professional identity construction and socialization ...

ISSN:2184-044X ISBN:978-989-99864-8-0 © 2018

PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AND SOCIALIZATION AMONG PUBLIC RELATIONS STUDENTS IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Sandra L. Braun1, Mohamed Ben Moussa2, Wided Dafri3, & Ana Stranjančević4 1 Department of Public Relations, Mount Royal University (Canada) College of Communication, University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) 3 Faculty of Communication, Arts and Sciences, Canadian University Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 4 Department of Tourism and Service Management, MODUL University (United Arab Emirates) 2

Abstract In the UAE, economic and cultural forces have resulted in a society with a sharp imbalance of the population (about 85% ex-pats and 15% locals, or Emirati) which has led to under-representation in many fields, including public relations. One contributor to success in a field, is the development of professional identity construction and professional socialization, which can occur while in the post-secondary environment. Utilizing Gardner’s (2008) framework for the development of professional socialization, this is a qualitative study of in-depth semi-structured interviews of 10 Emirati public relations students from Canadian University Dubai as a purposive convenience sample. Findings reveal that Emirati students are developing in their professional identities with strong inputs at the institutional/programmatic and faculty relational levels but are not contributing as strongly to their own development through personal/individual efforts outside the classroom. More focused efforts at this level could help Emirati public relations graduates be more prepared graduates, and better positioned for success in the field, leading to better overall representation in the field within the society. Further research into motivations would be helpful. Also, exploration into the development of mentorship programs/processes are suggested. Keywords: Public relations, students, professional identity, socialization, UAE, education.

1. Introduction The United Arab Emirates is a country that has experienced rapid, ongoing, and significant development, which has precipitated a high demand for ex-patriates to support the economic expansion.This has produced an imbalance in the population of about 75% expatriates to about 15% Emiratis. This leaves the local population largely under-represented across many sectors of the society, including public relations. Emiratization, a type of affirmative action program, was instituted by the UAE in 2000 to address this imbalance, but the effectiveness of the program has been questioned (Al-Waqfi & Fanorstenlechner, 2014). Additionally, many Emirati tend toward public sector employment, but opportunities are limited and unemployment among Emiratic is rising (Harry, 2007; TANMIA, 2004; Simpson, 2012; Croucher, 2014). Emirati only comprise about 1% of the private sector (Al-Waqfi & Forstenlechner, 2014; Croucher, 2014). Emiratis need to be as skilled and as prepared as possible for employment, particularly in the private sector, if they wish to combat rising unemployment among their numbers, and also if they wish to retain meaningful involvement and control over their own economy as minorities in their own country (Al-Ali, 2008). The field of public relations is an increasingly popular career choice by Emirati and a top-growth industry in UAE (Arabian Business, 2018). It is offered in about seven institutions of higher education in UAE as a baccalaureate degree, and there are also many professional programs offered by industry. Public relations has been cited as a “profession [that is] badly needed to meet the challenges of economic, political and cultural globalization,” such as is occurring in UAE, and that, while the field faces ongoing developmental challenges, “there is nowhere in the globe that having it [public relations] …. is more important than in the Middle East” (Kirat, 2006, p. 259). Many Emirati are enrolled in these programs. If Emirati are to take up meaningful public relations positions in the society, particularly in the private sector, they will need to be competitive candidates for employment. One contributor to success in a field, is the development of professional identity construction and professional socialization, which can occur in the post-secondary experience (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). To evaluate the level and process of professional socialization and professional identity construction among Emirati public relations students, this study adapts Gardner’s (2008) framework for professional 532

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socialization (i.e. occurring through institutional, relational, and personal/individual inputs) to determine the development, likely readiness, and possible future success of Emirati public relations students for employment in their field.

