The construction of professional identity

Abstract

[Excerpt] The classification of 'professions' has been a debated topic (Abbott, 1988; Friedson 2001), with several researchers putting forth varying criteria which distinguish a profession from other occupations. Previously, an individual would be considered a professional only once they had completed and attained all of the training, certifications and credentials of a professional occupation and, of course, internalized this profession's values and norms (Wilensky, 1964). Recently, researchers have begun to relax the criteria for classifying professional occupations, insisting only that the occupation be skill-or education-based (Benveniste, 1987; Ibarra, 1999). Furthermore, in today's workplace, which is burgeoning with independent knowledge workers, the term 'profession' is often used as an adjective rather than a noun, describing how individuals carry out their work with knowledge and skill rather than the specific kind of work they do (see Chapter 9 in this book).

Providing Inclusive Primary School Education for Children with Special Educational Needs in Wartime Ukraine: Challenges and Current Solutions

“…Preferences of teachers' roles usage appeared to be related to how the workload and the educational process had changed due to the Russian invasion, together with any post-traumatic growth the inclusion providers had experienced. These findings may contribute to the evidence of the role structure theories [47][48][49], highlighting the particularities of professional roles as relatively sustainable formations which affect or even predict the teachers' decisions even in times of crisis. However, as the proposed research design did not allow testing of the hypothesis about predictors of teachers' decisions, it should be considered a research idea for further investigation.…”

Do clinical psychologists have a role in clients’ use of psychotropic medication? A mixed methods investigation exploring current forms of involvement

“…A professional identity is a person's image of who they are as a professional, including the attributes, values, and skills that are used to define the professional role (Slay & Smith, Page 98 of 272 2011). A sense of professional identity is deemed important as it permits acknowledgement of specialised skills and knowledge, emphasising uniqueness from others in ability (Barker Caza & Creary, 2016). Furthermore, professional identity shapes work attitudes and behaviour (Siebert, 2005).…”

Military healthcare professionals’ experience of transitioning into civilian employment: A heuristic inquiry

“…Scott (2015) goes on to suggest that the military is one example of a reinventive institution that fosters group identity and that this includes institution-specific cultural norms and values. A professional identity involves the acquisition of skills or knowledge and the adoption of the norms and values associated with that profession (Caza & Creary, 2016). It can be operationalised in the way we explain and perform our occupational roles to others and how we see ourselves within those roles (Neary, 2014).…”

“…It, therefore, seems likely that membership of an institution like the military contributes to identity as a whole and professional identity specifically. However, modern professional identity may be a flexible, amalgamation of a variety of work-based roles (Caza & Creary, 2016). Therefore, a military identity may only be one part of a professional identity, as many military healthcare professionals also hold a professional identity and legal status specific to their area of expertise, for example, a nursing registration.…”