The Role of Legitimation in the Professional Socialization of Second-Year Undergraduate Athletic Training Students

Abstract

Context: Professional socialization during formal educational preparation can help students learn professional roles and can lead to improved organizational socialization as students emerge as members of the occupation's culture. Professional socialization research in athletic training is limited.Objective: To present the role of legitimation and how it influences the professional socialization of second-year athletic training students.Design: Modified constructivist grounded theory and case study methods were used for this qualitative study.Setting: An accredited undergraduate athletic training education program.Patients or Other Participants: Twelve second-year students were selected purposively. The primary sample group (n 5 4) was selected according to theoretical sampling guidelines. The remaining students made up the cohort sample (n 5 8). Theoretically relevant data were gathered from 14 clinical instructors to clarify emergent student data.Data Collection and Analysis: Data collection included document examination, observations, and interviews during 1 academic semester. Data were collected and analyzed through constant comparative analysis. Data triangulation, member checking, and peer-review strategies were used to ensure trustworthiness.Results: Legitimation from various socializing agents initiated professional socialization. Students viewed trust and team membership as rewards for role fulfillment.Conclusions: My findings are consistent with the socialization literature that shows how learning a social or professional role, using rewards to facilitate role performance, and building trusting relationships with socializing agents are important aspects of legitimation and, ultimately, professional socialization.Key Words: clinical education, preservice professional preparation, socializing agents, role performance, grounded theory Key Points N Athletic training education should incorporate effective socialization strategies to improve the quality of clinical educational experiences for athletic training students and promote their legitimation as developing athletic trainers.N Successful role performance is an important determinant of legitimation and professional socialization of preservice athletic trainers. Efforts should be made programmatically to orient students to program goals and expectations and to decrease potential role conflict, which could be a negative effect of insufficient socialization.N Developing relationships facilitates legitimation in preservice athletic trainers. Thus, individuals such as patients, coaches, clinical instructors, and peer mentors serve as socializing agents to preservice athletic trainers and should be considered when developing socialization strategies for preservice and inservice professionals.

Professional Master's Athletic Training Programs use Clinical Education to Facilitate Transition to Practice

“…Qualitative methods were an appropriate choice for our study because they can capture the lived experiences of others, 19 are flexible and dynamic, and produce rich description and detail. 20 The socialization paradigm 2,3,6 has been used previously 5,21 to explore the transition to practice and therefore provided the framework for our study by including both students' and faculty members' perspectives.…”

“…Socialization is a popular topic in the literature, with researchers examining how athletic trainers [1][2][3][4] and athletic training students [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] learn their professional roles and responsibilities. Socialization is often divided into 2 main components, anticipatory and organizational.…”

Supervising Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of Professional Socialization of Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainers in the Collegiate Setting

“…The semistructured interview questions (Table 2) were based on our research questions as well as prior socialization research. 1,4,11,12 The interview questions were designed to explore the meanings and processes of socialization and allowed for follow-up questions as needed. To ensure clarity, we pilot-tested the interview questions with 2 supervisors who fit our inclusion criteria.…”

“…[4][5][6] Socialization is the method by which new employees or students are oriented into a new position and the experiences of socialization, which help foster the employees' professional identity. 7 Organizational socialization occurs after the individual enters the organizational setting in which the individual is able to learn and adapt to the position.…”

Graduate-Assistant Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of Professional Socialization in the Collegiate Setting: Part I

“…4 One way to develop and support new graduate-assistant (GA) ATs is through professional socialization, the process by which an individual learns the roles and responsibilities of his or her professional position while acquiring the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with the profession. [5][6][7] Socialization is the method whereby new employees or students are oriented into a position, which helps foster their professional identity. 8 Socialization tactics strongly affect the new employees' role ambiguity, role conflict, organizational commitment, intention to quit, and job satisfaction by providing them with the information and support necessary to be successful in their role.…”