En usynlig profession? Professionstilhør og professionel identitetsskabelse hos merkantile videregående uddannelser

This thesis addresses the challenge of development of professional identity among students enrolled in Danish business academies. These programs situated within the administrative and mercantile fields under HK’s collective agreements, often lack the clear professional traits associated with more traditional professions, leading to ambiguity in the students’ professional self-conception.

The project is grounded in the pragmatic epistemology and a social constructivist ontology, drawing upon John Dewey’s theories of experiential learning and Wolfgang Klafki’s critical-constructive didactics. This framework of learning emphasizes the importance of practical relevance, social integration, and reflective practices in the students’ learning processes, which are essential for formation of professional identity. Pairing this perspective with modern learning and profession theory, the project aims to showcase solutions that support the student’s development of professional identity.

Using an abductive, exploratory design, the study utilizes naturalistic observations, focus groups and semi-structured interviews, conducted with current students at their third semester and recent graduates. The iterative empirical process allows for continuous corrections of the research focus, based on emerging insights.

The findings reveal that the students often struggle with a lack of sense of clear profession, due to the many different focuses and opportunities in the flexible educational programs. However, the project identifies that, didactic interventions, particularly those fostering social learning environments and reflective practices, can support students in constructing a more defined professional self-image.

Challenges include integrating systematic reflection processes into students' routines and ensuring that didactic strategies are effectively aligned with the students' experiences across different phases of their studies. The research highlights the significance of practice communities and collaborative learning as facilitators of professional identity development.

The thesis concludes that while the process of professional identity formation is complex and multi-faceted, strategic approaches rooted in critical-constructive didactics can enhance students' profession affiliation.