Afbeelding van het team van Wiljan Hendriks
Afbeelding van het team van Wiljan Hendriks

Professional identity development during the bachelor's research internship

TLC voucher project
Duration
2021
Project member(s)
Prof. A.B. van Spriel (Annemiek) Prof. C.R.M.G. Fluit (Lia) , Wiljan Hendriks , Merel Adjobo-Hermans , Rick Wansink , Malon Meeuwsen
Project type
Research
Organisation
Radboud Teaching and Learning Centre

Motivation

For students in the Biomedical Sciences program, the bachelor's internship is one of the first moments where they come into contact with working in a research department. Remarkably enough, little is known about the development of professional identity during these internships. How can internships contribute to the development of a professional identity?

A professional identity is about the extent to which someone can identify with the profession he/she practices. More and more research indicates that a well-developed professional identity is important for motivation and well-being in a future workplace. If the professional identity remains underdeveloped, it could increase the chance of getting burned out.

Desired solution

According to the team, two questions are therefore important to investigate. The first question is how students at Radboud University experience the development of their professional identity during their internship. Subsequently, the next question is whether this development is influenced by the motivation-promoting basic need of competence, autonomy and relatedness.

With knowledge about these development processes, internships can be improved and prepare students better for working life. In this way, future researchers are optimally facilitated in their professional identity development.

Action plan

With the help of the TLC voucher, the questions mentioned before are further investigated. A mixed methods design is used for this, in which validated questionnaires are administered at the beginning, middle and end of the internship. With the help of these questionnaires, the level of professional identity, motivation and self-efficacy of the trainees is analyzed.

The team will also organize focus group interviews, both with students and supervisors from the internship. In addition, possible differences are examined between students who do a laboratory internship and students who do their research internship from behind a desk. Of course, attention is also paid to the possible effects of the current corona-related circumstances on the internship.

Results

Wiljan and his team investigated how Biomedical Sciences students at Radboud University develop their professional identity during their undergraduate internship. This was investigated through online questionnaires and focus group interviews with students and internship supervisors.

Due to a low response rate to the questionnaires, the focus groups in particular provided valuable insights. The focus groups were organised at the beginning, mid-term and end of the internship. In these, expectations, experiences and reflections were discussed.

Key findings

Students expected to be treated as beginners, while supervisors saw them more as colleagues. This created an informal interaction, which contributed to a sense of belonging and to professional development. Students were allowed to work independently sooner than expected and experienced this as instructive. Supervisors were open to their input, which enhanced the feeling of 'becoming a researcher'.

In addition, autonomy proved crucial in students' professional identity development. Students working independently and actively contributing to research developed more self-confidence and sense of responsibility. The opportunity to be the first to obtain experimental results worked extra motivating. Moreover, students felt more connected to young supervisors, who were also still in their learning process.

The corona pandemic had a negative impact on the learning experience. Limited physical presence hampered observational learning and reduced interaction with colleagues and fellow students, which reduced the research team's sense of belonging. Working from home was perceived as inefficient and tiring.

The results highlight the importance of an internship environment with sufficient autonomy and social interaction. This contributes to professional identity development and enhances the learning experience.

Funding

This project is funded by a TLC voucher from the Radboud Teaching and Learning Centre. This voucher programme aims to set up projects in the field of educational innovation, lecturer development and educational research.

View all voucher projects

Contact information

Would you like to know more? Do not hesitate to contact the voucher stakeholder.

See also…

Vouchers of the Radboud Teaching and Learning Centre

With a TLC voucher you can finance the time and space to try new things in education and learn from it. You can also use it for research in your education.