5.1 Introduction
The aim of this study was firstly to investigate the type of learning that is involved in the development of university lecturers professional identity and secondly to identify ways of optimising the type of learning involved for lecturer development purposes. Open-ended questions in the nine interviews facilitated a deeper understanding of the negative and positive experiences of lecturers in a situated context and how these experiences lead or do not lead to the development of a professional identity. Through the analysis of my data three main categories emerged. These categories are interrelated so there was a need to describe the m as a pattern.
In this chapter the background to the problem is restated along with the aims of the study. The pattern is then explained and discussed. Extracts from the respondents’ transcripts are used to validate the findings along with new literature which is also brought in as a way of explaining findings that were not initially expected. Recommendations arising from the findings as well as implications for this study are articulated. The limitations of this particular study are noted. The chapter ends with a conclusion which reviews succinctly what has been attempted, what has been learned and what new questions have been raised.
5.2 Restatement of the problem as well as the aims of the study
In chapter one the problem of how lecturers’ professional identity is developed was addressed. It was stated that although staff development initiatives are sometimes introduced to facilitate professional growth these are often carried out in haphazard ways. Universities generally have formal inductions for staff but these rely mostly on institution-specific material. As a result little attention is given to the basic aspects of fulfilling one’s professional role or to the specific strategies or learning processes
lecturers need to make use of to become full members of the academic community within which they operate.
The aims of the study were to find out how lecturers develop their professional identity and to investigate the type of learning processes involved in the identity development of university lecturers.
5.3 Explanation of pattern (findings)
As mentioned already the findings were so interrelated that it made sense to discuss the findings as a pattern and not as categories. The pattern is explained below.
Lecturers develop their professional identity through informal learning experiences in a university context. The informal learning experiences of lecturers interviewed for this study formed a pattern as their experiences have been characterised by the amount of informal professional support from relevant peers or more experienced lecturers in the university. These experiences may be labelled as positive or negative and have played a central role in the development or stagnation of their professional identities at the university. I found it very difficult to categorise each lecturer in terms of making them fit into the first, second or third group as elaborated on below as most lecturers told stories of learning experiences which were both positive and negative.
The informal learning experiences of the first group of lecturers in the university have been characterised by a lack of informal professional support. Instead of the lecturer becoming a member of the academic community in which he or she operates his or her personal identity is strengthened due to the limited informal interactions with other more experienced lecturers. This leads to limited or stagnating professional identity development. These lecturers feel isolated and may slowly withdraw from the academic community within which they operate.
The second group of lecturers’ informal experiences are also characterised by a lack of professional support. However the difference in this group is that these lecturers enter the university with well developed social skills. These social skills assist them in actively seeking out ways from more experienced others to develop their professional identities. In other words they surpass their professional isolation through their active participation within the communities which they operate. They initiate their own participation in the communities that exist. In this way their social identities are strengthened which assists in the development of professional identity.
The third group of lecturers have had very positive experiences which have been characterised by informal collegial support. These positive experiences have resulted in their social identities being strengthened. As a result their professional identities have been developed further.
Informal mentoring and communities of practice are the support structures required which form supportive collegial relationships. All lecturers in this study have implicitly or explicitly stated the importance of informal mentoring and becoming part of communities of practice in order to learn to function in their various roles as ‘lecturer’. These relationships are characterised by narrative which is the primary learning process involved in the development of professional identity.
In preparation for the discussion of the patterns a diagrammatic representation of the findings as a pattern is illustrated. This is shown in Figure 5.3 overleaf.
development of professional identity occurs through supportive relationships characterised by narrative such as
M entoring Communities
of practice entering the university
with well-developed social skils – lecturers
use social skills to overcome isolation