Studies in Higher Education Professional identity development: a review of the higher education...

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Professional identity development:a review of the higher educationliteratureFranziska Trede a , Rob Macklin b & Donna Bridges aa The Education for Practice Institute, Charles Sturt University,Locked Bag 450, Silverwater, NSW 2128, Australiab Faculty of Business, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588,Wagga Wagga, 2676, Australia

Available online: 24 May 2011

To cite this article: Franziska Trede, Rob Macklin & Donna Bridges (2012): Professional identitydevelopment: a review of the higher education literature, Studies in Higher Education, 37:3,365-384

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Studies in Higher Education

ISSN 0307-5079 print/ISSN 1470-174X online© 2012 Society for Research into Higher Education

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Professional identity development: a review of the higher education literature

Franziska Tredea*, Rob Macklinb and Donna Bridgesa

aThe Education for Practice Institute, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 450, Silverwater, NSW 2128, Australia; bFaculty of Business, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, 2676, AustraliaTaylor and FrancisCSHE_A_521237.sgm10.1080/03075079.2010.521237Studies in Higher Education0307-5079 (print)/1470-174X (online)Article2011Society for Research into Higher Education00000000002011Dr [email protected]

This study examined the extant higher education literature on the development ofprofessional identities. Through a systematic review approach 20 articles wereidentified that discussed in some way professional identity development in highereducation journals. These articles drew on varied theories, pedagogies and learningstrategies; however, most did not make a strong connection to professionalidentities. Further research is needed to better understand the tensions betweenpersonal and professional values, structural and power influences, discipline versusgeneric education, and the role of workplace learning on professional identities.

Keywords: professional identity; professional learning; professional identityformation; values; reflective practice

Introduction

This study examined the extant higher education literature on the development ofprofessional identities. Higher education programmes are required to producegraduates who display mastery of theoretical ideas, competence in applying theory incomplex workplace settings, and professional dispositions that foster ethical andreflective professional practices. Globally, universities are being put under increasingpressure by governments to develop practice-based pedagogical curricula that preparegraduates for the world of work (Reid et al. 2008). Such preparation includes learningprofessional roles, understanding workplace cultures, commencing the professionalsocialization process and educating towards citizenship. All these aspects of workpreparation can be understood as contributing to the development of professionalidentities. A review of the current literature is needed to better understand the issues,and identify the theoretical frameworks and pedagogies that advance the learning andteaching of professional identity. This study set out to explore current understandingsand debates in higher education journals about the theory and practice of professionalidentity development, and its key messages for learning and teaching in highereducation. The major objectives of this study were to:

● develop a systematic approach to identifying literature on professional identitydevelopment in higher education journals;

● identify within this set of literature the theories and philosophical stances thatunderpin discussions of professional identity development; and

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Vol. 37, No. 3, May 2012, 365–384

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● identify and understand better the key themes and concepts that underpinprofessional identity and their implications for the learning and teaching ofprofessional identity development.

Method

Systematic review of the literature

A systematic approach to identifying the literature was developed in close consultationwith a university librarian. Because the focus of the study was on higher education,the higher education search engines Informit (Australia only), Australia + Education,Ebscohost (education) and informaworld were used. Discipline-specific search engineswere not used. Key search terms were chosen by the research team using conceptmapping (see Table 1).

The top three search terms (in italic) in sets 1 and 2 were ‘reflective practice’,‘professional reasoning’, ‘transformative learning’, ‘professional roles’, ‘professionalsocial’ and ‘professional values’. These terms were held to be major terms and thuscombined with all the remaining terms. The term ‘professional identity’ was held as aconstant in both sets due to its centrality to the review. The search also held ‘highereducation’ or ‘tertiary education’ or ‘university education’ as constant in order toexclude articles not concerned with university education.

Inclusion criteria and selection process

Search criteria were limited to journal articles published between 1998 and 2008.Conference abstracts, books, book chapters and non-reviewed publications wereexcluded. Whilst works on ‘identity’ and ‘professional identity’ are voluminous(Chappell et al. 2003; Elliot and du Gay 2009; Epstein 1978; Giddens 1991; Lave andWenger 1991; Lawler 2008; Wenger 1998), we searched exclusively in higher educa-tion journals on the assumption that this body of literature would probably be used byauthors whose aim is to disseminate their insights into professional identity develop-ment to the higher education sector. We further assumed that the higher education jour-nals would be journals that many academics access in order to learn about learning andteaching. We excluded articles that, while focusing on particular aspects of professionalidentity, such as ethics, did not mention professional identity. In order to maintain afocus on a relatively narrow area of professional identity development, we excluded

Table 1. Key terms categorized into two sets.

Set 1 Set 2

Reflective practice Professional rolesProfessional reasoning Professional socialTransformative learning Professional valuesCritical awareness raising EthicsValues AcculturationHidden curriculum CultureCritical thinking in the professions Moral conductProfessional identity Professional identity(Higher education or tertiary education or

university education)(Higher education or tertiary education or

university education)

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articles whose sole focus was on PhD students, and we also culled articles on the profes-sional identity of academic teachers for the same reason. Figure 1 illustrates our selec-tion of relevant literature.Figure 1. Flow chart of selection of relevant literature.We screened 192 abstracts and reduced the number of accepted articles to 33. Weread these 33 articles by posing the following questions, with an aim to identify afocused body of literature that related professional identity to teaching approaches anduniversities’ roles in professional identity development:

(1) What is the relevance of professional identity?(2) What teaching approaches are put forward?(3) What role does the university play in and what is its learning and teaching

impact on professional identity development for the workplace?

We discussed and compared our responses to these three questions. The articles thatdid not address our three questions were excluded, which reduced the number ofaccepted articles to 18. We then cross-checked the reference list of all the includedarticles and looked for the references that were used by more than one article. Therewere 20 references that appeared in more than one of the 17 journal articles. Of these20 references, 18 were books and only three were journal articles. We excluded twoof these three journal articles because they did not primarily focus on the role of highereducation in professional identity development. We then categorized the 18 included

Figure 1. Flow chart of selection of relevant literature.

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articles according to the journals in which they were published. Eleven articles werepublished in higher education journals, three in health education journals, two inteacher education and one each in international education and science education jour-nals. Of the 11 articles in higher education journals, three where published in the jour-nal Teaching in Higher Education and three in Studies in Higher Education. Wesearched these two higher education journals using ‘professional identity’ as the onlysearch term to ensure we had not omitted any articles in these journals in previoussearches. This search resulted in the identification of one further article that wasaccepted into the inclusion list. The final number of articles that were included in thisstudy was, therefore, 20. Our final literature set drew on studies conducted in the UK(8), Australia (4), the USA (2) and one each from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Canada,New Zealand and South Africa.

