Implied identity: A conceptual framework for exploring engineering professional identity practices in higher education

Developing a professional identity, as an engineer, has been the focus of engineering educators. However, previous research illustrates a lack of an integrated framework that conceptualizes the process to explain how individuals practice professional identities and what are the relations between educational design and such practices. We respond to this by proposing a conceptual framework that applies two main concepts: 1) a new concept of implied identity to refer to different aspects of professional identity perceived by individuals during their experiences and 2) Archer´s reflexivity, as an internal dialogue, that mediates between individuals and their social context. We discuss implications of the framework for empirical studies and its contributions to engineering learning and assessment. To illustrate, we draw on empirical data from engineering students´ collaborative work and apply the framework to compare different aspects of engineering identity as practiced by two groups.