Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Publication Date

1-25-1975

Abstract

The present research was the third in a series of studies exploring the relationship between the socialization of professionals and the characteristics of organizations in which professionals practice (Pohland and Albert, 1973; Albert and Pohland, 1973). This particular investigation sought to identify factors which influence professionals, in this case psychiatrists, to continue their affiliation with or separate from for al organizations. Non-participant observation (Pohland, 1972) was utilized in order to generate hypotheses. Comparative data were collected at two medical settings which provided emergency inpatient psychiatric care, Mountainview Hospital and Rio Grande Inpatient Unit. Mountainview Hospital experienced a high rate of retention of professionals, while Rio Grande experienced a high rate of attrition. As a consequence of this investigation, individual ideologies and organizational types were classified as "traditional" or "emergent" (Spindler, 1955). The defining characteristics of the "traditional" ideology area (1) beliefs as commonly accepted and well-defined "givens"; (2) implementation of beliefs through a "professional model" (Moore, 1970), e.g., psychiatry's "medical mode " with its emphasis on the physiological base of illness and the judicious use of "magic and science;" (3) an overwhelmingly practical concern for the provision of quality care in the "here and now;" (4) autonomy, including organizational influence and colleagueship; (5) a clearly defined reference group comprised of peers, (6) a perspective which views paraprofessionals as “instruments" of cure rather than a reference group, and (7) a norm of service to a select clientele who solicit care within the "professional model" and who thus accept the professional's autonomy. Defining characteristics of the "emergent" ideology area (1) emphasis and energy expenditure on establishing beliefs; (2) implementation of beliefs through a "non-professional model," e.g., Rio Grande's "therapeutic community," an example of radical social psychiatry (Siegler and Osmond, 1974); (3) a primary commitment toward building a new client service model over a long period of time, and a corresponding sacrifice of quality care in the "here and now;" (4) "egalitarianism," i.e., the distribution of authority and responsibility among paraprofessionals and clients, and (5) a reference group orientation emphasizing social relations with paraprofessionals and patients primarily and peers only secondarily. "Traditional" medical organizations include both private office and hospital-based settings. Their defining characteristics includes (1) explicit execution of the "professional model," including medical autonomy for practitioners; (2) advantages of age, including stable role relations; (3) relative independence of the parent organization, e.g., the practitioner rather than the organization provides the clientele; and (4) incremental programmatic change. "Emergent" organizations include some public community clinics, health centers and their subunits. Defining characteristics of the "emergent" organization include: (1) commitment toward the implementation of a "non-professional model," e.g., radical social psychiatry; (2) susceptibility to the "liabilities of newness" (Stinchcombe, 1965), including unstable role relations; (3) dependence of the professional upon the organization, e.g., salary and clients; (4) relative dependence upon the parent organization, e.g., policy decisions; and (5) an orientation toward dramatic change, e.g., building a new model for the delivery of service. The results of this research suggest that the "traditional" organization, whose paradigm is consistent with professional socialization processes, attracts and retains individuals with "traditional" or weak "emergent" ideologies. The "emergent" organization, in contrast, holds only "true believers" (Hoffer, 1951), i.e., individuals with a strong "emergent'' ideology and who are relatively unsocialized in relation to the "professional model" emphasized throughout the training processes.

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Educational Leadership

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy

First Committee Member (Chair)

Paul Arnold Pohland

Second Committee Member

Richard Lee Holemon

Third Committee Member

Ronald Eugene Blood

Fourth Committee Member

Stanley Pogrow

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