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HOW PUBLIC SECTOR PROFESSIONALS USE POSTFORMAL THOUGHT in PRACTICE by JACKIE B. THOMAS (Under the Direction of SHARAN B. MERRIAM

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HOW PUBLIC SECTOR PROFESSIONALS USE POSTFORMAL THOUGHT in PRACTICE by JACKIE B. THOMAS (Under the Direction of SHARAN B. MERRIAM HOW PUBLIC SECTOR PROFESSIONALS USE POSTFORMAL THOUGHT IN PRACTICE by JACKIE B. THOMAS (Under the Direction of SHARAN B. MERRIAM) ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to understand how public sector professionals employ postformal thought in practice. Specifically, the ways in which public sector professionals took in, mentally sorted and weighed information were examined as they learned to deal with new, complex, and ill-structured problems in the context of their practice at the state Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC). This study utilized a qualitative design consisting of in-depth, semi-structured interviews of 10 purposefully selected public sector professionals. Participants ranged in age from 35 to 63 and reflected diversity in race and gender as well. Professions represented were engineers and utilities/financial analysts. Three questions guided this study: (1) What are the elements of postformal thought? (2) What informal learning experiences at work influence the development and use of postformal thought? (3) What contextual factors shape learning in the workplace? Data analysis was guided by the constant comparative method, which led to three sets of findings: (1) The elements of postformal thought clustered around five themes: framing the problem, constructing knowledge, coping with ambiguity, finding a solution, and looking back. (2) Informal learning experiences influenced the development and use of postformal thought: being self-directed, learning from and with others, and building models. (3) Certain contextual factors shaped learning and development: the context of the work, the organizational culture, and access to resources. Two conclusions were drawn from this study: First, the use of postformal thought is shaped by the context of professional practice, and, secondly, informal learning experiences are the critical path to the development and use of postformal thought in the workplace. Findings from this study suggest that public sector professionals, with the appropriate contextual support, will develop and use postformal thought as conditions warrant in today’s fast changing and ill-structured work environment. Practical implications from this study suggest that understanding and identifying learning experiences and contextual factors that foster cognitive development benefits the working professional in the development of practice, benefits educators preparing adults to enter or advance in the workplace, and benefits the organization in preparing a 21st century workforce. INDEX WORDS: Informal learning, Public sector workplace, Cognitive development, Postformal thought, Practical logic, Formal logic, Qualitative research, Adult learning, Adult development HOW PUBLIC SECTOR PROFESSIONALS USE POSTFORMAL THOUGHT IN PRACTICE by JACKIE B. THOMAS B.S., Brenau University, 1996 M.A., University of Georgia, 1997 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2008 © 2008 Jackie B. Thomas All Rights Reserved HOW PUBLIC SECTOR PROFESSIONALS USE POSTFORMAL THOUGHT IN PRACTICE by JACKIE B. THOMAS Major Professor: Sharan B. Merriam Committee: Laura L. Bierema Ronald M. Cervero Bradley C. Courtenay Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2008 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ithaca has given me a beautiful voyage and many people have helped me and held me up on this journey (see Cavafy, 1911, for my favorite poem). My family, especially my husband, and friends have been a source of encouragement, support, and forgiveness for all those missed occasions when I was buried in classes, books, and chapter writing. At Brenau, I met Dr. Robert Rowden. He believed in me and what I could achieve long before I believed it. In my masters program, Dr. Margaret Holt was my mentor, my advisor, and my role model for classroom teaching and learning. In my graduate program, Dr. Sharan Merriam has been my critical path to the highest achievement in my professional life and I appreciate my committee for their advice and suggestions. They have added so much value to this dissertation. Finally, I owe much to the public sector professionals I have been privileged to know and work with for many years. I want to express my sincerest appreciation for their willingness to participate in this study. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 Background to the Problem .......................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .......................................................... 17 Purpose and Research Questions................................................. 17 Significance of the Study ........................................................... 18 Definitions ............................................................................... 19 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.......................................................... 21 Experiential Learning.................................................................. 23 Adult Cognition and Postformal Thought........................................ 37 The Nature of Professional Practice............................................... 58 Informal Learning in Professional Practice...................................... 62 Chapter Summary...................................................................... 73 3 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................ 76 Design of the Study.................................................................... 77 Sample Selection ....................................................................... 80 Data Collection .......................................................................... 82 vi Data Analysis ............................................................................ 89 Validity and Reliability ................................................................ 91 Research Bias and Assumptions ................................................... 93 4 FINDINGS .................................................................................... 96 Part 1: Participant Profiles........................................................... 97 Part 2: Findings ........................................................................111 Chapter Summary.....................................................................154 5 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................157 Conclusions and Discussion ........................................................159 Implications for Practice.............................................................176 Recommendations for Further Research .......................................178 REFERENCES ............................................................................................180 APPENDICES .............................................................................................198 A INTERVIEW GUIDE.......................................................................198 B CONSENT FORM...........................................................................199 vii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Chronology of Postformal Research ................................................... 49 Table 2: Sinnott’s (1998) Operational Aspects of Postformal Thought ................. 52 Table 3: Participant Profiles.......................................................................... 98 Table 4: Findings .......................................................................................112 viii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Adult Cognition ............................................................................. 39 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background to the Problem Much has been written about work and its role in adult lives. It has been estimated that one-third to one-half of the waking hours of adult life are consumed by work (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007). This single activity, shared by most adults, is one of the significant developmental aspects of adult life (Bee & Bjorklund, 2000), yet the experience of work, “what people actually do and think in everyday work activity,” has remained essentially unexplored (Fenwick, 2008b, p.25). While the activity called work has remained constant in the lives of adults, the context of work has changed over time. The Changing Nature of Work The agrarian society that existed in this country before the 1900s changed over to an industrial society at the turn of the 20th century, but the skills necessary to succeed at work still consisted of two good hands and a strong back (Cook, 1977). Scientific and technological developments drove the development of the Industrial Age in America where factory work was reduced to its smallest component. Farmers converged on the cities to work on assembly lines six days a week and to spend the seventh in movie houses with a new-fangled invention known as air conditioning (Hofstadter, 1955). As larger organizations formed and became more sophisticated, knowledge and the power to make decisions were the exclusive domains of management. “In 2
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