Exploring the role of student-run journals in shaping academic identity

Student-led journals have a long history, yet they have received little attention in academic publishing and higher education research. This study aims to fill this gap and enrich the analysis of student-led publications from a novel point of view: the role of journals in shaping the academic identity of graduate students through a collaborative autoethnographic study. We explore our personal experiences as student editors of Current Issues in Education (CIE) produced at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC) at Arizona State University (ASU). The data were collected by first writing a personal narrative about our experiences serving on CIE’s editorial board. To support our notes, we drew from our memories and informal conversations with other student editors and reviewers, as well as advisors. We also drew upon some of CIE’s internal documents, such as editorial meeting minutes. Our study aligns with Inouye and McAlpine's (2019) systematic review of academic identity development for doctoral students, highlighting editorial work's relevance to developing academic identity, particularly related to reflective thinking, authorial identity, confidence, and learning through critique. Participating in the publication landscape through academic journals allows students to develop their authorial voice and collective identity as academics.