2. Literature review Professional identity can be defined as a set of beliefs, values, and experiences characterizing a group of individuals practicing in the same profession (Ibarra, 1999; Tuluas & Gokturk, 2017). The construction of a professional identity allows individuals to adhere to a particular community with whom they share “a common approach to a particular type of work” (Van Maanen & Barley, 1984, p. 5). Strong and clear professional identity has been associated with positive professional outcomes (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Professional socialization, a closely-related concept, is “the key period within which individuals begin to form identification with their profession” (Caza & Creary, 2016, p. 15). The socialization process relies on inputs from various sources including the following: discipline-based theories and concepts; practical skills and knowledge; and reflective knowledge involving intuitive and analytical thinking about experiences and beliefs (Sutherland & Markasuskaite, 2012). Creativity, self-motivation, and self-management have been named in the public relations literature as particularly important in public relations career success (Berger, Reber, & Heyman, 2007). Gardner (2008) provides a framework of inputs that contribute toward professional socialization (and thereby professional identity construction) of students into a profession as follows: a) the programmatic processes offered by the educational institution such as coursework; b) relationships with peers, faculty, and other academic professionals; and c) individual/personal processes. This framework has previously been used on a study of the professional socialization of public affairs doctoral students (see Smith and Hatmaker, 2014). Gardner’s framework was adapted for use in this study. This study seeks to evaluate the overall state of professional identity construction and professional socialization in Emirati PR students in the United Arab Emirates.

3. Research questions RQ2: How is the organization contributing to the development of the Emirati public relations student and how can it possibly improve? RQ3: How are PR faculty contributing to the development of the Emirati public relations student and how can they possibly improve? RQ4: How are Emirati public relations students contributing to their own professional socialization and development and how can they possibly improve?

4. Methods A purposive convenience sample was drawn from among the public relations students at Canadian University Dubai, January – April, 2017, where the authors were serving together as professors. Emirati students were identified and approached in-person about the study, according to the preference of the culture, and invited to participate (Hurreiz, 2002). They also were encouraged to share the opportunity with their friends and the study sample was built through snowball technique (Broom & Dozier, 1990). This process yielded 10 subjects who completed the entire process. While there has been much debate about the proper number of subjects for qualitative study, six has been considered an acceptable number, including one study of eight Emirati women (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Morse, 1989; Williams, Wallis, & Williams., 2013). Participants included one first-year student, three second-year students, three third-year students, and three fourth-year students. Five were female, and five were male. Ages ranged from 19 to 43. Students were guided through the consent process. They were offered the choice to be interviewed by a male or female, and their choice of English or Arabic. Students were offered confidentiality. Questions were formulated to elicit in-depth information on perceptions related to the socialization and professional identity construction inputs by a) the organization (examining satisfaction with courses, internships, etc.), b) faculty (examining quality of relationships, guidance, assistance, support provided by faculty), and c) the subjects (examining what initiatives students took for their own development), themselves, using Gordon (2008) as the base. Interviews lasted from 30 minutes to one hour. Interviewees took notes or audio-recorded interviews with student permission. Interviews that were conducted in Arabic were translated into English, and transcripts of all interviews were produced. Transcripts were analysed qualitatively by all four researchers through open coding for themes, comparing results and using a grounded theory approach (Corbin & Strauss, 2007; Glaser & Strauss, 1997; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Researchers engaged in discussion to come to agreement.

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ISSN:2184-044X ISBN:978-989-99864-8-0 © 2018

5. Findings and discussion Canadian University Dubai was established in 2006 as a private institution. Its education is based on Canadian curriculum and it has about ten partnerships with colleges and universities in Canada, advertising itself as a “portal to Canadian higher education” (Canadian University Dubai, 2017). The majority of students in the public relations program have been Emirati, at about 59%. This suggests there is healthy interest in the field by the locals. Figure 1. Numbers of Emirati vs Non-Emirati Students Enrolled in PR Program, CUD, 2012 – 2016. Source: Enrolment Services, CUD.

