ABSTRACT
This article focuses on the professional identity of adult educators who are responsible for the implementation of recognition and validation of prior learning in Portugal. The research uses qualitative methodology, and the analysis is based on narratives from biographical interviews conducted with 30 adult educators. The empirical data highlight that the professional identity of these adult educators is fragmented. In this sense, four categories of professional identities were reached: “psychologists”, “teachers”, “educators”, and “nomads”. The identities of “psychologists” and “teachers” are built from the initial training of adult educators; the one of “educators” is structured based on the professional context of adult education; the one of “nomads” is the result of the way some adult educators incorporate the uncertainties present in the labor market they have become accustomed to dealing with.
KEYWORDS
adult educators; professional identity; recognition and validation of prior learning