Thesis

"I'm a student and I'm skint" : a discursive psychological analysis of students' identity constructions in an experiential learning work placement

Creator
Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2012
Thesis identifier
  • T13183
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • The development of a professional identity, where an individual becomes aligned with the principles and behaviours of a particular profession, has consistently been reported to be crucial for success in the working environment (Adams, Hean, Sturgis & Clark, 2006). Experiential learning placements, such as those in the fields of medicine (Weaver, Peters, Koch and Wilson, 2011) and geography (Elwood, 2004) are one of the most utilised learning models in education (Kayes, 2002). Not only are they beneficial for students' education and future employment (Cronin & Connolly, 2007; Proctor, 2011), they offer higher education students the opportunity to start developing professional identities whilst they are still studying and before they are committed to an employment. The current study investigated how students construct their identities through interaction, when discussing an experiential learning placement. A discursive psychological approach was used to analyse student interviews from a corpus of seventeen, in which pharmacists and students partaking in a pilot experiential learning project discussed their experiences of involvement. The analysis focused on how students construct their identities, but unlike previous research which shows how students embrace the development of their professional identities (e.g. Lindsey, 2005), the current study highlights how students actively deconstruct their professional identities, in favour of promoting their student identities. The analytical findings and usefulness of a discursive psychological approach to accounts of identity construction are discussed, along with study limitations and future research recommendations around the topics of identity and experiential learning.
Resource Type
DOI
Date Created
  • 2012
Former identifier
  • 947587

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