Journal of Communiry Psychology. 1981. 9. 270-275

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE IN GRADUATE TRAINING*

ROBERT 8. INNES

George Peabody College for Teachers of Vanderbilt University

The article focuses on specific elements of a master's level program which represent practical applications of open-humanistic and dialectic theory to professional train- ing. Emphasis is placed on innovations which demonstrate how the concept of praxis can be applied to education. Specific innovations discussed include: (a) The traditional core curriculum, oriented toward an academic discipline, was replaced by a focus on a specific social problem (development of young children); (b) The program operates as a community service agency linking the campus to the service-delivery system. This change fosters an interdependent relationship with community agencies which allows trainees to become involved in genuine professional activity; and (c) The program has moved away from a hierarchical student/tcacher relationship to a reciprocal model.

There has been considerable interest in exploring innovative approaches to im- proving the quality of professional training. Strong theoretical arguments and extensive discussion have been presented to support both open-humanistic and behuviorullcompetency-based models (Burrill, 1976; Catterall, Note 1; Clement, Note 2; Combs & Kinser, 1974; Goldberg, 1973; Houston, 1974; Korman, 1974; Kratochoill & Bergan, 1978; Rogers, 1969; Stenmark, Note 3; Weil, 1974). Proponents of both models have advocated professional and field-based training which expands learning beyond the classroom and involves practicing professionals in the training process (Autor & Zide, 1974; Cardon & Kuriloff; 1973; Dole, 1975; Feldman, 1978; Freedman, 1976; Korman, 1974; Tornatzky, 1976; Vallance, 1976; Weitz, 1973).

This article discusses the specific features of a master's level psychology program which demonstrate how open-humanistic theory can be operationalized in professional training.

THEORY BASES OF THE PROGRAM The training model was developed within the framework of three consonant bodies

of theoretical literature: (a) open-humanistic psychology and education (Le., Combs & Kinser, 1974; Jones, 1968; Maslow, 1962; Rogers, 1969); (b) transactional theory in psy- chology (Dewey & Bentley, 1973); and (c) dialectic theory (i.e., Easton & Guddat, 1967; Friere, 1972; Riegel, 1978; Small, 1978). The program is strongly field-based and has in- corporated selected features of the competency-based model.

The program's basic principles are consistent with those found in the open- humanistic literature. Very briefly, emphasis is placed on the importance of allowing students to make choices and control their own learning experience. Staff members are seen as facilitators, resource persons, and participants in the learning process rather than higher authorities. Special efforts are made to provide a supportive environment which encourages people to make high-risk choices which will promote their personal and professional growth. The program focuses on building internal rather than external loci of control and evaluation.

'Send reprint requests to author, Box 67, George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37203.

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Although compatible with open-humanistic theories, dialectic and transactional theories go beyond them in the sense that they focus more specifically on the dynamics of the student/teacher relationship and the relationship between theory and practice. It is beyond the scope of this article to fully explore the implications of these theories for education. Instead, one concept, praxis, has been selected as the idea with the most direct applicability to education.

Marx’s concept of praxis (Easton & Guddat, 1967; Small, 1978) is very similar to Dewey and Bentley’s (1973) concept of transaction. Praxis was selected because it has been more closely associated with social action, while the transaction has been utilized to analyze the nature of observation and inquiry.

Marx used the word pruxis to name the ideal form of human activity-a unity of theory and practice (Small, 1978). Like the transaction, the concept of praxis emphasizes the reciprocal nature of meaningful human action: the agent acts and is acted upon, the agent and the object are both changed. Most importantly for the educator, praxis represents conscious human action. Within this framework, there is no value in thoughtless action or thought without action (Easton & Guddat, 1967). When this con- cept is applied to the student/teacher relationship, it rejects the type of separation which places teachers above students. The education process is seen as reciprocal rather than hierarchical (Friere, 1972; Small, 1978).

The concept of praxis serves as both a cornerstone of the training program described here and the rationale for the format of this article. The focus of this article is on points of praxis: program practices which demonstrate how its theory is operationalized and combined into a coherent training experience. The article highlights specific features which represent the clearest link between theory and practice; it does not attempt a com- plete discussion of either the theory or the program that is being used as an example.

