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A Sample Competency Framework: Identity
The competency of Identity establishes the foundation of being competent. Unless we have a sense of who we are, we will struggle with the remaining competencies. Each successive competency draws on the learning we have gained from the previous competencies.
Identity is the development of the distinct, but ever changing personality of an individual, including their character and principles.212 Our conception of our
identity and how others perceive our identity can vary significantly. Providing feedback on how we view each other’s identity is critical in coming to terms with the
nature of self. Seeking an honest understanding of our current identity and reflecting on this is key to growing
our ‘self’ and increasingly aligning our self with who we aspire to be, given that the genetic dice has already cast
its influence and as such there will always be some limits
on our desires to be who we want to be. Changing some of the habits we have already established surrounding who
we are will be hard to modify, but those changes are possible.
The root of our identity lies within the talk we have with ourselves and how we interpret others reactions to us. Our identity and our dispositions that express who we are, can change over time, but knowing how to have conversations with our self is something we may think is intuitive; we just do it, but that is not always the case.
How important is it that our learners are aware that they can talk to themselves?
Awareness of our self-talk is critical to our personal development as it builds our sense of our self. We create who we become and to a degree we can choose who we become, keeping in mind the habits we have already established and the genetic dispositions we were gifted via our genetic code.
How many of our early learners use their fingers to add two numbers? It is our awareness of talking to our self and imaging (imagining) - using our mind - that allows us to carry out so many daily tasks by talking to self. Unless educators make learners aware of this, and encourage learners to practice talking to their self, then they will always count using their fingers. Having a sense of self is critical and talking to our self is fundamental to building that sense of self.
It is important that we are aware that we can modify our identity by working with our self to become more aligned with whom we want to be, in tandem with our genetic endowment. Our genetics and experiences do not place us on a railway track that we cannot deviate from as we move through our lives but rather our ability to talk to self allows to create the person we desire to be. To make changes to our personal dispositions that we express non-consciously, requires us to be sufficiently self-aware to modify our habits that may have become entrenched over many years. While changing our genetic and learned habits is a difficult process, it is not impossible.
Identity is about being self-aware and understanding self is a life-long quest. Aligning the self that we are and the self we may wish to be can cause some angst, but aiming for perfection will guarantee failure. Some fundamental principles underpin managing and developing our identity.
212 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. (2002). Cote Identity Formation, Agency, & Culture – A Social Psychological Synthesis. (Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/21986687/Cote-Levine-Identity-cilture-and-agency
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Is it possible
for a day so still
that I could see myself for whom I am?