Development of the Pre-Professional Identity of Vocational Students during Their Training through a Program Based on OER-Enabled Pedagogy and an Online Community of Practice

Abstract

Online professional communities based on sharing under open licenses have become a new way of building knowledge, learning and professional development of the participants who build and expand their professional identity in the new global space. These new dynamics of cyberculture are not being sufficiently explored in the training of vocational students. However, open pedagogy models can foster pre-professional identity, influence academic success and self-perception, as well as contribute to the commons. In this study, we have investigated from the anthropological perspective, the impact of a training program based on an open pedagogy model. Specifically, we have investigated the effect on the pre-professional identity and the academic results of vocational students, as well as on the development of the commons of their profession. Methodologically, we have combined the bibliographic review with the empirical, quantitative, and qualitative data, collected in the ethnographic fieldwork carried out during two academic years on 77 students of “Microcomputer Systems and Networks”, in a vocational center located in the Community of Valencia (Spain). The results indicate that this methodology promotes, among students, the development of pre-professional identity, a better understanding of copyright and open licenses, appreciation of the documentation processes of their tasks, and the value of their works for society.