PRACTICE OF THE PROGRAM Child Development Specialist is a master’s level program in psychology. The

program is designed for experienced professionals seeking additional training leading to further employment related to young children. The program provides training in a variety of roles which involve working with significant adults and systems that influence the lives of young children. The curriculum is built around a core of competencies related to organizational development and change (i.e., consultation, in-service training). Beyond this core, each student designs an area of specialization to meet his/her in- dividual goals.

All students begin training with a four-week orientation session from mid-July to mid-August. Training can vary in length (14 months, 18 months, or longer) depending on the student’s previous experience and personal objectives. The program operates four practicum teams which represent its general areas of emphasis: a child care center, a mental health center, a children’s hospital, and a public school. The Problem FocuslRole Model Orientation

Regardless of philosophy, a training program must select some organizing principle which limits the breadth of its training enough to make it coherent and manageable. We have approached this problem through a strategy called The Problem Focus/Role Model Orientation.

Traditionally, programs have been organized around a specific core of knowledge which is defined as essential within an academic discipline. We have specifically avoided

272 R O B E R T B . INNES

this approach because our theoretical foundations are relativistic rather than essen- tialistic. Within this framework, the curriculum is shaped by problem situations en- countered in the community. Academic disciplines defined in the academic context tend to be irrelevant to life beyond the college campus. This is especially evident in the mis- match between clinical training and the demands of work in a community mental health center (Feldman, 1978).

In the communities which will provide employment for our graduates, effective in- tervention strategies are organized around attempts to solve practical problems. The program described here can be called problem focused on two levels. First, the training is conducted in the community and students are confronted with the same problems they will face after graduation. This provides a reality base which shapes the choices made in on-campus training. The problems encountered in practicum settings must be pressing enough to compete with the demands of professors on campus. The student becomes the site for the synthesis of a dialectic between the theory-dominated campus and the practice-dominated service delivery system.

On the global level, the program has selected a general problem area “enhancing the developmental and learning climates for young children.” On this level, the problem focus orientation makes it possible to combine training for students working in different disciplines and different types of agencies. The program has established working relationships with practicum settings which represent a cross section of the various agen- cies which serve young children. This links the program, as a group, with a socially rele- vant cause involving values held by individual members.

The selection of a role model is based on an analysis of the current needs in the problem area selected. Using this strategy, the core competencies of the training program are the process skills identified with the role model. The role model selected for the program described here is Consultant/Trainer. There are large numbers of professionals and paraprofessionals serving young children who need further training and support to adequately perform their jobs. There is also a need to adopt preventive in- tervention strategies that will reduce the incidence of learning and mental health problems in middle-childhood and adolescence. Other programs might be organized around other problem areas (i.e., delinquency, aging) and role models that seem relevant to their solution (i.e., liaison, administration, community organization). Building a Social Support System

In the absence of the usual core curriculum, a program can define itself by strengthening the group’s sense of identity. A program can become a group of people, as opposed to a collection of courses, by organizing itself as a support system for professional and personal growth. This can only be accomplished with specific team- building mechanisms. The program utilizes group process and decision-making laboratories, values clarification, and a team-building seminar to accomplish this pur- pose.

I t is especially important for an open-humanistic program to establish a strong sense of community (belongingness) to give students a secure base for making choices which promote personal growth. Special efforts are required in this regard because of the forces which work against the development of strong group identification in an inter- disciplinary program with a flexible curriculum: (a) students are dispersed through a wide range of courses; and (b) the sense of belonging to a disciplinary community is weakened.

The program attempts to establish a strong sense of community by beginning its training with an intensive five-week group experience held during the summer before

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students begin practicum work and courses outside the program. The group is main- tained during the remainder of training through a proseminar which meets once a week. These sessions focus on team building, orientation to the program, personal growth, and personal goal setting. Redefining the Program’s Relationship to the Service-Delivery System

The success of any field-based training program depends upon its ability to involve students in genuine professional activities. If the level of professional involvement ex- perienced during the training does not match the demands of the work setting following graduation, the skills developed in training will be inappropriate. Students in field set- tings are rarely given real responsibility in community agencies. For the most part, these agencies feel that practicum students make demands which far outweigh the services they provide. This situation is aggravated when on-campus training does not develop skills that agencies need.

