Professional socialisation of family ecology and consumer science students at South African Universities

[摘要] Professional socialisation can be described as a subconscious process whereby personsinternalise behavioural norms and standards and form a sense of identity and commitmentto a professional field. The primary goal of professional socialisation is considered to beinternalisation of the professional culture and the development of a professional identity. Itis learned through interaction with professionals and educators during a student'seducation. It is a continuous, life-long process of learning formal knowledge, skills andrules, as well as informal and tacit knowledge, norms, values and loyalties within theprofession. An understanding of the professional socialisation process is vital to all personsinvolved in postsecondary education, for it is the professional socialisation process thatallows education to achieve its goals.This dissertation determined whether students of Family Ecology and Consumer Sciencesin South Africa are professionally socialised into developing a professional identity withinthe Family Ecology and Consumer Sciences profession. The objectives of the researchincluded; to examine through a literature review the development of the profession and topropose a new position for the profession in South Africa; to identify the factors thatinfluenced South African students when they decided on Family Ecology and ConsumerScience as a field of study and the factors that influenced them while they were obtainingtheir degree at a South African university; to determine whether Family Ecology andConsumer Science students evidence the developmental stages of the Cohen model of theprofessional socialisation process; to determine Family Ecology and Consumer Scienceprofessionals' perceptions of their professional preparation environments; and to analyseand compare Family Ecology and Consumer Science programmes at South Africanuniversities.A quantitative research methodology in the form of an analytical survey was undertakenwith the participation of students and staff at South African universities where FamilyEcology and Consumer Science programmes are offered by means of postal questionnaires. Three questionnaires were used in the research, namely; the Professional SocialisationInfluences (PSI) questionnaire; the Professional Socialisation Staging Scale (PS3)questionnaire; and the Emphases, Process and Influences on the Professional PreparationProgrammes questionnaire. A conceptual framework was used to compare the FamilyEcology and Consumer Science professional preparation programmes presented at SouthAfrican universities..Descriptive statistics and the factor analysis method were used to examine the objectives todetermine which factors influenced students to select Family Ecology and ConsumerSciences and the factors that influenced them while they were studying for a degree at aSouth African university. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Bonferroni Post-Hoc testswere used to examine whether Family Ecology and Consumer Science students evidencedthe developmental stages of the Cohen model of the professional socialisation process.Descriptive statistics were used to examine Family Ecology and Consumer Scienceprofessionals' perceptions of their professional preparation environments.The main findings drawn from the study indicated that Family Ecology and ConsumerSciences students, when selecting Family Ecology and Consumer Science as a profession,were influenced by the 'Service Ideal' and 'Entrepreneurial' factors. Aspects that elicitedthe highest percentage of positive responses from the respondents were; 'desire to helpothers'; 'a desire to improve the quality of family living'; 'a desire to help people learn todo things'; and 'entrepreneurial possibilities of the course'.While studying for a degree in Family Ecology and Consumer Science, they wereinfluenced by the factors 'Student Interaction' and 'Departmental Influences'. Aspects suchas; 'career opportunities available'; 'application of what I learned to my personal life'; and'employment opportunities available'; were those that had the biggest influence.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University