Professional Role Identity Research Articles

Who are we? An autoethnographic investigation into professional role identity of the Learning Developer

This presentation was based on a proposed small-scale research project which aimed to investigate how a small team of Learning Developers (six) feel about their professional identity, and whether the job title of Academic Skills Advisor (ASA) at Edge Hill University has accurately reflected their combined experience and professional standing. This research project was designed to be undertaken within the Student Engagement Team Community of Practice (SETCoP) and had been identified as a useful chance to explore the Learning Development (LD) skills base through the practice of collaborative autoethnography (Chang, 2022). Eyre and Slawson (2018) recognise that self-descriptions enable Learning Developers to maintain control over defining the value of LD practice. This research project employs a qualitative research approach to investigate whether participants’ self-identify matches with the given job title. Ethical approval was sought internally within Edge Hill University. Thus, this presentation also highlighted the readiness of the professional role identity of the Learning Developer team and how they managed to build inclusive LD space within their Community of Practice in order to connect socially, emotionally, and physically. They also discussed how they planned for data gathering and evaluating the collective feelings of the ASAs to reflect the impacts of the evolution of the job title as an LD role which enabled them to show their identity, practices, values, and status.

‘Being a Social Worker … It's in My DNA’ Retaining Experienced Child and Family Social Workers: The Role of Professional Identity

ABSTRACTThe retention of experienced child and family social workers is a significant issue in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe. Failure to retain experienced practitioners has serious implications for the protection and support of vulnerable children. Existing research and workforce interventions have focused on the support of early‐career social workers to prevent exit. Relatively few studies have examined what can be learned from experienced social workers who have remained in the profession long‐term. This study captures the voices of experienced stayers. Data consist of interviews with social workers (n = 58) across 11 local authorities in England who have remained in practice for ≥8 years. Findings suggest that a strong sense of professional identity (PI) sustains social workers and promotes retention. For experienced social workers, staying in the profession long‐term involves navigating a series of identity challenges over the course of their career, conceptualized here as Critical Career Episodes (CCEs). Based on these findings, we suggest that retaining experienced social workers involves support to navigate CCEs alongside meaningful opportunities for learning and development. We identify three key factors that support and sustain ongoing PI development and support retention: generativity, specialism and mobility. The article concludes with recommendations to support workforce retention.

Supporting Immigrants in School: Educators’ Personal and Professional Identities in Context

ABSTRACT Recently, immigrant-origin youth and families have faced increasing challenges in the U.S. due to enactment of hostile federal policies. As the population of immigrant-origin students continues to grow in the United States, educators play an important role in supporting them as they navigate these challenges, with key implications for educational leadership. Building on prior scholarship about how educators’ conceptualization of their roles shapes their practices, our article explores how educators’ personal and professional identities as well as school district and political contexts influence their understanding of their responsibilities in serving immigrant-origin students. Analysis of all-staff survey data from six school districts reveals that feelings of responsibility were related to school culture, political context, professional role identities, and various personal identities. Our work suggests that educational leaders need to work with educators across various roles to develop a sense of collective responsibility for immigrant-origin students in schools. Furthermore, educational leaders must support professional learning about evolving immigration policies and their impact on student experiences. Attending to school culture and climate, leaders have a crucial role in helping educators ensure a supportive context for these students, families and communities.

Reconstructing Professional Role Identities: (Un)Learning and Hybridization in a Business School Program

Reconstructing Professional Role Identities: (Un)Learning and Hybridization in a Business School Program

Discovering nurse mode: A phenomenological study of nursing student role micro-transitions

