves generating original contributions within 1 Rebecca Rockinson-Szapkiw, Amanda; Spaulding, Lucinda S.; Lunde, “Women in Distance Doctoral Programs: How They Negotiate Their Identities as Mothers, Professionals, and Academics in Order to Persist,” International Journal of Doctoral Studies 12 (2017), p. 49–71. 2 Rockinson-Szapkiw, Amanda, Lucinda S. Spaulding, and Rebecca Lunde. "Women in distance doctoral programs: How they negotiate their identities as mothers, professionals, and academics in order to persist." International Journal of Doctoral Studies 12 (2017), p. 49. https://jurnal.ar-raniry.ac.id/index.php/usrah/index Vol. 8 No. 2, December 2025 Jarjani Usman, et.al., The Development of Academic Identity 1186 their fields, requiring cycles of thinking, writing, feedback, and revision.3 To support their students, doctoral programs need to help students develop their capacity to contribute significant new knowledge,4 including socializing them into academic practices and enabling them to gradually adopt the scholar identity.5 However, given the support, not all doctoral students successfully navigate this path. Around 40 to 60 percent of doctoral students experience motivation-related attrition in the United States and Canada.6 Research indicates that some abandon their pursuits7 or face termination due to factors such as an inability to produce original work, psychological issues, and financial difficulties.8 Many studies highlight that doctoral candidates experience increased psychological distress throughout their programs.9 Especially for women, as parenting students experience higher levels of stress and pressure during their degree pursuit than their nonparenting counterparts.10 In this regard, LeBlanc et al. found in their research on women's friendships for support, the role of narratives in reshaping family stories, and the need for higher education to assist mother scholars. 11 Therefore, it is necessary for universities to prioritize support for students within their doctoral programs, particularly through engagement with scholarly communities. Similar 3 Kelsey S. Inouye and Lynn McAlpine, “Developing Scholarly Identity: Variation in Agentive Responses to Supervisor Feedback,” Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice 14, no. 2 (2017). 4 Kelsey Inouye and Lynn McAlpine, “Developing Academic Identity: A Review of the Literature on Doctoral Writing and Feedback,” International Journal of Doctoral Studies 14 (2019), p. 1–31. 5 Linds Roberts, “‘This Is Just What We Do’: PhD Students on Becoming Scholars in a Community of Practice,” Communications in Information Litera (...truncated)