Text interpretations

We employed a philosophical hermeneutic approach to text interpretations using crit-ical reflective dialogues at two levels (Trede and Loftus 2010). Philosophical herme-neutics is concerned with meaning-making and associated with text interpretation.The researcher poses questions to the text and seeks answers in the text. We conductedthis question and answer dialogue with texts at two levels. First, each of us separatelyread and reflected on each article, which comprised individual dialogues with texts.The second dialogue was conducted collectively by all three of us in a process wherewe discussed and compared our responses to the analysis questions. We comprehen-sively analysed each of the 20 articles in a collective interpretation of the texts.

The analysis was framed by posing the following seven questions:

(1) What is professional identity? How is it described, defined and understood?(2) What are the theoretical frameworks used to underpin professional identity?(3) What processes of professional identity are discussed (professional socializa-

tion, educational theories)?(4) What is the connection between professional, personal and social identities?(5) What is the intersection of professional identity between university and work?(6) What is the role of university in professional identity development?(7) What are the implications for university learning and teaching of professional

identity formation?

Results

Our analysis revealed that there is a dearth of journal articles in the higher educationliterature that comprehensively explore the development of professional identitythrough higher education. Rather than focusing on professional identity development,the journal articles we reviewed only tangentially discussed it by exploring dimensionssuch as professional reasoning, personal epistemology development, socialization intoprofessions and learning theories. It is important to mention here that the informationpresented is less detailed than in the quoted articles, because our purpose was to discussthe authors’ ideas as they relate to professional identity development formation. Somearticles were drawn on more than others because they had more to say about our anal-ysis questions. An overview of the 20 journal articles is provided in Table 2.

We present our findings on the 20 articles in terms of the seven analysis questions.

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Tabl

e 2.

Key

inf

orm

atio

n fr

om t

he i

dent

ified

art

icle

s.

Aut

hor,

pub

lica

tion

da

te, c

ount

ryT

itle

Jour

nal

deta

ils

The

oret

ical

und

erpi

nnin

gsK

ey f

ocus

Bar

row

, M.

2006

New

Zea

land

Ass

essm

ent

and

stud

ent

tran

sfor

mat

ion:

lin

king

ch

arac

ter

and

inte

llec

t

Stud

ies

in H

ighe

r E

duca

tion

Gid

dens

– s

elf-

iden

tity

; F

ouca

ult

– te

chno

logi

es

of t

he s

elf

The

rol

e of

ass

essm

ent

in s

elf-

iden

tity

fo

rmat

ion

and

hype

r-cr

itic

al c

omm

unit

ies.

Bax

ter-

Mag

olda

, M

.B.

2004

US

A

Evo

luti

on o

f a

cons

truc

tivi

st

conc

eptu

aliz

atio

n of

ep

iste

mol

ogic

al r

efle

ctio

n

Edu

cati

onal

P

sych

olog

ist

Per

ry; P

iage

t; L

oevi

nger

and

W

essl

er;

Gil

liga

n –

cons

truc

tive

de

velo

pmen

tal

theo

ry;

Kit

chen

er –

epi

stem

ic

assu

mpt

ions

; Lin

coln

and

G

uba

– na

ture

of

real

ity

The

nat

ure

of p

erso

nal

epis

tem

olog

y, i

ts

com

pone

nts

and

inte

rcon

nect

ions

and

the

in

terp

lay

wit

h de

velo

pmen

tal c

onst

ruct

ion.

Bra

mm

ing,

P.

2007

Den

mar

k

An

argu

men

t fo

r st

rong

le

arni

ng i

n hi

gher

ed

ucat

ion

Qua

lity

in

Hig

her

Edu

cati

onN

ietz

sche

– l

earn

ing

forc

e;

Lav

e an

d W

enge

r;

Coo

per

– re

lati

ons

betw

een

acto

r an

d st

ruct

ure;

Har

vey

and

Kni

ght

– tr

ansf

orm

ativ

e le

arni

ng

Tra

nsfo

rmat

iona

l le

arni

ng, t

he q

uali

tati

ve

tran

sfor

mat

ion

of t

he l

earn

er.

Tra

nsfo

rmin

g ‘m

enta

l m

odel

s’ –

dee

ply

ingr

aine

d as

sum

ptio

ns, g

ener

aliz

atio

ns a

nd

pict

ures

of

the

wor

ld t

hat

infl

uenc

e ho

w

peop

le l

ook

at t

he w

orld

.

Bri

ggs,

A.R

.J.

2007

UK

Exp

lori

ng p

rofe

ssio

nal

iden

titi

es:

mid

dle

lead

ersh

ip i

n fu

rthe

r ed

ucat

ion

coll

eges

Scho

ol L

eade

rshi

p an

d M

anag

emen

t(B

rief

men

tion

) G

idde

ns –

stru

ctur

e an

d ag

ency

in

rela

tion

to

prof

essi

onal

id

enti

ty

The

im

pact

of

refo

rm o

n th

e pr

ofes

sion

al

iden

tity

of

mid

dle

lead

ers

in f

urth

er

educ

atio

n co

lleg

es. T

he t

hree

ele

men

ts o

f pr

ofes

sion

al i

dent

ity

(pro

fess

iona

l va

lues

, lo

cati

on a

nd r

ole)

use

d to

com

pare

mid

dle

man

ager

s ho

ldin

g ro

les

in f

urth

er

educ

atio

n co

lleg

es. A

mod

el t

hat

can

be

used

to

unde

rsta

nd l

eade

rs o

f pr

ofes

sion

al

iden

tity

dev

elop

men

t in

col

lege

s is

put

fo

rwar

d.

(Con

tinu

ed.)


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Tabl

e 2.

(Con

tinu

ed.)

Aut

hor,

pub

lica

tion

da

te, c

ount

ryT

itle

Jour

nal

deta

ils

The

oret

ical

und

erpi

nnin

gsK

ey f

ocus

Cha

pman

, A. a

nd

Pyv

is, D

.20

06A

ustr

alia

Qua

lity

, ide

ntit

y an

d pr

acti

ce

in o

ffsh

ore

univ

ersi

ty

prog

ram

mes

: iss

ues

in th

e in

tern

atio

nali

zati

on o

f A

ustr

alia

n hi

gher

ed

ucat

ion

Tea

chin

g in

Hig

her

Edu

cati

onL

ave

and

Wen

ger

– m

embe

rshi

p of

soc

ial

com

mun

itie

s

The

form

atio

n of

an

inte

rnat

iona

l ide

ntit

y as

a

cons

eque

nce

of s

tudy

ing

an o

vers

eas

degr

ee. I

dent

ity

form

atio

n is

not

jus

t a

ques

tion

of h

isto

ry, c

ultu

re, g

eogr

aphy

and

po

wer

, but

als

o th

e ch

oice

s an

d co

nstr

aint

s fa

ced

by a

ctor

s.C

herr

y, N

.20

05A

ustr

alia

Pre

pari

ng f

or p

ract

ice

in t

he

age

of c

ompl

exit

yH

ighe

r E

duca

tion

R

esea

rch

&

Dev

elop

men

t

Sch

ön –

the

ref

lect

ive

prac

titi

oner

The

nec

essi

ty f

or p

ract

itio

ners

to

be a

ble

to

hand

le v

aryi

ng a

nd u

nfam

ilia

r sit

uati

ons

or

cond

itio

ns t

o be

eff

ecti

ve i

n re

al l

ife.