AimTo explore the experiences of undergraduate nursing students in navigating daily micro-transitions between nursing and non-nursing roles. BackgroundNursing students develop professional role identity through socialization, experience, and practice while simultaneously managing pre-existing personal roles. This dynamic creates a training ground for future sustainable practice. DesignQualitative, cross-sectional, interpretive phenomenological design with hermeneutics. MethodsSeventeen undergraduate nursing students participated online in semi-structured, audiovisual-recorded interviews until data saturation was reached. ResultsThree main themes emerged: 1) Strategies for Getting In and Out of Nurse Mode, 2) Cultivating Mindful Nursing Practice, and 3) Nursing Student Socialization and Immersion. Findings indicated that nursing students noticed benefits in their personal and professional lives as they developed this skill. Findings also suggested that students need support from their educators to ensure they are not trapped in nurse mode while learning to navigate nurse role identity. ConclusionsUnderstanding and supporting nursing students in managing role micro-transitions are crucial. Findings indicated a functional need for nursing students to understand and apply knowledge and skills regarding a) when to initiate a role micro-transition and b) how to complete a micro-transition effectively between a nursing and non-nursing role. Educational strategies and support systems addressing this need may improve future nursing professionals' quality of life and clinical practice.

Becoming and being a translation and interpreting teacher in China: A sustainable role identity trajectory

This study presents a Translation and Interpreting Teacher Role Identity (TITRI) trajectory, a sustainable career development model for T&I teachers. It employs a qualitative case study method to investigate the professional lives of three T&I teachers in China, mapping their role identity development across three stages using the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI). The findings highlight that the three case participants have experienced some major events, symbolizing a career path beginning as a T&I practitioner and culminating into a multifaceted role. The analysis emphasizes how major events define the TITRI trajectory, shaping T&I teachers’ professional paths and highlighting the dynamic interplay between their personal experiences and professional development. The TITRI trajectory enhances our understanding of the professional role identity of T&I teachers. It adds to the existing literature on T&I teacher professional development by providing deeper insights into the mechanisms that help T&I teachers in cultivating their roles as trainers/educators, researchers and practitioners within the higher educational context.

Managing, surveying and assisting transgender people in prison: A comparative analysis of staff-members’ positioning toward transgender inmates among different correctional facilities in Italy

Background The present study intends to shed light on the (inter)subjective and professional modalities through which prison workers manage to cope with the presence of incarcerated transgender people in Italy. Method Fourteen semi structured interviews were undertaken with prison-workers in three Italian jails. The transcribed interviews were processed through text-mining-analysis, and an in-depth investigation of these discursive sources was performed to access the sociocultural representation of prison-workers concerning transgender related issues. Results Findings showed different discursive positionings, which vary significantly according to the professional role and gender identity of the interviewees. Although specialized training aimed at improving knowledge on transgender issues and interpersonal skills had been previously provided to all prison-workers, non-transgender affirming behaviors and attitudes continue to be observed. However, they may be the product of the persistence of cultural biases belonging to the more general societal context. Conclusions Specific training programs addressed to prison-workers are certainly necessary, but their real effectiveness should be constantly monitored and verified. At the same time, it seems that an effective improvement of the condition of transgender people within correctional facilities may only be obtained through paradigmatic changes concerning representations about gender nonconformity within the more general Italian culture and society.

‘Keeping two cultures together’: the binary construction of belonging in narratives of professionals on children’s cultural identity

ABSTRACT This paper analyses interviews with Italian education professionals collected in the context of a European research project on the participation of children with a migration background, aiming to understand how interviewees’ construct children’s belonging and cultural identity. We also investigated whether these constructions change because of the gender of children involved in the narratives. We found that a narrative of incompleteness underpinned the professionals’ views. They described children’s trajectories as incomplete both because of their status as children and because of their perceived division in binary terms. Furthermore, through these narratives, the interviewees work out their own professional role identities and reconfirm established institutional discourses.

Understanding Vocational Teacher Educators' Role Identities Through Metaphors: A Case Study in Malta

The objective of this qualitative study, that is framed using identity theory (Burke & Stets, 2009), based on semi-structured interviews, is to gain a deeper understanding of the professional role identities of vocational teacher educators (VTEs) through the use of metaphors. VTEs are undervalued in studies and policy in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) context, and misunderstood as an occupational group, despite being essential to maintaining a high-quality vocational teaching workforce and significantly influencing the quality of vocational education. It presents empirical evidence taking Malta as a case study and examines how VTEs synthesise the meanings they assign during an initial teaching education (ITE) programme. In addition, it also investigates how, through metaphors, the role identities of VTEs in Malta change during the ITE programme. Findings indicate that VTEs face various complexities, and it is difficult to express the multiple facets of this professional role identity in a single metaphor. Moreover, within this case study, VTEs' role identity formation does not follow a linear trajectory but unfolds according to the needs at that time.

