A Grounded Theory of Computing Professional Identity Formation

Computing professional identity formation is critical for curriculum decision-making, workforce development, and retaining students in computing degree programs. However, we have limited knowledge of how computing professional identity develops. My research focuses on filling this gap by empirically understanding how undergraduate computing students form their professional identity through their negotiations in formal and informal learning environments. The end goal is to generate and test a theory, grounded in data, which can help Computer Science departments to design interventions for fostering computing professional identity formation.