Cultural context of professional identity formation: a perspective of health profession educators in Botswana.
- 1School of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
- 2School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
Abstract
In Botswana, the phrase "motho ke motho ka batho-"I am because you are" is culturally a way of life and core to who we are as a people. As Batswana, our relationships and the evolution of our individual and collective identities are built on this key concept of Botho/Ubuntu. For us, Botho dictates that one does not merely "become" but "becomes with" in relation to identity formation, and by extension, professional identity formation (PIF). In this paper, the authors share their perspectives on professional identity formation (PIF) for health professions educators in the context of scarce African and non-Western epistemologies in the literature. The authors' guiding question and focus is: are the existing models/frameworks of PIF contextually relevant? If not, how can they be enriched and contextualized? This is one of the key tensions in the PIF discourse. The authors contend that contextualizing PIF efforts must integrate holistic cultural lenses and local ontologies into the current PIF models. We illustrate how leveraging indigenous knowledge frameworks encapsulated in the Botho belief system could contextualize existing PIF frameworks using a model we have termed, "Mabogo Dinku". The phrase Mabogo Dinku is derived from a prominent Setswana proverb, "mabogo dinku a a thebana", meaning, working together towards a common goal. The model is in a pictorial form and highlights the interconnectivity between the different frameworks. The model suggests that if any of the frameworks are misapplied the whole Botho belief system weakens and so too the concept of "becoming with".
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BibTeX
@article{abotseng2026cultural,
title = {{Cultural context of professional identity formation: a perspective of health profession educators in Botswana.}},
author = {Molefhi Abotseng and Enoch Sepako and Keikantse Matlhagela and Matshidiso Matome and Gaonyadiwe Lubinda and Ludo Badlangana},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2026.1916041},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898309},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cultural context of professional identity formation: a perspective of health profession educators in Botswana.
AU - Molefhi Abotseng
AU - Enoch Sepako
AU - Keikantse Matlhagela
AU - Matshidiso Matome
AU - Gaonyadiwe Lubinda
AU - Ludo Badlangana
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Frontiers in medicine
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2026.1916041
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898309
AB - In Botswana, the phrase "motho ke motho ka batho-"I am because you are" is culturally a way of life and core to who we are as a people. As Batswana, our relationships and the evolution of our individual and collective identities are built on this key concept of Botho/Ubuntu. For us, Botho dictates that one does not merely "become" but "becomes with" in relation to identity formation, and by extension, professional identity formation (PIF). In this paper, the authors share their perspectives on professional identity formation (PIF) for health professions educators in the context of scarce African and non-Western epistemologies in the literature. The authors' guiding question and focus is: are the existing models/frameworks of PIF contextually relevant? If not, how can they be enriched and contextualized? This is one of the key tensions in the PIF discourse. The authors contend that contextualizing PIF efforts must integrate holistic cultural lenses and local ontologies into the current PIF models. We illustrate how leveraging indigenous knowledge frameworks encapsulated in the Botho belief system could contextualize existing PIF frameworks using a model we have termed, "Mabogo Dinku". The phrase Mabogo Dinku is derived from a prominent Setswana proverb, "mabogo dinku a a thebana", meaning, working together towards a common goal. The model is in a pictorial form and highlights the interconnectivity between the different frameworks. The model suggests that if any of the frameworks are misapplied the whole Botho belief system weakens and so too the concept of "becoming with".
SN - 2296-858X
ER -