International test results posed concerns about the future of science education in Canada, the UK, and the USA. Stakeholders such as Let's Talk Science and AMGEN Canada and The Royal Society, UK observed that fewer students were pursuing post-secondary studies and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields in their countries, compared to their counterparts in China, India and Singapore. These stakeholders contended that science teachers required the agency to enhance their classroom efficacy and to challenge their students to pursue post-secondary studies and careers in STEM related fields. Reform initiatives, including professional development programmes, have been established across western countries to support science teachers' agency to act as change agents. This study was based on two assumptions; first, science teachers need professional development, experiences to shape their professional identity to act as change agents in science education reform, and secondly, science teachers' professional identity may be influenced and reshaped through experiences during professional development. This research explored the influence on secondary school science teachers' professional identity by their experiences of professional development programmes. A methodological approach of hermeneutic phenomenology facilitated the understanding of science teachers' experiences, while a sociocultural theoretical framework based on Wenger's community of practice, underpinned the research. Narrative interviews, semi-structured interviews, and a questionnaire provided evidence from thirteen purposefully selected science teachers in one school board in Canada for this study. Interpretive phenomenological analysis of interviews and qualitative survey analysis of the questionnaire, identified cognitive development, social interactions, emotional changes, and change in beliefs and classroom practice as the science teacher's experiences of their professional development programme. Such experiences are regarded as indicators of influence on professional identity. The cognitive development, social interactions, and emotional changes experienced by the science teachers, are considered as their dimensions of experiences during learning. Although nine science teachers experienced change in their practice, two of the reported change sin their professional beliefs. It is significant that eleven science teachers did not experience a change in their beliefs, despite changes in their classroom practice. The science teachers who did not experience a change in their beliefs were confident of their existing professional identities that influenced their learning and their views regarding changes in their beliefs and practice. It appears that science teachers' prior professional identity was a determining factor in influencing and reshaping their professional identities. Nevertheless, findings from this study imply that, to some extent, science teachers' professional identity was influenced, perhaps not reshaped, by their experiences of their professional development programme. Findings fro my research have implications for science education reform-minded stakeholders and providers of in-service professional development programmes. They would be informed of research on the role of professional identity in professional learning and classroom practice in a climate of science education reform, as well as the role of prior professional identity in such initiatives.

In the professional formation of pharmacists, participation in real-life professional practice occurs mostly in pre-registration training, in the year after completion of the four-year undergraduate MPharm course. As such, development of professional identity and practice are likely to happen predominantly in the pre-registration year. The study is conducted against a background of a sparsity of knowledge about professional formation in pharmacy, particularly in the pre-registration year. The aim of this study is to investigate the professional formation of pharmacy graduates in the pre-registration year. The research questions address what professional practice the graduate engages in during the pre-registration year, how they perceive their own identity and the reasons for this. Understanding professional formation requires a focus on the interplay between agency and structure. As such, Bourdieu's conceptual tools are deployed to explore individual agency and relationships between key players, in a process named becoming a pharmacist. This process is further conceptualised as achieving a feel for the game in which recognising and repositioning in regard to hysteresis is central to success. Via this conceptualisation, Bourdieu's thinking tools are used to describe and understand becoming a pharmacist, shaping the study through their use to inform data collection, analysis and interpretation. Four community pharmacy pre-registration trainees working in the north-west of England were recruited to take part. A case study methodology was chosen to retain the holistic characteristics of real-life events, with qualitative methods used to collect data. Portraiture was chosen as a method of presenting and describing the study's findings. Interview transcripts, observational data, self-selected records from trainee portfolios and researcher field notes were used to construct the portraits. Each portrait was subjected to a critical analysis to understand each trainee's unique experience using the lens of Bourdieu's conceptual thinking tools. A cross portrait analysis was then additionally carried out using key theories of identity and professional practice as well as Bourdieu's conceptual tools. Key findings included that identity and practice were strongly influenced by cultural capital and the existence of a dyadic relationship with the pharmacist tutor. Legal and corporate restrictions on practice constrained the development of professional expertise, which contributed to a period of acute stress experienced immediately upon qualification. The identification of practices of assertion and practices of deference as a way to describe trainee practice and identity was proposed and explored. Conclusions include that practices of assertion and deference can be useful in allowing researchers to unpack the bundles of influences on identity and practice. Through its findings, the study therefore makes a contribution to what is known about professional formation in pharmacy but also more broadly through the use of Bourdieu's conceptual tools to reveal complex relationships between structure and agency.