EXPLORING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER BELIEFS AND PRACTICES IN TURKEY: A CASE STUDY

This case study explores the relationship between an Italian as a foreign language teacher’s beliefs and online teaching practices in a tertiary education setting during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. Specifically, it aims to find out the teachers’ beliefs with regard to their professional identities, and their roles in foreign language teaching classrooms. Besides, it was discussed if the teachers’ beliefs concerning their role identities are related to their classroom practices. Data were collected over an academic term through one semi-structured interview and two observations conducted at beginning and at the end of the semester in order to see if there are any differences according to the professional roles of the instructor in the course of time depending on the learners’ enhanced Italian language competence. The findings of the study revealed that the instructor acted out as a manager, facilitator, input provider, motivator and a translator in two observations, showing a slight difference in degree of synchronous interaction among the instructor and the students with the printed text, video tape or Web site. The interview responses revealing the instructor’s beliefs were correlated with the roles observed in synchronous communication. This study is limited to the online foreign language classroom. It would be interesting to observe what other roles the teachers play in the face-to-face classroom. It may be suggested that the studies investigating those of teachers instructing foreign languages other than English may enlighten the research on teachers’ beliefs and their professional role identities and contribute to the professional development of foreign language teachers. Last but not least, for professional growth of pre-service foreign language teachers, preliminary studies on teacher cognition should be included in the curriculum of teaching practicum.

When professionals become entrepreneurs: Identity construction of lawtech startup founders in Japan

Abstract How do professionals develop their identity when they become digital venture founders, and how does such identity affect their venture strategy? This article examines this understudied yet important question. The recent wave of digitalization has created opportunities for various professionals to participate in creating new firms. However, studies of professions and entrepreneurship to date have narrowly focussed on professionals’ intrapreneurship efforts within professional service firms (PSFs). This inductive study of lawtech ventures in Japan examines the sources of Founder Social Identity (FSI). The study shows that founders’ professional role identity developed during prior work experience influences their identity work to become an entrepreneur; moreover, the resulting FSI shapes founders’ strategic decisions on market segment choice. This study highlights the significance of a distinct type of FSI, which we call ‘professional communitarian’, for professionals who engage in entrepreneurship beyond the boundary of PSFs.

Profession-related support and subjective well-being in a sample of Chinese student teachers: the role of professional identity and trait gratitude×gender

Profession-related support and subjective well-being in a sample of Chinese student teachers: the role of professional identity and trait gratitude×gender

Exploring the professional role identities of English for academic purposes practitioners: a qualitative study

Abstract While English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has developed theoretically and empirically over the past decades, there are few documented studies on EAP practitioners’ identities. Our study examined 12 Iranian EAP practitioners’ role identities (as one type of identity) in light of the conceptualization of English for specific purposes (ESP) practitioner roles. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study revealed the role of various contextual factors shaping the practitioners’ role identities as being EAP practitioner agents of transformative education, being a course designer and the quest for needs analysis, being a materials provider and managing the oscillations, being a collaborator and the lack of collegiate connection, being a researcher and dispositional variations, and finally being an evaluator and dynamic assessors. The study provides implications regarding how policy and planning shape practitioners’ role identities and suggests future lines of inquiry to build the associated scholarship.

Reducing the rate of attrition among Chinese English teachers: the role of professional identity and self-efficacy

Teachers in any academic setting face a variety of educational challenges and adversities, which may result in unpleasant consequences such as teacher attrition. To minimize the rate of teacher attrition, factors inhibiting this negative phenomenon should be widely recognized. With the related literature reviewed, several researchers have endeavored to locate the potential predictors of teacher attrition in mainstream education environments. Yet, few scholars have explored the predictors of this phenomenon in language education contexts. To fill this lacuna, this research delved into the role of professional identity and self-efficacy in predicting Chinese English teachers’ attrition. In doing this, three valid scales were distributed among 442 English teachers. Correlational tests exhibited that self-efficacy and professional identity are negatively linked to teacher attrition. Multiple regression analysis also indicated that self-efficacy and professional identity can remarkably reduce the rate of attrition among Chinese English teachers. The findings may be informative and illuminating for language teachers and teacher educators.

