Higher Education Assessment Professionals' Professional Identity: Influences of Leadership, Job Satisfaction, Work Motivation, and Professional Development

Assessment of student learning in higher education has existed systematically since the push for accountability from governing bodies in the 1980s (Banta & Palomba, 2015; Hundley, 2022; Nicholas & Slotnick, 2018), but the higher education assessment field did not start defining itself until recent years. This descriptive survey study assessed what influences Higher Education Assessment professionals’ (HEAs) professional identity development by investigating the relationships between their professional identity, leadership, job satisfaction, work motivation, and investment in professional development. Using validated scales and open-ended questions, the results demonstrated that 80% of respondents identified with the profession, democratic leadership style characteristics were the most experienced by HEAs, respondents reported a moderate level of work motivation, and HEAs felt well supported overall by their institution and/or supervisor but were concerned about institutional limitations. A standard multiple regression also identified the democratic leadership style, job satisfaction, work motivation, and self-professional development investment as predictors of HEAs’ professional identity.