Change of Values during Socialization for a Profession: An Application of the Marginal Man Theory

Social work is a marginal profession, ranking between a white-collar occupation and a fullfledged profession. When the training school toward such a profession is part of a well-established academic organization and students at the school come from a lower socio-economic background than those who choose other academic fields, the marginality is accentuated. The marginal-man theory may therefore offer an explanation of the attitude changes undergone by social work students during socializing at a university-based professional school. It was found that in each stage of their professional socialization, the (marginal) socializees adopted the values of the dominant group. Thus, while at the university, the social work students adopted the attitudes prevalent in the academic subculture (represented by social science students). Upon graduation, the young social workers changed their attitudes and adopted attitudes similar to those held by other members of their professional subculture, i.e., veteran social workers and supervisors. Each of these attitude changes were interpreted as attempts to cope with the marginal situation.