The role of professional identity and job satisfaction in paediatric nurses' intention to remain employed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected nursing, as nurses are crucial in providing healthcare services. Understanding the factors influencing nurse retention is essential for maintaining a strong and long-lasting workforce because nurse retention is becoming increasingly complex. This study aimed to investigate the influence of professional identity and job satisfaction on the intention to remain employed while also evaluating the levels of professional identity, job satisfaction, and intention to stay among paediatric nurses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This correlational and descriptive study included a stratified sample of 257 paediatric nurses and was guided by the STROBE checklist. Data were collected through valid and reliable questionnaires, which included a nurses' professional identity scale, job satisfaction survey, intention to stay scale, and a demographic questionnaire. Data collection was conducted from January to April 2022. The study was approved by the ethical research committee at the Nursing Faculty - Mansoura University, ensuring adherence to the Helsinki Declaration. The paediatric nurses reported elevated professional identity, moderate job satisfaction, and moderate intention to stay employed with mean scores of 80.35 ± 13.22, 113.70 ± 19.58, and 8.40 ± 3.55, respectively. Multiple regression explained 13.0% of the variation in paediatric nurses' intention to remain employed (F = 18.50, p < 0.001). Professional identity positively correlated with the intention to stay (β = 2.69, p = 0.008). Job satisfaction also had a positive relationship with the intention to stay (β = 3.49, p < 0.001). Healthcare managers should focus on professional identity strategies such as supportive work environments, growth opportunities, and valuing paediatric nurses' contributions. Implementing interventions such as fair compensation, support, and rewards can enhance paediatric nurses' retention and quality of patient care.

Exploring Indian working mothers' transition to involuntary telecommuting

PurposeDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, many working mothers in India adopted involuntary telecommuting work option for the first time. However, no research explored their adjustments and experiences in the new work setting. This paper aims to gain an in-depth understanding of Indian working mothers' lived experience of involuntary telecommuting.Design/methodology/approachA phenomenological research design was adopted. The authors conducted 14 in-depth, semi-structured telephonic and online interviews. Data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework.FindingsThe data analysis yielded two interconnected superordinate themes in this research: (1) characteristics of involuntary telecommuting and (2) the impact of involuntary telecommuting. Under the first theme, four sub-themes emerged: long working hours, increased family demands, reduced interaction with coworkers and technology-enabled communication with supervisors. The second theme comprised five sub-themes: time-based work interference with family, time-based family interference with work, strain-based family interference with work, absence of emotional and professional support and performance management concerns. Involuntary telecommuting mothers faced challenges due to lack of control over their daily work schedule and demands, along with an increased burden of unpaid household work, leading to difficulties in managing their work schedule and negotiating their professional role identity within the family. These findings emphasize that working mothers who participated in involuntary telecommuting encountered bidirectional time-based conflicts and unidirectional strain-based conflict.Research limitations/implicationsThe study examines a particular subset of women telecommuters who were working mothers with young children. These potential limitations are to be addressed in future research.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that managers should develop HR policies and telecommuting ecosystems in order to enhance effectiveness of telecommuting. Specifically, organizations offering telecommuting work options should create opportunities for informal interaction among peers and formal one-to-one interaction with managers. Moreover, HR managers should develop and implement employee-friendly telecommuting policies.Social implicationsThe research contributes to HRM and gender literature.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the discourses of work-life balance, workplace relationships and work policies within telecommuting literature.

Participation and co-production for learning and development of identities: wherever I go, I meet myself.

