Session Information
01 SES 16 B, General Issues: Employability, Vocational Education and Materials Development
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper outlines the design and expected results of research on the professional identity formation of future youth workers in Hungary with the ultimate goal of further developing university curricula for youth work education. We first surveyed incoming students of the community coordination undergraduate (BA) program (N =136) at a Hungarian university based in Budapest in 2022. The research aims are:
- (1) to understand the aspects that are important for students when choosing the community coordination BA
- (2) to explore their perceptions of this profession;
- in so doing (3) to investigate the connections between theory and practice in youth work education
- and (4) to explore the role of this educational experience (including internship) in the development of professional identity.
We also intend to interview students in their final year to understand how career perceptions and professional identity are developed while in training. Simultaneously, we intend to focus on youth work practitioners to understand the main factors that contributed to developing their professional identity. By exploring connections between educational experience and other forms of training in the youth worker’s educational career we may develop a better understanding of the competences needed in the field. These findings will be used in the curriculum development of youth work and can be used as a reference in the European youth work education context.
Theoretical framework
Professional identity is a complex notion, as Ellis and Hogard point out (Ellis & Hogard, 2020). They claim to start the investigation by defining the notion “profession” and continuing with “identity”. The process of professional socialization plays a crucial role in developing one’s professional identity and it is partly the responsibility of the educational institutions where the educational or training programs are based. Youth work as a social practice has been practised since the early 20th century in most European countries, however, it has suffered a “perpetual identity crisis” according to Coussée (Coussée, 2009) in recent decades. It is clear that this profession is carried out differently in Europe and this diversity applies also to how people are being educated for this profession (Kiilakoski, 2018). Therefore, it is relevant to (further) explore the educational pathways of youth workers, especially regarding their professional identity., In this research, we employed the Melgosa’ Occupational Identity Scale (OIS) (Melgosa, 1987) to see if professional identity is changing while students are going through their training at university. In Hungary, although European curricular guidelines are followed, youth work practice has not been formally recognized nor regulated since the 1990s. A clear competence framework for youth workers is needed which will also be aligned with educational curricula in universities. This alignment can be done by building on the foundations of the curriculum development for professional identity CuPID) concept (Ellis & Hogard, 2020). This evidence-based approach builds on identity structure analysis (ISA) (Weinreich, 2004) to outline values, attitudes and specific roles a professional field may have. Employing this method in our research helps us to identify the main directions to develop curricula and competences for youth workers.
Method
Our research explores the professional identity formation and development of future youth workers by investigating the occupational identity of students throughout their training; their motivations and perceptions about their profession. Hence, it is a longitudinal study that employs mixed research methodology. The main research questions are: (1) what aspects are important for students when choosing a community coordination program and what are their perceptions regarding their profession; (2) how are the theory and practice of youth work education connected in the Hungarian context (3) what is the role of the educational programs or trainings based in universities in supporting the professional identity development of youth workers? Currently, enrolled students of the community coordination BA program (N = 136) in a Hungarian university constitute the sample. Their participation is voluntary. Youth work practitioners (N:20) will be included in the research later. In their case, we use expert sampling. At the first stage of data collection, an online survey was distributed among first-year students in October 2022. We adapted Melgosa’s (Melgosa, 1987) OIS survey and added additional 28 items about motivation and perception regarding the profession. Currently, these data are being analysed and we hope to be able to present them at the conference. In the coming semester, individual interviews, and an online survey among final-year students will be conducted. We also intend to interview practitioners in youth work and to analyze documents (job descriptions, employment contracts, reflective reports of students after their placement practice). The data gathered from interviews and documents will be analysed thematically (Patton, 2002) to build a research instrument by using the Ipsus software to employ ISA (Weinreich, 2004) for the analysis. When using ISA we will create those entities in which both the students and practitioners can evaluate their perceptions about their own profession. In other words, we will be able to outline certain characteristics of the professional identity of students and professionals as well.
Expected Outcomes
Previous research on the professional identity of public education professionals in cultural centres (Hegyi-Halmos et al, 2022, Gulyás, 2022) showed that activities connected with youth work are often carried out by those who do not necessarily identify themselves as youth workers. A coherent competence framework is also lacking, although university curricula follow European guidelines (ESG, 2015). Nevertheless, research, such as ours, that explores identity structures as well as studies conceptualizations of the profession of youth workers may contribute to refining and further developing university curricula. In so doing, it also supports the construction of a meaningful competence framework that integrates European and Hungarian policies and professional perspectives. In particular, we anchor our research on the understanding that youth workers have diverse educational backgrounds in Europe (O'Donoven et al, 2020) and hope that our results will be relevant to the quality development of youth work as outlined in the European Youth Work Agenda and in the policy development processes concerning the education and training of youth workers (European Commission, 2019).
References
Coussée, F. (2009). The relevance of youth work’s history. In G. Verschelden & F. Coussée & T. Van de Walle & H. Williamson (Eds.), The history of youth work in Europe and its relevance for youth policy today vl.1. Council of Europe. Strasbourg. Kiilakoski T. (2018), ‘Diversity of practice architectures on education and career paths for youth workers in 1 Europe – An analytical report’. Ellis, R. – Hogard, E (ed.) (2020): Professional identity in caring professions. New York, Routledge. Elli, R. - Hogard, E. (2020). Professional Identity and Curriculum. In Ellis,R - Hogard, E. (eds) Professional Identity in the Caring Professions: Meaning; Measurement and Mastery. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, Taylor et Francis Group Weinreich, P. (2004). Identity Structure Analysis. In Weinreich, P - Saunderson, W. (eds), Analysing identity: Cross-cultureal, societal and clinical contexts (pp. 7-76). London et New York: Routledge. Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). (2015). Brussels, Belgium https://www.enqa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ESG_2015.pdf Melgosa, J. (1987). Development and Validation of the Occupational Identity Scale. In Journal of Adolescence, 10. 385-397.p. Patton M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. 3rd Edition. Sage O’Donovan et al.: Mapping the educational and career paths of youth workers. in: Taru, M., & Krzaklewska, E., & Basarab, T. (2020): Youth worker education in Europe: policies, structures, practices. Council of Europe. Strasbourg. Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council on the Framework for establishing a European Youth Work Agenda. https://www.bonn-process.net/downloads/publications/28/e8c9e4c87451bec342dcdca8a5ef9d28/Resolutions_Council_uriserv_OJ_C_ENG_EN_TXT.pdf Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council on education and training of youth workers 2019/C 412/03 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52019XG1209(01)&qid=1662028491917&from=EN Hegyi-Halmos, N. & Mohos, E.; D.Babos, Zs. (2022).: Az élethosszig tartó tanulás szemlélete a Pest megyei közművelődési intézményekben és közösségi színtereken, Kulturális Szemle (Hungarian Journal of Cultural Studies). 01/2022. Gulyás, B. (2022): A rendezetlen rendszer: az ifjúsági munka útkeresése. Kulturális Szemle (Hungarian Journal of Cultural Studies) 01/2022.
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