ABSTRACT

In essence, humans do not exist in isolation; rather they live and work in a social world made up of groups, often defined as communities of practice (Wenger, 1998). Each society has its own culture, of norms and values, which is understood and lived through its own language, knowledge, values and beliefs. The culture is learned through the process of socialization, whereby individuals entering the society learn how to live and survive within the culture. Berger and Luckmann (1966) suggested that there are two aspects of socialization: primary socialization, whereby individuals become members of a society, and secondary socialization, as any subsequent processes through which individuals enter new areas of the objective world of their society. Thus, the socialization process becomes a long-term process. The functional aspect of being a part of a society entails having a role. Some roles are biological or

genetic, such as being female, being a daughter, and others are socially constructed, such as being a nurse or being a friend. The role dimension refers to the type of actor rather than the actual person. Hence, occupational socialization is a process through which individuals learn how to behave in newly established roles. In a work environment, this often commences during a period of training and education and continues once the individual enters the workforce. Entering a profession is seen from a sociological perspective as a secondary socialization process. Indeed,

nursing practice and the transition between student and worker has been predominantly studied from a sociological perspective, as is evident by the wealth of nursing literature (for example, Mooney, 2007; Fox, et al. 2005; Ross and Clifford, 2002; Whitehead, 2001; Gerrish, 2000; Maben and Clark, 1998; Duncan, 1997). Much of the early literature in the 1980s was directed towards understanding and capturing the experiences of nurses in this role transition and evaluating the ability to function effectively in the role (Wierda, 1989; Hathaway, 1981). This research was mainly organizational in nature, as it emerged as a result of service providers finding that the new graduates were not living up to expectations as well as not being able to integrate quickly with the team and undertake responsibility. This was attributed to the larger theoretical component of a university-based pre-registration programme that was failing to equip the students with the necessary knowledge and skills to assume the role of a qualified safe and competent nurse in practice. However, upon further analysis, this seems to have had more to do with the process of assuming new roles rather than the differences in educational systems. In the case of European pre-registration nursing programmes, the practical component, that is the

experience in the real clinical setting, is approximately 40 to 50 per cent of university programmes. Thus, time is a significant element as these roles do not develop instantaneously. Various theorists have discussed

role theory, often in terms of role development, role conflict and role overload (such as Biddle and Thomas, 1966; Turner, 1962). In an early study by Melia (1987) which explored the occupational socialization of student nurses, role conflict was particularly evident, as essentially the education institution had socialized them into the role of a student nurse, rather than the role of a nurse. Furthermore, this justifies the emphasis on the practical component at the training stage of professional development and suggests that practice with others in the role is an essential part of the formation of nurses. When actors portray a character in a play, a script as well as other external influences, such as the director’s instructions, performances of other actors and, at times, reactions of the audience, determine their performance. Similarly, role theory proposed that individuals occupy a position in society and that their performance within these positions is determined by social norms, demands and regulations. It is also affected by the roles of others and in a sense by the ‘social script’ (Biddle and Thomas, 1966: 4). The director and the audience will vary according to the circumstance, but in essence the director is often someone in authority, while the audience is anyone who is observing the individual’s behaviour. Within the nursing profession, the authority would be the education and service institutions, including nursing officers, managers, other hospital professionals or senior nurses; fellow actors would be other nurses; the audience would be patients and relatives, as well as fellow nurses and health care professionals working in the team. The script would be the expectations of all involved. Although conformity is necessary for the functional aspect of role development, the ability of individuals

to alter the roles through a role-making process as they relate to other members of the society highlights the flexibility of the role (Turner, 1962). Moreover, role-making consists of two fundamental elements: time and a process of learning. Hence the process of socialization from student to worker is unavoidably a simultaneous process of growth through which learning takes place over a period of time. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect individuals to perform at optimum levels immediately they take on a new role. Through experiencing events in daily life, behaviour becomes internalized. Behaviour is copied from

other established members, thus ensuring conformity and acceptance within the society. Here, a timeline is a vital element. Various sociologists have argued that the functionalism and structure of society is of utmost importance to enable a stable society (Giddens, 1979; Parsons, 1951; Durkheim, 1933). As long as new members behave in the expected way, then they are readily accepted into the group. Deviant behaviour is frowned upon and various mechanisms are instilled to reduce this behaviour. Although one could argue that in this manner individualism is lost, it is a mechanism of maintaining a stable and constant society. It could be argued that one of the reasons why newly qualified nurses entering the workforce are seemingly not competent is a result of the different types of pre-registration learning that has taken place. Certainly, the more recent university-based courses have a higher theoretical input with a particular emphasis on research-based and evidence-based practice, whereas the traditional courses were carried out in a practical, hands-on apprenticeship style. Perhaps the difference in learning led to variations in nursing care and, subsequently, in acceptance by the other more established members of the group. On the other hand, according to Heller (1984): the process of externalization consisted of three inter-

connected components: physical artefacts, tools and products; systems of custom and habit; and the use of language. Through repeated exposure to similar events, individuals begin a process of habitualization whereby practice or behaviour that has been successful will be repeated. This is often negotiated between individuals through mutual understanding. Language transcends spaces and provides individuals with a way of knowing things. Through language individuals become familiar with the society’s norms and values as well as allowing individuality to emerge. Thus individuals through interactions construct the norms and values of a society. The concept of externalization of the role centres the person within society. Yet, human beings do not

merely receive knowledge, but process and give meaning to this knowledge. There would seemingly be little change due to the cultural norms and values through the internalization process, as change becomes a constant. Thus individuals become a part of a changing culture. The process of change subsequently

becomes a process of learning, as new knowledge will constantly surface. The process of learning is understood through the interaction of the person’s biography and daily social interactions. Subsequently, although the sociological approach explains various issues relating to the changing nature of roles, it fails to address how the individuals are able to learn and consequently take on new roles.