The impact of educational activities on professional identity formation in social sciences and humanities: a scoping review

Higher education programs increasingly emphasize professional identity formation (PIF) within their curricula, particularly in fields such as medicine and teacher education. Programs in social sciences and humanities (SSH) also increasingly recognize their role in preparing students for professional futures, yet knowledge on PIF in these disciplines is less integrated into the body of literature. This scoping review synthesizes knowledge regarding the impact of various educational activities on PIF within SSH programs. A comprehensive search identified 63 relevant studies. Educational activities within SSH programs were observed to contribute to PIF across three settings: classrooms and coursework, real-life projects, and internships. Three student outcomes emerged through which these activities impact PIF: formation of images of professions, experiential learning in professional contexts, and self-reflection on professional positioning. However, the fact that SSH disciplines typically are less clearly connected to specific professions, compared to medical and teaching education, complicates PIF. Furthermore, substantial variation between disciplines exists within SSH disciplines as well. The article presents a model that helps to understand how the relationship between activities enhancing professional identity (PI) and student outcomes depends on context. The model builds on the assumption that the application and effects of PI-enhancing activities can be assessed using four parameters: learning environment, student role, relevance of knowledge and support. These parameters are embedded within configurations connecting education and professional field that vary according to discipline, educational stage, professional requirements, faculty attributes, and individual student conditions. This preliminary model warrants validation through further research and holds potential to inform research and curriculum design.