Professional identity and experience of undergraduate students: an analysis of semantic networks

Abstract

Work experiences during undergraduate studies can be remarkable in the journey of undergraduate students. The objective of this study was to assess, by analyzing semantic networks, the role of work experiences in the meanings those individuals attribute to professional identity. The sample consisted of 2291 students (60% women) divided into three groups: do not work, work in a field related to their course, work in a field not related to their course. The semantic networks of these groups were composed of words uttered from the professional identity prime. We chose to work with the critical network, obtained from the analysis of the incidence-fidelity indexes of the word pairs. The results evidence that work experiences are related to how undergraduate students attribute meaning to professional identity, in such a way that three different networks were formed for these groups. The network of those who work outside their field was the only one that integrated words with negative content, while the semantic networks of those who do not work and those who work in their field, despite containing words that do not always coincide, present a similar macrostructure. We conclude that work experiences play an important role in the meanings that undergraduate students attribute to professional identity. The study innovates by revealing elements of professional-identity construction, besides allowing for reflections on the effects of work experiences during the college period.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Teacher’s Professional Identity in Physical Education Undergraduates Based on Artificial Intelligence

“…This may be because most students believe expertise and sporting techniques, rather than the in-person experience and internalization of being a teacher, hold the key to occupational commitment. Nonetheless, the internship is instrumental in cultivating teachers' occupational commitment among student teachers, according to multiple studies [22], consistent with what we found. An internship allows trainee teachers to deal with an actual teaching scenario that requires interaction with students, instructors, and the inner self [23], and positive communication helps shape a professional identity [24].…”