Feeling like a fraud: Helping students renegotiate their academic identities

Abstract

A sense of belonging is an integral aspect of success in a long-term, group-oriented endeavor such as the pursuit of a college education. When students feel their presence at college is fraudulent, their achievements unfounded, or that they will be further disenfranchised if their true self is discovered, it is less likely that they will connect to the people and services who can help them achieve their educational goals. This "imposter syndrome" or "imposter phenomenon" can be addressed and turned around through a concerted effort. While that effort involves a personal journey, like any journey it is often aided and accompanied by others. Through strategic outreach efforts, academic libraries are positioned to be important players in that journey, helping these "imposters" renegotiate their self images to include a sense of their essential place in academia and belief in their ability to successfully complete their academic goals.

Identifying the Prevalence of the Impostor Phenomenon Among Computer Science Students

“…The theme of peer support groups is expanded upon by suggesting that campus entities should create workshops for students. A diverse campus staff is suggested to allow students to see themselves among those who they seek help and guidance from [24]. Although this work by Ramsey and Brown [24] focused on using libraries as the support network for students, both libraries and other campus entities could fulfill that role today.…”

“…A diverse campus staff is suggested to allow students to see themselves among those who they seek help and guidance from [24]. Although this work by Ramsey and Brown [24] focused on using libraries as the support network for students, both libraries and other campus entities could fulfill that role today. The conclusions of Cokley et al address several implications for university counseling centers and how they can incorporate this knowledge with the services that they provide [8].…”

A hope to trust. Educational leadership to support mature students’ inclusion in higher education: an experience from Surrey, England

“…However, mature students can be very sensitive to what they feel as a mismatch between hope and the reality of their position vis-à-vis academia (Ramsey & Brown, 2018).…”

“…Hope is therefore particularly necessary for mature applicants who leave safer, more familiar, life worlds (Taylor & Harris-Evans, 2018) to move into the unfamiliar, where their social networks are often unable to offer protection or support (Koranteng, Wiafe, & Kuada, 2018). However, hope can be harmed from the beginning of the journey, when the selection for accessing HE is not designed to value the skills and knowledges of mature applicants if they do not meet academic standards (Ramsey & Brown, 2018). From a perspective centered on the applicants' subjective experiences, the TP can be understood as a leadership-driven innovation that transforms selective access to HE from a social situation where hope is challenged to a different social situation, where hope is celebrated and reinforced through support offered to applicants to strengthen their academic profile.…”

A multi-institutional exploration of the social mobility potential of degree apprenticeships

“…Mature apprentices are more likely to have family commitments which could affect their ability to focus on both work and study, impacting successful outcomes. There are other potential disadvantages to a lengthy run up, including feeling stigmatised (Mallman and Lee 2016) or the possibility of developing imposter syndrome (Ramsey and Brown 2018). Imposter syndrome has been described as feeling like a fraud, a sense of not belonging, which has been observed amongst those coming late to study (Chapman 2017) and first generation students (Gardner and Holley 2011).…”