Conceptualizing and developing vocational identity: a scoping review of research in vocational education and training

Over the last decades, research into vocational identity in vocational education and training has in-creased. This increase has led to several conceptualizations of vocational identity and findings of the influences on vocational identity development. In this scoping review we explore how researchers in the field of vocational education and training conceptualize vocational identity and what factors or circumstances have been reported as influential on vocational identity development. We searched four data-bases and found 48 eligible articles for thematic analysis. Based on our thematic analysis, we find that researchers conceptualize vocational identity from three perspectives: Vocational identity as stable and psychological, as dynamic and social or as career related. We argue that each of these positions are symbolic of essentialist, social constructivist and career theoretical conceptualizations respectively. On the subject of factors or circumstances that influence vocational identity we find five themes of factors or circumstances that influence vocational identity development in vocational students: Narratives shaping the perceptions of vocational education and training, the different materialities that are part of vocation-al education and training, work communities, learning or production activities as part of their apprenticeship, the unique characteristics of vocational education and training and the personal characteristics of vocational students. Based on the review, we call for clarity in the conceptualizations of vocational identity to ensure its analytical value, when reporting on influences on vocational identity development.