Professional identity is defined as the relatively stable
and enduring constellation of attributes, beliefs, values,
motives, and experiences in terms of which people define
themselves in a professional role (Schein, as cited in Ibarra,
2000).
Developing a professional identity involves a transition from
"an inexpert learner to that of claiming some professional
expertise and authority" (Cloonan & Kinna, 2005). What might
this involve for postgraduate students, and who does this
well?
Carrie Yang Costello (2006) of the University of Wisconsin
found that students who were female, of colour, disabled, or poor
entered professional schools with solid academic records yet
often tended to under perform compared to white males. The
success of white male students was explained by their likeliness
to acquire appropriate professional identities easily, while
those without this 'privilege' experienced a dissonance between
their personal identities and the professional roles portrayed
within their schools. This dissonance distracted them from
focussing on their studies.
Costello says that this dissonance applies to the development
of academics as professionals as well.
... many first-year graduate students feel uncomfortable in
their seminar classes. They may feel that their contributions
to discussion are inadequate, and be unsure of why this is so.
They may try to improve their performance by spending hours
reading and preparing, and still find their comments falling
flat. The problem is not one of intellect, but one of habitus,
although few understand this. The approved habitus varies
between academic departments — just compare a roomful of
English dissertators with a roomful of economics doctoral
students. But the basic process of needing to acquire both a
knowledge base and a professional identity is consistent across
disciplines. This contributes to the disproportionate success
of white men in academia.(Costello, as cited in McLemee,
2006)
How do you assist this transition to 'professional expertise and authority' for all postgraduates? |