In order for the program to provide students with genuine professional experience, it had to dramatically increase its legitimacy in the service delivery system. Accomplishing this demanded a major reconceptualization of the role of the university in the com- munity. The program redefined itself as a community service agency operating between the university and the community. This link is strengthened by the use of part-time, field- based staff with their major commitments to professional work in our field settings. The program tries to function as a free consulting firm in the service delivery system. Trainees and staff are encouraged to think of themselves as belonging to a service organization rather than a training program.

The program offers its services in a variety of facilitative and training roles in the community. We have chaired several large professional conferences, conducted many workshops, consulted with day care centers, worked with the state on the development of training materials, and helped operate a camp for disturbed children. Redefining Sta$lStuden t Relationships

When a program is seen as an organization which offers service to the community, the roles of staff and student become less differentiated. The major functions of the program director become system management, liaison with community agencies, long- range planning, organizational development, and program evaluation. Trainees function as staff with legitimate professional skills.

The program decided to move away from a traditional student/teacher relationship on philosophical as well as practical grounds. The program’s theoretical perspective in- dicated that a hierarchical relationship between faculty and students should be replaced by a system which emphasizes reciprocity and the role of staff as facilitators and resources. A system which places the student below the staff and emphasizes external evaluation is especially inconsistent with both the open-humanistic and dialectic perspec- tives (Rogers, 1969; Small, 1978).

The community service agency concept is compatible with open-humanistic learning models which see the teacher as facilitator/learner and students as learners/teachers, willing to take responsibility for their own learning. The staffs energies are directed at creating a rich learning environment and taking responsibility for their own learning rather than monitoring trainees and using formal power to force students to choose par- ticular learning experiences. In this particular program, trainees and staff operate as a board of directors invested with decision-making power on all policy issues.

The program described here is designed for students with previous professional ex- perience in mental health, education, and related areas (i.e., mental health workers, ward

214 ROBERT B. INNES

staff, teachers). This experience, and the training in supervision provided as part of our process core, allows us to use students as supervisors to augment supervision from staff. I n the peer supervision system, each member of the group (both staff and students) selects someone else to observe and consult with them around a professional activity. A schedule is arranged so each person acts as a supervisor and is supervised by someone each semester. There is an important psychological effect of having students supervise faculty, which enhances the general climate for learning within the program. The Role-Goal Workshop

One of the most difficult problems that confronted the program during its develop- ment was reconciling its basic educational philosophy with a competency approach which seemed consistent with our orientation toward training for specific employment. Most programs which emphasize specific Competencies and behavioral objectives have been forced to restrict their flexibility. The Role-Goal Workshop was developed to provide students with a process for defining the competencies they would like to acquire, based on an analysis of their personal goals and the professional roles they plan to fill.

The workshop includes materials and instructions which guide students through a process of identifying values and objectives and developing role profiles consistent with their professional goals. A list of competencies is generated from a data bank depending on the role behaviors selected during the workshop. Each student then has an in- dividualized list of competencies.

CONCLUSION It is important to acknowledge that campus-based faculty face a set of problems

which focus more on the realities of the academic world than the service delivery system. Operating a field-based professional program places demands created within the training environment in direct conflict with demands which relate to job security and professional success. The program, and consequently its professional staff, functions as a link between the separate realities of the academic and service delivery worlds. To some extent, this means that they will be excluded from both the formal and informal rewards of membership in either system.

Beyond the pressures created by the academic environment, it is obvious that any program with the breadth and flexibility described in this article would be extremely difficult to administer. Unless monitoring and feedback systems are established and carefully maintained, disorganization will destroy the effectiveness of the training. In any case, students in a program of this type must assume most of the responsibility for keep- ing the staff informed about their personal needs.

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