A Q methodological study on the professional identities of academic staff of the faculties of education

The aim of this study is to examine the professional identities of the academic staff of the faculties of education in Turkey. The study employed the Q methodology, in which both quantitative and qualitative data can be used. The qualitative data were collected and analysed by interviewing seven academics working in the faculty of education in the first stage of the study, which was conducted in two sequential stages. The analysis of the qualitative data showed that the academic staff of the faculty of education defined their professional identities as a “Practitioner”, “Researcher”, “Instructor”, “Coach”, “Counsellor” and a “Preparer”. In the second stage of the study, the Q measurement tool was developed by the researchers based on the specified definitions for professional identities. The quantitative data were collected from 21 academics working in the faculty of education and analysed with the Q measurement tool. According to the analysis of the quantitative data, the academic staff of the faculties of education were seen to adopt six professional identities defined in general. In addition, the professional identity as a “Researcher” was found to be the most preferred, while the professional identity as a “Preparer” was the least preferred of the given identities. According to the findings obtained in the study, it was concluded that the educational experience of the academic staff of education faculties significantly differentiate the preferences and attitudes towards professional identities. Based on the findings and results obtained in this study, it is highly recommended to examine the role of the educational experience of the academic staff of education faculties in the change and transformation of their professional identities.