THE INFLUENCE OF SELF-EFFICACY AND SELF-SCHEMAS ON THE FORMATION OF PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY IN ADULT LEARNING PROCESSES

Today, people face many complex challenges, and one of the most important is the need to always adapt to changes in the environment. This means that a person must always be ready to learn and improve. Consequently, professional identity is not considered fixed or static, but rather as continuously developing through learning. The ability and willingness to grow professionally are key factors in achieving workplace success. The aim of this paper is to investigate the underlying mechanisms of professional identity formation, conceptualize it as a dynamic and continuous lifelong learning process, and to determine the importance of self-efficacy and self-schemas. A total of 258 adult respondents participated in the study, ranging in age from 18 to 60 years. The results revealed the crucial role of self-efficacy and self-schemas in the development of professional identity. The findings of this study hold significant theoretical and practical implications for the field of adult education and, more broadly, for educational psychology.