Contemporary society is characterised by constant change with an ever-increasing feature of interconnection, having clear implications for healthcare professional learning and role identity. It is proposed that active participation and coproduction for learning can provide options to understand contemporary challenges and opportunities in the development of personal and professional identity. This research aimed to explore the value of learning and development of identity through participation in co-produced practical workshop activity involving service users and students across a Year 1 (level 4) undergraduate BSc(Hons) Physiotherapy module. Co-production was also reflected within the research project design and operationalisation. Following delivery of the workshops, data were collected and analysed from a series of individual semi-structured interviews (n = 11) and a focus group. Six emergent themes were identified. A central theme of identity and self-worth was deconstructed within five interdependent sub-themes; real and safe, person-centred, backstage learning, good to talk and staging of curriculum. A process of open dialogue within co-produced workshop design and delivery would appear to enhance learning and a contextual appreciation of a broader 'whole' for all participants. Future research is aimed at building on this project, to explore co-produced learning opportunities across levels and settings that provide further insight into personal and professional identity development.

Understanding proactive knowledge sharing and knowledge withholding in physician-driven online health communities – a professional role identity perspective

PurposeWhile spontaneous and voluntary knowledge contribution in online communities promotes value co-creation, dysfunctional knowledge behaviors hamper the effectiveness and development of such communities. The study conceptualizes physicians' proactive knowledge sharing and knowledge withholding behaviors in physician-driven online health communities (OHCs) and integrates the theories of role identity as well as communal and exchange relationships to understand the root causes and motivations behind these two types of knowledge behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected survey data from 166 users from one of the largest physician-driven OHCs in China and applied the covariance-based structural equation modeling approach to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings suggest that (1) physicians' professional role identity had a positive indirect effect on proactive knowledge sharing behaviors through communal motivation, and work pressure weakened this indirect effect; and (2) professional role identity had a negative indirect impact on knowledge withholding behaviors through exchange motivation.Originality/valueThis study extends proactive knowledge sharing and knowledge withholding behaviors from the organizational management domain to the online environment, exploring the underlying causes and motivations behind both behaviors in the unique context of physician-driven OHCs. The findings offer practical suggestions for the effective management of OHC platforms, as well as policy implications that respond to the workforce shortage of healthcare providers, a crisis that is unfolding globally.

Physical therapists’ professional role identity in the clinician to leader transition

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how physical therapists make meaning of their professional role identity when transitioning from clinician to leadership positions. Despite the importance of professional role identity in the transition from health-care provider to health-care leader, research on this topic in physical therapy remains almost nonexistent.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative, phenomenological research approach was used in this study. Data was collected through a three-part, semistructured interview process. An open coding to focused coding process was used to analyze data and develop themes which answered the research question.FindingsPhysical therapists in this study engaged in identity work, making meaning of their professional role identity by referencing a professional role identity focused on more than clinical skills, accepting the role of discomfort, focusing on relationships, exercising agency over the construction of their leader identity, recognizing consistency between clinical and leader roles and establishing a professional role identity informed but no longer bound by their physical therapist identity.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to investigate how physical therapists make meaning of their professional role identity when transitioning into leadership positions. The findings of this study highlight uniquities in the physical therapy professional role identity and the manner in which physical therapists navigate this work role transition.

Job Expectations and Professional Role Identity in Gambian Journalists: The Mediation Role of Job Satisfaction

This study investigates, in a sample of journalists, the relationship between meeting job expectations and professional role identity. Specifically, job expectations concerning career development, remuneration, and relationships with users were examined, while professional role identity was contextualised to the field of journalism. Following Mellado, we conceptualized journalists’ role identity as composed by the three dimensions of watchdog, propagandist, and citizen-oriented. An online questionnaire was administered from December 2021 to January 2022 and 74 Gambian journalists living in Gambia and in European countries answered the survey. The results indicated that job satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between meeting the expectations of the relationship with users and the citizen-oriented role identity. Additionally, job satisfaction mediated the relationship between met expectations of career development and both citizen-oriented and watchdog professional role identities. These findings suggest that meeting expectations of career development and interaction with citizens is related to journalists’ role identities focused on controlling the political and economic establishment and empowering people. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.