This thesis uses the findings from a study of pharmacists and non-pharmacists to explore the concept of professional identity in pharmacy. Pharmacists are well-established as providers of healthcare in hospitals and community pharmacies and their position as dispensers of prescribed medicines, and advisors on medicines in general seem relatively secure, as does their clinical role in hospital and their extended role in community pharmacy. However, previous studies have suggested that there is still ambiguity over the identity of pharmacists. Government policy in particular can be oblique and there seemed to be a need to clarify who pharmacists are. Consequently, a study was designed to address this topic. The concept of professional identity in pharmacy is made up of three dimensions: how pharmacists see themselves, how pharmacists believe others see them and how others do see pharmacists. This study investigated all three dimensions of professional identity in pharmacy.The research adopted a grounded theory approach and a qualitative study was undertaken in two stages. The first stage involved 21 pharmacists taking part in group interviews. The second stage involved 85 pharmacists, pharmacy support staff, nurses, doctors and lay pharmacy users participating in individual interviews. The data were analysed using the framework method.Analysis of the data generated for this study revealed nine identities for pharmacists: the medicines maker; the supplier; the scientist; the medicines advisor; the clinical practitioner; the minor medical practitioner; the unremarkable character; the business person and the manager. The pharmacists' identity as medicines advisor is considered the core identity which exists for pharmacists today and this manifests itself in different ways, depending on the setting or organisation worked in.

Therapists are continuously entering the private counselling sector, and as a result extending their occupational roles, becoming business owners and evolving in their professional identity. The purpose of this study is to understand the process of establishing a private practice while examining the development of the professional identity of private practice therapists. Specifically, the decision to enter private practice, the process of opening a business, and ethical and supervisory concerns within this field. Using systematic grounded theory, 10 female counsellors in private practice in Manitoba were interviewed. This inquiry led to the development of Professional Development in Private Practice: A Phase Model, providing an overview of therapists’ professional development in their roles as private practitioners. The five phases are seeking autonomy, logistics, transition and attitude, embracing the business and authenticity. The implications of this study are multi-faceted, influencing institutions, professional groups and therapists. / May 2016

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This study explores the ways that native speakers are represented in different discourses. It combines the personal with the empirical by starting with narratives of professional development, followed by a corpus analysis of how native speakers are defined, and ending with a critical discourse analysis of the roles allocated to native speakers in academic discourse. First, the use of narrative inquiry speaks to the lived experience of three native English speaking language teachers as they develop their professional identity and seek professional development. Their narratives uncover the tensions between their personal goals and external perceptions. In order to situate these narratives in the field, a corpus analysis identifies the difference between how native speakers are defined in general discourse and within academic literature. These different definitions demonstrate distinct patterns of usage that differentiate the concept of the native speaker, the native speaker of English, and the native speaker of English as a language teacher. Finally, a critical discourse analysis illuminates the dominant representations of native speakers in academic literature. An interpretation of six academic articles, drawing on van Leeuwens network of role allocation, highlights: 1) how native speakers are differentiated from non-native speakers; 2) how native speaking language teachers are objectified or excluded from the discourse. The analysis reveals how representations of native speakers influence the participation of native English speaking language teachers in the field of TESOL. The implications indicate that the current representations of native speakers detract from professional development by perpetuating static identities rather than encouraging professional development.

Few would question the important role of teachers in influencing the quality of education in schools; who teachers are, how they teach and what they teach are all essential components in determining the quality of the education they are instrumental in delivering. It is a logical extension to assume that the same factors matter with regard to teacher education. This thesis explores the professional identity of those involved in the preparation of new teachers – the teacher educators. Within this group, English language teacher educators, represent a small but significant subset, and one whose role in contexts such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expanding beyond the confines of English language teaching alone and into the wider education arena. It is hoped that this study may provide a useful contribution to ongoing discussions about teacher education at a number of levels. Firstly, it will add to research findings about teacher educators in general, and English language teacher educators in particular, and it is hoped that the study may offer some insights into the professional lives of those engaged in teacher preparation, especially in the United Arab Emirates. Secondly, it aims to give voice to a relatively under-researched body of professionals with the aim of discovering why they do the job they do and what they value in that job, in so doing it is hoped that it may be able to uncover what, if anything, constitutes the professional identity of teacher educators as a distinctive professional group.