E

duca

tion

al e

xper

ienc

e sh

ould

pro

vide

rich

di

vers

ity

and

vari

ety

in l

earn

ing.

E

xper

ienc

es t

o be

com

e fa

mil

iar

wit

h ha

ndli

ng a

mbi

guit

yC

loud

er, L

.20

05U

K

Car

ing

as a

‘th

resh

old

conc

ept’

: tr

ansf

orm

ing

stud

ents

in

high

er

educ

atio

n in

to

heal

th(c

are)

pro

fess

iona

ls

Tea

chin

g in

Hig

her

Edu

cati

on

Mey

er a

nd L

and

– th

resh

old

conc

epts

; P

erry

–

cogn

itiv

e an

d et

hica

l de

velo

pmen

t

Pro

fess

iona

l le

arni

ng a

nd t

he c

arin

g as

pect

s of

bei

ng a

hea

lth

care

pro

fess

iona

l tr

ansf

orm

s th

e se

nse

of id

enti

ty o

f stu

dent

s.

Pra

ctic

e-ba

sed

lear

ning

sho

uld

emph

asiz

e to

the

stu

dent

the

im

port

ance

of

thei

r ow

n af

fect

ive

deve

lopm

ent

and

max

imiz

e na

rrat

ives

, dia

logu

es a

nd th

e le

giti

mac

y of

un

cert

aint

y.C

orne

liss

en, J

.J. a

nd

van

Wyk

, A.S

.20

07S

outh

Afr

ica

Pro

fess

iona

l so

cial

izat

ion:

an

inf

luen

ce o

n pr

ofes

sion

al d

evel

opm

ent

and

role

def

init

ion

Sout

h A

fric

an

Jour

nal

of

Hig

her

Edu

cati

on

Coh

an –

pro

fess

iona

l so

cial

izat

ion

mod

el:

unil

ater

al-d

epen

denc

e,

nega

tive

-ind

epen

denc

e,

depe

nden

ce-m

utua

lity

an

d in

terd

epen

denc

e

A c

once

ptua

liza

tion

of

prof

essi

onal

so

cial

izat

ion

and

a di

scus

sion

of

impa

ct o

f th

is o

n pr

acti

tion

ers

and

the

plan

ning

of

prof

essi

onal

hig

her e

duca

tion

. Pro

fess

iona

l so

cial

izat

ion

is a

pro

cess

tha

t is

dyn

amic

, in

tera

ctiv

e an

d li

felo

ng.

Dal

y, C

., P

achl

er, N

. an

d P

icke

ring

, J.

2003

Aus

tral

ia

Tea

cher

lea

rnin

g an

d co

mpu

ter-

med

iate

d co

mm

unic

atio

n

Inte

rnat

iona

l Jo

urna

l of

L

earn

ing

Era

ut –

cap

abil

ity

to t

ell;

L

ave

and

Wen

ger

– ta

lkin

g w

ithi

n pr

acti

ce

Tea

cher

s le

arn

info

rmal

ly a

nd t

acit

ly. T

here

is

a n

eed

to d

evel

op p

rofe

ssio

nal

lead

ers

and

iden

titi

es th

at a

re a

gent

ive,

cri

tica

l and

m

oral

ly p

urpo

sefu

l.

(Con

tinu

ed.)

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Tabl

e 2.

(Con

tinu

ed.)

Aut

hor,

pub

lica

tion

da

te, c

ount

ryT

itle

Jour

nal

deta

ils

The

oret

ical

und

erpi

nnin

gsK

ey f

ocus

De

Wee

rdt,

S.,

Bou

wen

, R.,

Cor

thou

s, F

. and

M

arte

ns, H

.20

06U

K

Iden

tity

tra

nsfo

rmat

ions

an

inte

rcon

text

ual

proc

ess

Indu

stry

and

H

ighe

r E

duca

tion

Bro

okfi

eld,

Mez

irow

, F

enw

ick

– ad

ult l

earn

ing;

W

enge

r, E

nges

trom

–

situ

ated

lea

rnin

g

Pro

fess

iona

l id

enti

ty f

orm

atio

n (l

iber

atio

n,

eman

cipa

tion

and

aw

aren

ess)

ari

ses

from

m

ulti

-com

mun

ity

mem

bers

hip.

Dee

p pr

ofes

sion

al l

earn

ing

invo

lves

the

pr

ofes

sion

al a

s a

who

le p

erso

n. I

dent

ity

tran

sfor

mat

ion

invo

lves

pro

foun

d ch

ange

.H

unte

r, A

.B.,

Lau

rsen

, S.L

. and

S

eym

our,

E.

2007

US

A

Bec

omin

g a

scie

ntis

t: th

e ro

le

of u

nder

grad

uate

res

earc

h in

stu

dent

s’ c

ogni

tive

, pe

rson

al, a

nd p

rofe

ssio

nal

deve

lopm

ent

Scie

nce

Edu

cati

onV

ygot

sky

– so

cial

co

nstr

ucti

onis

m;

Lav

e an

d W

enge

r –

situ

ated

le

arni

ng;

Bil

let,

Bow

den,

an

d M

arto

n, B

axte

r-M

agol

da –

not

ions

of

self

-aut

hors

hip

Stu

dent

s ne

ed to

hav

e le

giti

mat

e pa

rtic

ipat

ion

and

the

type

s of

act

ivit

ies

they

und

erta

ke

are

impo

rtan

t fo

r th

eir

cogn

itiv

e, p

erso

nal

and

prof

essi

onal

ide

ntit

y de

velo

pmen

t. S

tude

nts

need

to

lear

n to

eng

age

wit

h am

bigu

ity

and

unce

rtai

nty,

fin

d se

lf-

auth

orsh

ip a

nd m

ake

conn

ecti

ons

betw

een

exte

rnal

ly v

alid

ated

kno

wle

dge

and

thei

r ow

n in

ner

way

s of

kno

win

g.K

aart

inen

-K

outa

niem

i, S

. an

d L

indb

lom

-Y

länn

e, S

.20

08F

inla

nd

Per

sona

l ep

iste

mol

ogy

of

psyc

holo

gy, t

heol

ogy

and

phar

mac

y st

uden

ts:

a co

mpa

rati

ve s

tudy

Stud

ies

in H

ighe

r E

duca

tion

Hof

er –

per

sona

l ep

iste

mol

ogy,

bel

iefs

or

gani

zed

as t

heor

ies,

de

velo

pmen

tal

mod

els,

co

ntex

t, an

d m

etac

ogni

tion

Hig

her

educ

atio

n, w

orkp

lace

lea

rnin

g ex

peri

ence

s, d

isci

plin

ary

envi

ronm

ents

and

cu

rric

ula

toge

ther

sha

pe t

he p

erso

nal

epis

tem

olog

ies

of s

tude

nts.

Kle

now

ski,

V.,

Ask

ew, S

. and

C

arne

ll, E

.20

06U

K

Por

tfol

ios

for

lear

ning

, as

sess

men

t an

d pr

ofes

sion

al d

evel

opm

ent

in h

ighe

r ed

ucat

ion

Ass

essm

ent

&

Eva

luat

ion

in

Hig

her

Edu

cati

on

Sch

ön –

ref

lect

ive

prac

tice

The

rel

atio

nshi

p of

lea

rnin

g, t

each

ing,

and

as

sess

ing

wit

h le

arni

ng p

ortf

olio

s su

ppor

ts

an u

nder

stan

ding

of

lear

ning

and

pr

ofes

sion

al d

evel

opm

ent.

Kni

ght,

P.,

Tai

t, J.

an

d Y

orke

, M.

2006

UK

The

pro

fess

iona

l le

arni

ng o

f te

ache

rs i

n hi

gher

ed

ucat

ion

Stud

ies

in H

ighe

r E

duca

tion

Era

ut;

Ste

rnbe

rg e

t al

.; B

eche

r –

prof

essi

onal

le

arni

ng

Pro

fess

iona

l lea

rnin

g is

sys

tem

atic

and

occ

urs

in i

nter

play

bet

wee

n in

divi

dual

s an

d th

eir

envi

ronm

ent

in t

erm

s of

sit

uate

d so

cial

pr

acti

ces.

(Con

tinu

ed.)


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012

Tabl

e 2.

(Con

tinu

ed.)

Aut

hor,

pub

lica

tion

da

te, c

ount

ryT

itle

Jour

nal

deta

ils

The

oret

ical

und

erpi

nnin

gsK

ey f

ocus

Pat

erso

n, M

., H

iggs

, J.,

Wil

cox,

S. a

nd

Vil

lene

uue,

M.

2002

Can

ada

Cli

nica

l re

ason

ing

and

self

-di

rect

ed l

earn

ing:

key

di

men

sion

s in

pro

fess

iona

l ed

ucat

ion

and

prof

essi

onal

so

cial

izat

ion

Foc

us o

n H

ealt

h P

rofe

ssio

nal

Edu

cati

on

Kol

b –

expe

rien

tial

lear

ning

; S

chön

– r

efle

ctiv

e pr

acti

ce;

Wil

cox

– se

lf

dire

cted

lea

rnin

g;

Ent

wis

tle

and

Ram

sden

–

stra

tegi

c le

arni

ng

Pro

fess

iona

l so

cial

izat

ion

in r

elat

ion

to

prof

essi

onal

ide

ntit

y. C

onst

ruct

ing

a pr

ofes

sion

al i

dent

ity

is a

cor

e pr

oces

s an

d a

sign

ific

ant

outc

ome

of s

elf-

dire

cted

le

arni

ng i

n pr

ofes

sion

al e

duca

tion

.

Pee

l, D

.20

05U

K

Pee

r ob

serv

atio

n as

a

tran

sfor

mat

ory

tool

?T

each

ing

in

Hig

her

Edu

cati

on

Gid

dens

– s

elf

iden

tity

; K

olb

– ex

peri

enti

al

lear

ning

; O

tter

man

and

K

ottk

amp

– tr

ansf

orm

ativ

e le

arni

ng;

Lav

e an

d W

enge

r –

situ

ated

lea

rnin

g; Z

uber

-S

keri

tt –

cri

tica

l en

quir

y

Ref

lect

ive

prac

tice

and

sta

ff d

evel

opm

ent a

s a

conc

eptu

al f

ram

ewor

k fo

r un

ders

tand

ing

how

pee

r ob

serv

atio

n to

ols

can

be u

sed

to

unde

rsta

nd t

each

ing,

enc

oura

ge p

erso

nal

crit

ical

ref

lect

ion

and

serv

e as

a

tran

sfor

mat

ive

lear

ning

too

l.

Pet

tife

r, A

. and

C

loud

er, L

.20

08U

K

Cli

nica

l sup

ervi

sion

: a m

eans

of

pro

mot

ing

reci

proc

ity

betw

een

prac

titi

oner

s an

d ac

adem

ics

Lea

rnin

g in

Hea

lth

and

Soci

al C

are

Rap

popo

rt e

t al

. –

com

peti

ng i

dent

itie

s an

d dy

nam

ic p

ortf

olio

of

selv

es;

Cro

ssle

y –

mem

bers

hip

of

prof

essi

ons

Aca

dem

ics

teac

hing

in

thei

r pr

ofes

sion

m

aint

ain

a pr

ofes

sion

al id

enti

ty b

y ke

epin

g li

nks

wit

h th

e pr

ofes

sion

al f

ield

thr

ough

pr

ovid

ing

a co

ntri

buti

on o

f th

eory

and

re

sear

ch t

o th

e cl

inic

al e

nvir

onm

ent

and

thro

ugh

reci

proc

al r

elat

ions

hips

.P

ill,

A.

2005

UK

Mod

els

of p

rofe

ssio

nal

deve

lopm

ent

in t

he

educ

atio

n an

d pr

acti

ce o

f ne

w t

each

ers

in h

ighe

r ed

ucat

ion

Tea

chin

g in

H

ighe

r E

duca

tion

Sch

ön a

nd A

rgyr

is –

re

flec

tive

pra

ctit

ione

r;

Era

ut –

nov

ice

to e

xper

t, m

etac

ogni

tive

six

kn

owle

dge

type

s; Z

uber

-S

kerr

itt –

act

ion

rese

arch

; K

olb

– ex

peri

enti

al

lear

ning

New

tea

cher

s in

hig

her

educ

atio

n ne

ed t

o be

in

trod

uced

to

mod

els

rela

ting

to

prof

essi

onal

dev

elop

men

t, sp

ecif

ical

ly, t

he

refl

ecti

ve p

ract

itio

ner,

act

ion

rese

arch

, no

vice

to

expe

rt a

nd m

etac

ogni

tive

ap

proa

ches

.

(Con

tinu

ed.)

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Tabl

e 2.

(Con

tinu

ed.)

Aut

hor,

pub

lica

tion

da

te, c

ount

ryT

itle

Jour

nal

deta

ils

The

oret

ical

und

erpi

nnin

gsK

ey f

ocus

Rei

d A

., D

ahlg

ren,

L

.O.,

Pet

ocz,

P.

and

Abr

andt

D

ahlg

ren,

M.

2008

Sw

eden

Iden

tity

and

eng

agem

ent

for

prof

essi

onal

for

mat

ion

Stud

ies

in H

ighe

r E

duca

tion

Bar

nett

– r

ole

of h

ighe

r ed

ucat

ion

in s

ocie

ty; L

ave

and

Wen

ger

– co

mm

unit

ies

of p

ract

ice;

R

eid

and

Sol

omon

ides

–

the

prof

essi

on

cont

ribu

ting

to a

sen

se o

f be

ing

For

min

g pr

ofes

sion

al id

enti

ty o

ccur

s be

twee

n st

uden

ts’

lear

ning

exp

erie

nce

and

the

man

ner i

n w

hich

they

ant

icip

ate

or p

ract

ise

in p

rofe

ssio

nal

wor

king

lif

e.

Wes

t, C

. and

Chu

r-H

anse

n, A

.20

04A

ustr

alia

Eth

ical

enc

ultu

rati

on:

the

info

rmal

and

hid

den

ethi

cs

curr

icul

a at

an

Aus

tral

ian

med

ical

sch

ool

Foc

us o

n H

ealt

h P

rofe

ssio

nal

Edu

cati

on:

A

Mul

ti-

Dis

cipl

inar

y Jo

urna

l

Haf

fert

y an

d F

rank

s; S

tern

; W

ear

– cu

rric

ulum

the

ory

Med

ical

eth

ics

is a

fun

dam

enta

l an

d im

port

ant

aspe

ct o

f ed

ucat

ion

in t

erm

s of

pe

rson

al a

nd p

rofe

ssio

nal

deve

lopm

ent;

ho

wev

er, t

he te

achi

ng o

f m

edic

al e

thic

s in

th

e fo

rmal

eth

ics

curr

icul

um i

s no

t do

ne

wel

l an

d is

und

erm

ined

by

unet

hica

l be

havi

or th

at is

mod

eled

to s

tude

nts

as p

art

of i

nfor

mal

and

hid

den

curr

icul

a.


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What is professional identity? How is it described, defined and understood?

The literature used the term ‘professional’ in a variety of different contexts. Thesecontexts included professional development (Cornelissen and van Wyk 2007; Hunter,Laursen, and Seymour 2007; Klenowski, Askew, and Carnell 2006; Pill 2005), profes-sional socialization (Cornelissen and van Wyk 2007; Paterson et al. 2002), professionaleducation (Paterson et al. 2002), professional formation (Reid et al. 2008), professionallearning (Knight, Tait, and Yorke 2006), health care professionals (Clouder 2005) andprofessional identity (Briggs 2007). Eighteen of the 20 articles involved qualitativeresearch studies. Two articles (Cherry 2005; Cornelissen and van Wyk 2007) werereflective think pieces.

Of all the articles reviewed, only one, Paterson et al. (2002, 6), prescribed adefinition of professional identity. This definition was limited to a brief description ofprofessional identity as ‘the sense of being a professional’, but the authors did illustrateelements of professionalism that must be combined to ensure that professional identitydevelopment occurs. They argued that technical skill and interpersonal skills alonecannot ensure the development of professional identity. The authors stressed ‘the useof professional judgment and reasoning … critical self evaluation and SDL [self-directed learning]’ (Paterson et al. 2002, 7) as essential components in the professionalidentity mix. This article is also alone in referring to definitions developed in thebroader literature on the concept of professional identity. The authors refer to Ewan(1988, 85), who defined professional identity as a ‘self-image which permits feelingsof personal adequacy and satisfaction in the performance of the expected role’.Adequacy and satisfaction are gained as the individual develops the ‘values andbehavior patterns consistent with society’s expectations of members of the profession’(Paterson et al. 2002, 6). The authors also report the view of Higgs (1993, 10) thatprofessional identity occurs when a member of a profession develops the ‘attitudes,beliefs and standards which support the practitioner role and the development of anidentity as a member of the profession with a clear understanding of the responsibilitiesof being a health professional’.

The remaining 19 articles offer only very loose descriptions of the professionalidentity development concept. All point towards the notion that professional identityis a way of being and a lens to evaluate, learn and make sense of practice. Pettifer andClouder (2008) focused on professional identity as doing and being in practice.Following Rappoport, Baumgardner and Boone (1999, 99), they argued that individ-uals are a ‘dynamic portfolio’ of selves, which implies a dynamic and continuousnegotiation and renegotiation of roles and memberships.

Other articles also provided some noteworthy descriptions of professional identityor professional identity development, including:

● ‘Constructed around caring for others’ (Clouder 2005, 506);● ‘Identity transformation involves a more profound change, in the sense that old

elements are put into the background and new ones come to the fore’ (de Weerdtet al. 2006, 318);

● ‘Identity development and professional socialization are framed as a process ofnegotiated meaning-making within a community of practice’ (Hunter, Laursen,and Seymour 2007, 67).

Some articles focused on concepts that are tangentially related to professional iden-tity, such as ‘self’ (Barrow 2006), personal epistemologies (Baxter Magolda 2004;

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Kaartinen-Koutaniemi and Lindblom-Ylänne 2008), mental models to representpersonal world-views (Bramming 2007), a sense of professional agency (Briggs 2007),integrating personal with external ways of knowing through developing self-authorship(Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour 2007, 67), shared understanding of relationships, place,mind, and practice (Daly, Pachler, and Pickering 2003), and learning portfolios andthe role of self-awareness and collaborative discussions (Klenowski, Askew, andCarnell 2006). Professional identity development was described as intercontextual(de Weerdt et al. 2006; Pettifer and Clouder 2008), and as being closely related tovalues, reasoning ability, clear understanding of responsibilities involved, technicalskills, judgement, professional knowledge and expertise, self-directed learning, criticalself-evaluation and reflective practice (Paterson et al. 2002).

What are the theoretical frameworks used to underpin professional identity?

The reviewed articles were underpinned by the developmental theories of Perry andErikson, Giddens’s structuration theory (Briggs 2007; Peel 2005), Foucault’s theoriz-ing of power relations and technologies of the self (Barrow 2006), and Lave andWenger’s work on communities of practice and situated learning (Daly, Pachler, andPickering 2003; Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour 2007). In addition, Hofer’s work onpersonal epistemologies (Kaartinen-Koutaniemi and. Lindblom-Ylänne 2008) andEngestrom’s activity theory (de Weerdt et al. 2006), were drawn on, as was Nietzschiantheory in order to distinguish transformative from adaptive learning (Bramming 2007).Further, the theoretical work of Bowden and Barton (Cherry 2005; Hunter, Laursen,and Seymour 2007) on the pedagogy of variation was used. Finally and in terms oflearning theories, reflective practice by Schön (de Weerdt et al. 2006; Paterson et al.2002; Pill 2005), critical reflection by Mezirow and Freire (de Weerdt et al. 2006) andVygotsky’s social constructionism (Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour 2007) were part ofthe theoretical discussion. This represents a remarkably disparate range of theoreticalframeworks, indicating an underdeveloped field where there is little agreementamongst scholars.

What processes of professional identity are discussed (professional socialization, educational theories)?

Many articles discussed the role of self, such as self-reflection, agency and self-authorship as being a key part of the process of professional identity development.Baxter Magolda (2004) implicitly drew a link between personal epistemology forma-tion and professional identity development. De Weerdt et al. (2006) saw reflection asa key process for professional identity development. They state that ‘reflection is theimportant mediator between experience and identity’ (318). They emphasize that deepprofessional learning involves the ‘professional as a “whole person” rather than justthe hands or brain’ (324). Bramming (2007) explored transformative learning anddescribed strong learning as a result of creating a crisis that is confronting and chal-lenging and requires high support from teachers. A crisis is a situation where studentsare required to stop, think and reflect, rather than accepting new information withoutquestioning She emphasized the importance of creating processes and a milieu thatenables strong learning, and described transformation as ‘an ontological condition ofall learning’ (46). Further, she saw the learner at the centre of professional identitydevelopment:


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The student is neither constructed as a consumer or an entity under transformation but isseen as a nexus of learning in a process of crises. Learning is already happening and thisprocess must be attached to some kind of crises because the student’s world-view mustbe contested for transformation to occur. (55).

Barrow (2006) and Klenowski, Askew, and Carnell (2006) discussed assessmentregimes as potentially playing an important role in professional identity developmentand transforming self. Cornelissen and van Wyk (2007) explored the professionalsocialization process with a focus on professional self-image. They described profes-sional socialization as a ‘dynamic, interactive and lifelong process’ (840), and foundthat participation in the professional role, or in preparation for the role, was a key forstudents to gain insights into professional ideology, motives and attitudes. Theseinsights shaped professional identity. Chapman and Pyvis (2006) argued that studentschoose and negotiate their identity and, therefore, giving students an opportunity tomake informed choices assists the professional identity development process. Hunter,Laursen, and Seymour (2007) drew on Vygotsky’s zones of proximal development,which emphasize students’ legitimate engagement in their future practice.

Most articles made a strong link between reconciling personal with professionalunderstandings of what values, morals and dispositions underpin their future practice.There is a strong advocacy in the reviewed literature for students to learn to engagewith ambiguity and uncertainty, find self-authorship and to make connections betweenexternally validated knowledge and their ‘own inner ways of knowing’ (Hunter,Laursen, and Seymour 2007, 67). West and Chur-Hansen (2004) discussed medicalstudents’ perceptions of being socialized professionally, both overtly and covertly, aspart of their hospital experience, and describe the professional identity developmentprocess as professional enculturation. Peel (2005) described professional identitydevelopment as a journey of becoming a ‘critical learner’, and argued that ‘professionalgrowth is very much a personal odyssey, grounded in experiential learning from whichpersonal meaning is derived’ (495). Paterson et al. (2002) also discussed reflective prac-tice, experiential and self-directed learning.

Only a few articles that we reviewed focused on external influences uponprofessional identity development, despite most mentioning work environments andlearning contexts fleetingly. Moreover, although power relations and external factorswere mentioned, little was put forward on how learning and teaching approachescould overcome or deal with these. The focus remained on student agency and onthe individual.

What is the connection between professional, personal and social identities?

The majority of articles discussed professional, personal and social identities, but didnot make explicit connections between them, let alone how to reconcile and integratethem. Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour (2007) hinted that the integration of knowing isthe connection. Such integration is manifested when students see the relevance ofwhat they are doing and learning, and when they feel valued for what they know anddo. Paterson et al. (2002) found that a strong core identity was an important startingpoint to develop a professional identity. Peel (2005) argued that people have multipleidentities, for example academics as teachers, practitioners and researchers. Peelargued that, for her, the ‘interplay between the professional and the personal …[were] critical to the development of my sense of self in both its public and privatefacets’ (496).

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What is the intersection of professional identity between university and work?

Thirteen articles made no reference to the intersection of professional identity betweenuniversity and work. Kaartinen-Koutaniemi and Lindblom-Ylänne (2008) saw theintersection to be in those experiences that students derived from the curriculum as wellas from the workplace. That is, both the curriculum and work together shaped profes-sional identity development. Paterson et al. (2002) and Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour(2007) concluded in their articles that support by universities to assist students learnfrom workplace experiences provided a connection between university and work, andfacilitated the development of professional identity. Peel (2005) argued for learners tobe that connection themselves. West and Chur-Hansen (2004) denied such a connec-tion, and claimed that the workplace had far greater influence on professional identitydevelopment than universities. Clouder (2005) asked academics to rethink how theyprepare students for the messy realities of practice, and consider what is currentlyvalued, taught and assessed. She argued that professional education and practice-basedlearning include affective development and ‘emphasise to the student the importanceof their own affective development’ (514). De Weerdt et al. (2006) argued along thesame lines, emphasizing that deep professional learning involves the ‘professional asa “whole person” rather than just the hands or brain’ (324). They saw the intersectionof professional identity development between university and work as arising frommulti-community membership, seeing students as pre-accredited professionals and aslearners.

What is the role of university in professional identity formation?

