In search of humanness
Professional identities of qualitative research educators in the age of generative AI
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21785478 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Beixi Li (0000-0003-0657-2125, Western Michigan University, corresponding author), Ajit Bhattarai (0000-0002-2399-4824, Idaho State University), Zhuqing Ding (Georgia Washington University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 332-344 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Learning Media and Technology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1743-9884 • E-ISSN: 1743-9892 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17439884.2025.2521547 |
| OpenAlex | W4411599312 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 55 |
Generative AI is gaining popularity in education and expected to significantly transform educational research. Higher education digital transformation creates spaces for professional identity negotiation and development. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the professional identity of qualitative research educators in higher education institutions in the age of GenAI. We mobilized narrative inquiry and speculative methodology to understand how qualitative research educators made sense of their professional identities. The study found that educators experienced the strengthening of professional identity through renewed commitment to the experiential, human-centered qualitative traditions, the expansion of professional identity by incorporating emerging technologies like GenAI into their pedagogical and scholarly practices, and the unsettling of professional identity as they navigated tensions between technological change and foundational qualitative research values. The study recognized the link between the interpretation of technology and professional identity and offered pedagogical contributions on how qualitative research educators can support students in navigating technological changes in research
Generative grammar · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Professional development · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Data Analysis and Archiving · Psychology · Qualitative Research Methods and Applications · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Artificial Intelligence
Understanding Narrative Inquiry
Professional identity
Speculative design
Art-Based Research
Education in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Speculative method in digital education research
Lecturer professional identities in gamification
Three Decades of Social Construction of Technology
ChatGPT
Qualitative Research
Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research
A practical guide to reflexivity in qualitative research
Reassembling the Social
Speculative Experimentation in (Methodological) Pluriverse
Ways That Qualitative Researchers Engage in “Technological Reflexivity”
What Does ChatGPT Mean for Qualitative Health Research
On the social construction of geomedia technologies
Narrative inquiry in psychology
Speculative methodological subjects
Digital qualitative research workflows
Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity
The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts
(Un )Doing standards in education with actor‐network theory
Teaching Research Methods in the Social Sciences
Speculative Method and Twitter
Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis
Artificial Intelligence Augmented Qualitative Analysis
A Mixed Research Synthesis of Literature on Teaching Qualitative Research Methods
Qualitative Research Design
Exploring the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Qualitative Data Analysis
Exploring the Use of AI in Qualitative Analysis
Back to the Future
In Minutes Instead of Weeks
Posthuman Creativity
Digital Tools for Qualitative Research
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |