Stemming from increased levels of participation and diversity of the student base (Biggs & Tang, 2011) and growing scrutiny on the quality of university degrees (Crowley, 2013; Marr, 2013), governments have begun putting in place mechanisms to monitor and support quality in higher education. Over the last few decades, a notion of quality that has gained traction in the scholarly community is that of quality in terms of enhancement and transformation (Cheng, 2017; Houston, 2008; Williams, 2016). Guided by the discourses of Transformative Learning Theory (Mezirow, 2000) and transformative conceptions of quality in higher education (Harvey & Green, 1993), this study examined graduate student learning experiences and perceptions of quality. Of further interest was the extent to which these learners were living the intended transformation that academic programs are seeking to foster. Using a multiple case-study design, Seidman’s (2013) three-stage interview protocol served as primary source of data from a sample of six PhD candidates across three faculties. Secondary data sources included collected documents, a reflexivity journal and field notes. A within-case analysis was performed for each case and compared via a cross-case analysis. Institutional characterizations of quality were examined across 25 artifacts via a document analysis. The four principal factors that characterized the PhD candidate learning experience emerged as the significance of intentional individualized guidance, becoming an independent scholar, the importance of social interactions and community, and the transformative nature of learning. Gaps were identified between institutional intent and the learner experience. However, complementarity between discourses of transformation appeared to offer bridges between the macro-level institutional orientation toward fostering student transformation and the micro-level transformative learning experiences lived by students. The dissertation makes conceptual, methodological and empirical contributions to the domains of postsecondary quality and transformative learning. Implications for policy related to quality assurance as well as practice in program development and doctoral supervision are equally shared.

With increasing numbers of first-generation college students enrolling in colleges and universities across the US, so too is the need to begin preparing such underrepresented students for graduate school and a career in academia. As a phenomenological case study of student transformation, this dissertation examines the experience of nine first-generation college students in the summer research portion of the Ronald E. McNair Achievement Program (McNair) at University of Arizona. The qualitative data collected includes in-depth interviewing, observing the students' in-class presentations on the progress of their summer research, and reviewing the students' written work. Drawing on Adult Transformational Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1991) and Gee's writings on student identity (2000) and Discourse (2005), this study primarily addresses the following questions: 1) How do UA McNair students take on and use the Discourse of research during the 10 week summer program? And 2) as they engage in the Discourse of research (in classes, with mentors, with peers, in written work), what academic identity transformations are observed (in the classroom, in interviews, and in written work)? Narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) was utilized to organize and examine the data, and research texts consist of academic biographies written for each student. Findings reveal that student transformation is the noticeable difference in the students' utilization and integration of a language system used to describe their summer research and to define their research interests. Defined as the Discourse of research, this becomes the basis for students enacting the identity of undergraduate researcher. As a cohort of nine McNair Scholars, students share the experience of undergraduate research and engage in conversations which address the insecurities they have as first-generation college students. Through this formation of an affinity group (Gee, 2005) and their utilization of the Discourse of research, students engage in critical reflection, reevaluate their academic identities, and begin preparing themselves for their transition from undergraduate students to first-year doctoral students.