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The three research projects carried out in cooperation between the Wellbeing Services County of Central Finland, the Ģ��ֱ��, and the University of Oulu form the research entity, whose main goal is to produce solutions that can strengthen the professional agency of social and healthcare personnel. The research projects are related to digital agency and digital competency, professional agency and guidance skills, all of which are connected by the accelerating digitalization of working life in social services and healthcare. Guidance that supports both professional agency and digital agency is important, yet it has been missing within the development of social services and healthcare. The research projects included in the research entity are: 1) Digital competence of social services and healthcare personnel, 2) Professional agency in the DKT-based operating model^1,2 and 3) Learning guidance in the postgraduate clinical training of doctors (specialization). 

Figure 1 illustrates the research entity and its key research perspectives. The pinwheel pattern embodies living within a constant change through a digitized working life, challenging the notions of competence and professional agency. Therefore, it is necessary to study a new type of guidance that enhances professional agency. Guidance enhancing professional agency will be analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively and theoretically and practically.

Figure 1. Research on digitizing work life in the research unit “Guidance enhancing agency”

Definition of the main concepts of the research projects

Professional agency means that the employees actively influence their own work and have real opportunities to influence the activities of their work community. The activity manifests, for instance, as individual experiences of the extent to which the work environment creates opportunities or limitations regarding the employee’s active participation and influence to develop self-reliance. Professional agency enables learning on the job, promotes cooperation across professional and organizational boundaries, and helps to develop new work practices and creative solutions. Thus, work well-being, innovation and productivity will increase^3,4. 

Digital agency refers to the ability to actively influence and act in a digital environment. It is an essential competence in today's digitized information societies. Digital agency covers many areas, such as 1) the ability to understand and use digital tools, applications and services, 2) the ability to use technical equipment and software, 3) the ability to utilize digital tools for interaction, networking, collaboration, content production and sharing. In addition, digital agency includes the desire and enthusiasm to use digital tools in meaningful ways⁵. In addition to competence, the concepts digital confidence and digital accountability are associated with digital agency. Self-confidence refers to the confidence to use digital solutions at work and in free time. Digital accountability, on the other hand, refers to the ethical aspects related to the use of digital solutions, the safe use of information and respect for privacy⁶. Strong agency is based on the experience of meaningfulness of work and learning³.

Guidance enhancing agency aims to support the building of strong agency. The instructor aims to strengthen the individual's ability to act actively and consciously in their own work. The form of guidance emphasizes the experience of meaningfulness and sense-making of learning and work, as well as the individual's self-regulation skills, decision-making ability, and accountability. Guidance that supports agency is not only about transferring information, but also aims to assist the individuals to identify their own goals, values, and interests, and develop their own competence. In practice, guidance that enhances agency supports the development of self-regulation skills, identification, and utilization of one's own strengths, involvement, and influence of the agent. The goal is to enable the individual to achieve their professional goals and improve their well-being. Guidance that enhances agency refers to learner-centered, personal guidance that prepares for professional growth and development, which can be implemented in working life in many different ways. 

For more information about the studies, please contact Research Director Raija Hämäläinen or postdoctoral researcher Minna Ylönen.

References

1.          Linehan MM, Korslund KE, Harned MS, et al. Dialectical Behavior Therapy for High Suicide Risk in Individuals With Borderline Personality Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(5):475. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.3039

2.          Kramer U, Pascual‐Leone A, Berthoud L, et al. Assertive Anger Mediates Effects of Dialectical Behaviour‐informed Skills Training for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2016;23(3):189-202. doi:10.1002/cpp.1956

3.          Beijaard D, Koopman M, Schellings G. Reframing Teacher Professional Identity and Learning. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research. Springer International Publishing; 2022:1-23. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-59533-3_28-1

4.          Eteläpelto A, Vähäsantanen K, Hökkä P, Paloniemi S. Identity and Agency in Professional Learning. In: International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-Based Learning . Springer; 2014:645-672.

5.          Koivisto T. Digitoimijuus Terveydenhuollon Ammattilaisen Työssä. University of Tampere; 2023.

6.          Passey D, Shonfeld M, Appleby L, Judge M, Saito T, Smits A. Digital Agency: Empowering Equity in and through Education. Technology, Knowledge and Learning. 2018;23(3):425-439. doi:10.1007/s10758-018-9384-x