Although most of the 20 articles reviewed mentioned the university’s role in profes-sional identity development, they did not make it their prime focus. Articlesaddressed the university’s role in facilitating professional identity development bydiscussing transformative learning, reconciling personal and professional values, andby calling for increasing student participation and engagement. Barrow (2006) saw arole for universities in equipping students to measure themselves against standards,because this prepared them to take care of themselves and to build their professionalidentity. The role of the university in professional identity development was to scruti-nize its assessment regimen, in order to ensure that there are opportunities forstudents to develop the social, critical, cultural, professional and personal aspects ofprofessional identity. Bramming (2007, 48) argued that ‘the main concerns of theUniversity are to maintain high professional standards’, but also added that universi-ties ‘must be concerned with transformative learning and education, which is thenseen as a process where students are active participants; not consumers, users orclients’. Paterson et al. (2002, 20) claimed that ‘constructing a professional identity isa core process and a significant outcome of SDL [self-directed learning] in profes-sional education’. Cornelissen and van Wyk (2007) stated that the university role forprofessional identity development is strongest in the knowledge acquisition process.According to Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour (2007), the role of universities is tocreate conditions for student participation. This included ensuring that academicsshow respect towards students and facilitate their participation. Once this is providedby the university, the authors argued, developing professional identity is up tostudents. They need to start to take ownership, engage in practice processes, actprofessionally, reflect, and thus build up their professional confidence. Pettifer and


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Clouder (2008) claimed that lecturers needed to maintain a relationship to theirprofession in the field. That is, they valorized the differentiation between academicand professional identity. West and Chur-Hansen (2004) found that universities playa weak role in professional identity development once students engage in learning inthe workplace. What students learn at universities was undermined by what theyobserved at work. West and Chur-Hansen questioned the efficacy of university’s rolein facilitating professional identity development. They found that the medical practi-tioners in their study quickly unlearnt what they had been exposed to at university.The authors argued that focus needs to be on action and practice, rather than onthinking and talking about professional identity development.

What are the implications for university learning and teaching of professional identity formation?

Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour (2007) summed up the implications for university learn-ing and teaching of professional identity formation by stating that it is important thatstudents be provided with authentic experiences to reflect, and with academics whounderstand their mentoring role. The interrelationship between students and theirlecturers, the effective use of experiences that lead to heightened self-awareness anddeeper understanding of practice appear to be key concerns in professional identitydevelopment. Another implication emerging from the reviewed literature was for learn-ing and teaching to focus more on action and behaviour than on theory and concepts.Lecturers should consider the formal, informal and hidden curriculum and its impacton professional identity development (West and Chur-Hansen 2004). A recurringtheme in response to this question was that students must be encouraged to questiontheir self-understanding and deeply understand their professional relations with others(Barrow 2006; Baxter Magolda 2004; Kaartinen-Koutaniemi and Lindblom-Ylänne2008; Klenowski, Askew, and Carnell 2006). The importance of transformation andgenerating insights from engaged learning and teaching was emphasized especially byBramming (2007), Cherry (2005) and Peel (2005). Peel (2005) stressed the importanceof reflection to developing professional identity. Experiences without reflection run thedanger of distorted knowing and being. In contrast, Chapman and Pyvis (2006) claimedthat the experience of attending a university course in itself automatically has an impacton professional identity.

Discussion

The role of universities is predominantly to teach theoretical and formal knowledge,and at the same time the pressure on higher education to prepare students for the worldof work continues (Barnett 2010). Professional identity development is about being inthe world, but increasingly it must also be about being in a multiplicity of worlds orcommunities, and professional identity and its development is thus complex. In thislight, the literature we examined is of potential use to academics and universities. Thekey messages from the reviewed literature predominantly concern the dynamictransformative nature of professional identity development, personal sense-makingand student participation. Professional identity development requires students’ activeengagement and agency in conjunction with appropriate support and mentorship fromacademics. There is overall agreement amongst all articles that collaborative, dialogiclearning from practice enables and facilitates professional identity development.

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Although collective learning, the role of dialogues and the conditions external to selfwere discussed, there seemed to be strong emphasis on the individual learner. Ourreview opens up a debate about tensions between personal and professional values,structural and power influences, discipline and generic aspects of professional identitydevelopment.

Professional identity development is fostered by the authentic experiences ofstudents in the workplace. It manifests in the intersection between personal andprofessional values. It is dynamic and fluid, implying a shift and transformation bystudents of personal and professional knowledge, skills and dispositions. Professionalidentity development draws on different types of knowledge, including troublesome(Clouder 2005) and uncomfortable knowledge (Cherry 2005).

Equally important was the discussion in the literature regarding structural andsystem-based contexts. Some articles highlighted the role of external structures, suchas national policies and reforms in influencing curriculum, teaching and assessmentpractices. The current debate on professional identity development revolves aroundhuman agency versus bureaucratic structural contexts as the key influences.

The importance of appreciating discipline-specific professional identities wasraised in several articles, and most discussed professional identity development withina specific professional discipline framework. Based on these discipline-specific find-ings implications for generic professional identity development were made. However,no university-wide curriculum principle was offered. In the current climate ofglobalizing and standardizing curricula and interprofessional education, there needs tobe further debate about discipline versus generic professional identity development.The reality that students may not end up practising in their chosen professions andvocational areas substantiates the need for generic professional identity developmentformation. Further, since universities predominantly are seen by students as learningand teaching institutions and not as employers, much professional identity develop-ment may occur post graduation. However, we argue universities need to claim theirrole in professional identity development to prepare graduates for global citizenship,for leadership qualities and for future practice.

Overall, our literature review highlights the underdevelopment of the researchbase for professional identity development formation. What was missing in the litera-ture we examined was a focus on professional identity development informed byclearly articulated understandings of ‘professional identity’. Mostly the literature wereviewed used ‘professional’ and ‘identity’ as what van Manen (1999) calls ‘stop-words’: that is, words that draw to a close reflection or explanation. Whilst there isnothing inherently wrong with this strategy, we suggest that it is likely that a host ofconstructive insights and messages for teaching and learning would be derived byworking with a more explicit conceptualization of professional identity than hashitherto been the case in the higher education literature.

An explicit approach, we suggest, could have two possible outcomes. First, itcould facilitate a clearer teasing out of what academics and universities must do toeffectively foster professional identity development. Better understanding of thecomplex interrelated forces that shape professional identity development will enhancethe facilitation of it. Second, a more concentrated focus on professional identity mightproblematize the concept, and hence generate a host of other insights for highereducation. In this respect, a lead can be taken here from literature on ‘identity’.

With respect to the first possible outcome, an extremely broad example of such aconceptualization is provided by Lawler (2008), who acknowledged that the term


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‘identity’ is difficult to define. She argued that it is not possible to devise ‘a singleoverarching definition of what it is, how it developed and how it worked’ (2). This isperhaps one reason why many of the articles we reviewed did not elaborate in anydepth on what the term encompasses. Rather than tangle with its definitional ambi-guity, it is more productive to let its definition appear self-evident. Nevertheless,after pointing out that how one defines identity depends on how the concept is theo-rized, Lawler did offer a very general set of definitions. First, she suggested thatidentity is about the ways in which a person is very similar or identical to others.That is, the way an individual shares, to a degree, a common identity with otherpeople. Second, and relatedly, identity is about our difference from others. A personwill share a common identity with some people but be very different from others.Thus, identity is bound up in the evocative notion of ‘us’ and ‘them’. However, it isimportant to note that every person has unique aspects that make them to varyingdegrees different from everyone else: we each have an individual identity. Third,Lawler pointed out that identity involves identification. That is, not only are we, toan extent, identical to some people and different to others, but we identify ourselvesas sharing some things in common and are, therefore, members of particularcategories of people.

