Kegan’s theory of lifespan identity development framed a pilot study of law students’ understanding of professionalism, part of a broader study of ethical professional identity. Four raters trained in Kegan’s stage criteria could reliably assess one of three developmental stages, based on coding essays on professionalism. Correlations of stage scores with moral judgment scores, service learning, and work experience supported the validity of the method. Ethical professional identity assessment can be integrated with courses or mentoring programs to provide students with developmental feedback. This method can also be used to assess law school outcomes with respect to ethical professional identity by comparing growth from matriculation to graduation.
Professional identity is characterized by the integration of individuals' professional and personal selves. The authors used a multiple regression design to examine counselor professional ethical identity development, with specific attention to moral and intellectual development. Student counselors (N = 59) completed the Modified Subject-Object Interview (Monson & Hamilton, 2010), Defining Issues Test–2 (Rest, Narvaez, Bebeau, & Thoma, 1999a), and Learning Environment Preferences scale (Moore, 1987). Moral development was the most significant predictor of professional ethical identity development. Preparatory and research strategies to enhance professional ethical identity formation are discussed.
Berzelius failed to make use of Faraday's electrochemical laws in his laborious determination of equivalent weights.