Date Fall 2012 Fall 2013 Fall 2014 Fall 2015 Fall 2016

Total # of PR students 174 327 347 369 311 1,528

# of Emirati 106 215 220 208 146 895

# of Non-Emirati 68 112 127 161 165 633

Percentage of Emirati 60.9% 65.7% 63.4% 56.4% 46.9% 58.6%

Consistent with past studies, however, there remains, among Emirati, a preference for public sector work versus private sector work. Most of the students, and particularly the males, indicated that they are either currently working in, or headed for a career in the public sector, naming such places as Immigration, Civil Defense, Dubai Police, Office of the Sheikh, Dubai Community Development Authority, Dubai Customs, and Mubadala (a state-owned national wealth fund). Such aspirations pose a possible barrier to ultimate public relations career success in light of literature that suggests public sector employment opportunities are shrinking, and the effects of the government’s Emiratization policy are limited. Overall, students are gradually socializing into the profession and building a professional identity. Most notably, PR professional identity and socialization is supported (to some extent) at the institutional level (program and courses). Students positively named course work, internships, field trips, graduation project, and captsone project as positive. This academic foundation shapes their overall set of professional beliefs, values, and experiences into the profession of public relations, which is positively associated with professional identity construction (Ibarra, 1999; Tuluas & Gokturk, 2017). At the relational level, students report strong and positive relational ties with faculty, saying “everyone is helpful,” and “everyone is nice.” Positive professional experiences and interactions are also associated with construction of professional identity (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004; Dutton, Roberts, & Bednar, 2010). Students noted that faculty were also helpful in providing networking opportunities by bringing speakers to class, and by organizing field trips for students. The only improvements that were suggested here was for professors to provide more networking opportunities, “whatever the form or method.” The idea of developing a mentoring program for students holds some possibilities. While, when this idea of mentoring was presented to a student, s/he was unaware of what that meant in the context of public relations education. Certainly, students cannot discuss things of which they are unaware; however, the question poses some interesting thoughts and possibilities for implementation in a society with a highly relational culture as the Arabic culture. This would expand public relations students’ opportunities for socialization into the profession through relationship (see Lankau & Scandura, 2007), thereby additionally contributing to professional identity construction. The area that showed the greatest limitations to development of professional socialization and construction of professional identity was on the personal, individual level, i.e. by the students themselves. While the development of professional knowledge and skills from programmatic inputs is central to professional identity construction, and relational inputs also play an important role, professional identity development is not limited to these; individual self-inputs also play a role (Gardner, 2008). Students seemed to recognize the value of self-inputs, but also consistently admitted it as an area of weakness. While two subjects indicated they had been known to do an occasional free online course, and only one said she attended networking events regularly, most of the students admitted they were not investing significantly in their own professional development as individuals. One said that while she attended networking events, she “really didn’t do anything.” One said she wanted to improve her writing skills and felt that she should look for additional writing classes, but admitted she had not taken any action on that. One indicated she did some volunteer work, but that it was “in the past.” One said she “intended” to take more specialized training elsewhere, but hadn’t yet. Students tended to rely on the required internship

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experience and any provided class field trips for practical training and development. Inputs on the individual level, outside of required course work, were quite limited, even though students recognized such inputs as potentially valuable. Also, effects of cultural patriarchy became evident as there was comment by a female participant that her decisions and any possible future career in public relations would be determined by her father.

6. Conclusion Collective professional identity is being formed through course work, shared experiences, and relational supports, but the process of personal professional identity construction is not fully exploited if students are not contributing aspects of their personal identity towards professional socialization. This may also hinder the process of adherence to their public relations community, the reflection piece of the process of professional socialization process that contributes to professional identity construction (Caza & Creary, 2016). Additionally, the effects of patriarchy reveal themselves; female students can be either encouraged or hindered in their self-development and their choices, depending on the decisions of the male head of the household (see Williams, et al., 2013). The true challenge emerging as a result of this inquiry appears to be occurring at the individual level i.e. student agency and proactivity. Also, because self-motivation and self-management has been named as a key ingredient to public relation success, this becomes particularly relevant (Berger, Reber, & Heyman, 2007). Lack of student agency could be because the educational culture and system veer towards “spoon-feeding” and the less critical, reflecting a cultural norm of conflict avoidance. In light of this finding, it would seem fruitless for the institution, or faculty, to provide an additional self-development opportunities that the students suggested, such as outside training workshops, or more networking opportunities, unless such opportunities were woven into the coursework as required activities since students do not appear to be taking advantage of these opportunities. In summary, overall, the process of professional socialization and professional identity construction is occurring, particularly at the institutional and relational levels, but there is opportunity for greater development and capacity to occur at the individual level, which is especially critical in a field like public relations.

7. Limitations and further research While this is a study of a very focused group of students at a particular university and results are not generalizable, the trends and suggestions that manifest themselves can be taken under consideration for other applications: Does the trend exist with other Emirati in other PR programs in UAE? Does the trend exist with other Emirati in other programs? Also, this framework can be applied in other settings and contexts where post-secondary student achievement is particularly important for key reasons. Investigation into the specific barriers and possible ways to motivate students toward contributing more strongly toward the process of construction of their own professional identities at the individual level would be beneficial. Lastly, exploration into providing structured mentorship programs could be undertaken as a potentially positive and effective relational input into UAE public relations students’ professional identity development.

Acknowledgements The researchers would like to acknowledge the support of Dr. Mohammed Djeddi, Dean of Education at Canadian University Dubai, for his support of this study and for access to enrolment information.

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