Drawing upon the biographical narratives of eight student physiotherapists and situated within an interpretive paradigm this thesis has explored the construction of professional identities within physiotherapy education. It has been predicated upon notions of identity as constructed through social interactions, therefore a relational concept requiring interaction, enactment and reciprocity. It took place within a contemporary professional context epitomised by increasing interprofessionalism challenging notions of what being a physiotherapist means. The main findings of this study suggest that student physiotherapists enter physiotherapy education (or very soon after, develop) with a well formed idea of what being a physiotherapist means, constructing an idealised professional self. This idealised professional self becomes the lens through which they subsequently experience and evaluate their professional education experiences. The process of constructing professional identities involves student physiotherapists in a continuous cycle of performance, mediation and impression management, through which they seek opportunities to confirm their idealised professional self. The findings of this thesis suggest that student physiotherapists exercise individual agency to construct socially and spatially situated professional identities in everyday professional interaction and supports contemporary notions of professional socialisation as interactive. This thesis contributes to the contemporary understanding of the process of identity construction. Theoretically, it emphasises the concept of role models and highlights the importance of anti-role models or disidentification. Practically, it offers physiotherapy educators the opportunity to reconsider the complexities of professional identity and its place within the learning context. Finally, for the students who took part in this study telling their stories has rendered their experiences with meaning and their stories have the capacity to become important cultural tools for future students.

The purpose of this study was to describe through qualitative inquiry the professional identity that emerges as a woman attains the superintendency and to delineate those factors that facilitate and contribute to successfully attaining the superintendency. The research questions guiding the study were: (1) What patterns, themes, or trends emerge that characterize how female superintendents shape their professional identities? (2) What strategies do female superintendents use in establishing their professional identities? (3) What are the keys to successful entry into the role of superintendent? (4) Do female superintendents encounter "glass ceilings" on the way up to the position, and if, so, how are they overcome? The research design was a qualitative interview approach with descriptive methods of data collection. Seven participants were selected purposely through expert nomination on the bases of their availability, their willingness to participate, and their knowledge and experiences as women in educational leadership positions. Selections were also made according to size and geographic location of districts in which the superintendents worked, in order to study the possible differences and similarities in divergent settings. After data (interviews, informal conversations, interviewer's observation and reflective notes) had been gathered, it was coded using domain analysis onto matrices and from these matrices, conclusions were drawn through noting patterns and themes and making comparison and contrasts. The outcomes of this study identified that female superintendents acquisition to the position were enhanced by varied job opportunities and strong support of mentors. Themes identified in the development of a woman's professional identity through their shared stories and narratives were Makes a Difference for Kids, Powerful Personal Motivation and Drive, Thirst for Knowledge and Experience, and Knowing the Politics. Additionally, other themes explored based on the data analysis were pathways to the superintendency, mentors, supportive spouses, and perceived barriers. Findings did identify the following perceived barriers that limited advancement to the superintendency: difficulty in usurping male dominance in the position, stereotyping, and a woman's self imposed barriers. The women superintendents suggested strategies and made recommendations to aspiring female administrators. / Ed. D.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the influence that academic major advisors and informal mentors can have on an individual's identification with a professional organization and their ensuing level of involvement in that professional organization. The present study is unique in that it is among the few to examine mentoring and OCBs in the context of a voluntary professional organization. Participants were 309 individuals with a doctoral degree who are members of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), a large professional organization with 7,847 total members (in 2011). The specific type of OCB investigated in this study was voluntary service as a member of committees within the professional organization. Results indicated that individuals' identification with a particular professional organization was stronger if their academic advisor had engaged in greater OCBs within the organization (i.e., chaired a greater number of committees) and if they had one or more informal mentors who were also members of the same professional organization. Those with a greater number of informal mentors in addition to their academic mentor engaged in greater OCBs within the organization (i.e., participated as a member of more committees). Finally, those reporting at least one informal mentor in addition to their academic advisor engaged in greater OCBs within the organization if their informal mentors had engaged in a greater number of OCBs and when those multiple mentors were more balanced with regard to their to their professional setting (i.e., academia or practitioner). Implications for theory and practice will be discussed.