In the professional identity context, these three aspects of identity can be easily elab-orated. First, it is likely to be the case that, in becoming a professional, one starts todevelop knowledge, sets of skills, ways of being and values that approach being iden-tical to those held by other members of the profession one is part of. Second, in doingso one becomes different, and perhaps significantly so, to those others who are not partof one’s profession. Third, one identifies oneself with one’s profession. That is, a personidentifies him or herself as a member of that category of people that make up the profes-sion. This professional membership thus becomes part of one’s identity. For example,graduate accountants in common develop a set of knowledge, skills, ways of being andvalues that mean they have many near identical professional characteristics. Further,as graduate accountants, who share much in common with other accountants, they cometo identify themselves with the profession. That is, being an accountant becomes partof their identity. In addition, these commonalities mean that they come, at least at theprofessional level, to be different not only to other professional groups, such as nursesor doctors, but also from the clients they work with. Students may learn best aboutprofessional boundaries through interprofessional learning contexts where studentslearn to collaborate with other related professions (Abrandt Dahlgren et al. 2006). Clin-ical placements is such a context, where nursing, medical and allied health studentslearn to work together as teams, yet also learn to develop their disciplinary identity.

The above provides a loose and general definition; nevertheless, it is sufficient tothe purpose here in that it can be used to point towards some of the learning and teach-ing implications that could be derived from a more explicit approach to professionalidentity. First, and assuming that a strong professional identity is something to aspiretowards, this suggests that perhaps the curriculum of university courses couldconstructively contribute to the robustness of a profession by explicitly focusing onbuilding students’ professional identity. Course objectives could require that, inteaching knowledge, skills, values and ways of being, lecturers also focus on buildingin students a sense of being part of or belonging to a community of a certain type ofprofessional. This is likely to happen informally as student cohorts develop andprogress together, but a more explicit approach may be useful not only to the robust-ness of the profession but also to the sense of professional identity that graduates have.

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Second, by being aware of and focusing on the idea that identity is also aboutdifference, developers of curricula might be able to develop new teaching strategiesand innovations. For example, the notion of difference potentially points to the ideathat students must learn about boundaries, not only between themselves and othergraduates of other professions (for example, between doctors, nurses and paramedics),but also between themselves and clients. Differentiating professional identities againstother professions helps students to recognize that those who are not part of one’sprofessional community have certain rights and needs that, as a professional, one hasa responsibility to meet.

Third, the notion of identification, as an integral part of what ‘identity’ is taken tobe, could be argued to point to the need for socializing and valorizing processes inuniversity courses. Such university courses need to explicitly focus on socializingstudents to see themselves as part of a particular profession, and moreover to see theprofession they are becoming a part of as being valuable and important both to themas individuals and to society. Thus, providing even a loose definition of ‘identity’ cansuggest possibilities for teaching strategies in the higher education context. Thesepossibilities at the very least are open to further reflection and research, and therebycould drive a research agenda.

With respect to the second possible outcome, which is to take a more concentratedfocus on professional identity, some writers have problematized the concept andnotion of identity, which we suggest has learning and teaching implications. Bauman(2009) is one writer who can be argued to have problematized the notion of identity.He argued that, with modernity, identity construction became a task, something thatmoderns have to build for themselves. No longer are we born into social categoriesthat define who we are: ‘“Predestination”, was replaced with life project, fate withvocation – and a human nature into which one was born was replaced with “identity”which one has to saw up and make fit’ (3).

Bauman suggested that individuals become responsible for this task, and moreoverare held responsible for the outcomes of this construction work. For Bauman, this isnot a new insight. It is a task that many generations have had to undertake. Identityformation was about fitting oneself into a largely pre-established category or identity.We are no longer born into a place, but there are nevertheless places that we can assignourselves to. And, whilst this is a task, it is a task with blueprints. However, forBauman, this is now becoming increasingly difficult because ‘the places to which theindividual may gain access and in which they may wish to settle are melting fast andcan hardly serve as a target for life projects’ (5). He argues that this phenomenonaffects all people regardless of their skills and education. Goals have become fragileand finishing lines are constantly shifting. Building or capturing an identity hasbecome problematic because what counts as making up a particular identity hasbecome slippery, flexible and always on the move. Graduates need to be adaptable andmobile in the quickly changing employment market. Thus the individual must becontinually on the lookout for shifts and continually searching for the best wayforward.

the quandary tormenting men and women at the turn of the century is not so much howto obtain the identities of their choice and how to have them recognized by peoplearound, but which identity to choose and how to keep alert and vigilant so that anotherchoice can be made in case the previously chosen identity is withdrawn from the marketor stripped of its seductive power. (7)


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The potential implications of Bauman’s ideas for professional identity developmentare significant. In the past, it was arguably the case that universities were developingstudents to become professionals whose identities would largely remain the same,except for perhaps the inevitable and somewhat predictable identity shifts that comewith age and seniority. But in the current period of fluidity this is not an assumptionthat educators can rely upon. The professions have arguably become more volatile,with what counts as the ‘marks’ of a good professional constantly shifting. Educatorsmust now design their curricula in ways that will help graduates engage with aconstantly shifting professional identity. Rather than help them build an armour thatthey can then face the world and their clients with over the course of their career,educators must now help students to see that they are constantly becoming profession-als and that their identity development is increasingly fluid.

The notion of making students see that constructing a professional identity isworthwhile is perhaps critical given Bauman’s argument. As the quote above indi-cates, the fluidity of identity has also led people to be more fickle about what it is thatdefines them. Bauman likens people to vagabonds who must continuously ask wherenext could or should they go in search of a robust identity. Educators could be arguedto have even more of a responsibility to ensure their curriculum does not exclusivelyteach technical skills and theoretical knowledge, but also the valuable nature of theprofession involved, and how perhaps it is becoming even more important in societieswhere identities and boundaries keep shifting.

Implications for further research

There is a need for upfront and focused discussions on what professional identitydevelopment means, and what its conceptualization means for educating and develop-ing future professionals. While the literature is useful, we believe further explorationsthat more explicitly discuss and unpack the terminology could be very constructive forlearning, teaching and assessing. Key questions for future research could include: Canwe generalize about professional identity development across disciplines and facul-ties? Are there some core values and learning strategies that consciously facilitateprofessional identity development? How can we recognize transformation and relatetransformative learning to professional identity development?

There is a vast body of literature on professional identity which does not seem tobe integrated by higher education research. Drawing on these bodies of literaturewould help close the gap and give voice to current silences on professional identitydevelopment in higher education.

AcknowledgementThis project was funded by the Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning andEducation, Charles Sturt University, Australia.

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