Professional identity formation at the undergraduate level : postgraduate students’ experiences at two South African universities

Abstract: South African higher education has experienced many calls for change, related to fee free education, transformation and increasing postgraduate output. This study sets out to explore socialisation and experiences through which professional identity is formed at the undergraduate level. Further to this, how these experiences from undergraduate life and professional identity enabled graduates to understand the role of postgraduate knowledge creation. Professional identity in this study is used as a means to document and understand the progression from undergraduate studies to postgraduate studies. Undergraduate education provides the building blocks and lays the foundation for independent critical thought. This is also possibly the time that identity in relation to a domain or chosen field of study starts to develop. Postgraduate studies provide an opportunity for deeper analysis and the opportunity to develop and apply knowledge using the building blocks from undergraduate studies. This is the link between undergraduate and postgraduate studies and why it is important to examine undergraduate experiences in identity development in relation to how they assist students to advance to postgraduate education.D.Phil. (Education