First year students negotiating professional and academic identities: The case of scholarly soldiers

Abstract

As they make the transition to tertiary study, first year students adopt complex new identities. In professional courses, this entails both academic and professional identities. This paper reports on a study of the first year experience at UNSW Canberra (the Australian Defence Force Academy). UNSW Canberra aims to provide a quality liberal education for future military officers. With ongoing military training and supervision, students develop a strong sense of professional identity as members of the Defence Forces. But what of their identity as scholars? This paper discusses the question of academic identity in an institution with a specific professional goal and reflects on the implications for learning advisers and lecturers in professional courses at other universities. Using a framework of social identity complexity, our findings suggest that students who manage these dual identities effectively are more likely to succeed than those who are unable to reconcile their professional and academic selves.