Socialization in a Heteronomous Profession: Public School Teaching

This investigation focused on the conceptual modification of professional and bureaucratic role conceptions which accompanies passage from education student to public school teacher. Comparisons were made between 121 education students and eighty-eight experienced teachers on measures of professional and bureaucratic role conceptions. Analyses of variance were employed to test the differences between groups on each dimension. No significant difference in professional orientation was found between students and experienced teachers, although females were significantly higher than males on the same dimension. Experienced teachers were significantly less bureaucratically oriented than education students. None of the interaction effects reached significance. It is suggested that the present work may serve to inform future longitudinal studies of socialization into public school teaching.