Voimaantumisteorian perusteiden hahmottelua

Abstract

The original aim of the study was to examine the professional growth of pre-service teachers in a reformed system of long-term module training. Professional growth was approached in terms of the cyclic model of new professionalism developed by Niemi and Kohonen, and professional growth was explored and basic social processes and phenomena identifiable in data were sought. The key phenomenon that emerged from the data of the grounded theory study, carried out in four elementary schools in the spring 1995, was an internal feeling of power, which turned out to be synonymous with the concept of empowerment. The empirical results showed the following categories to be significant for the process of empowerment: freedom, responsibility, appreciation, confidence, context, climate and positive regard.

The collection, analysis and interpretation of data were carried out in accordance with the grounded theory approach, using the constant comparative method. A detailed examination of the grounded theory methodology revealed two major schools of thought: the Straussian and the Glaserian schools. The major differences between these approaches were analyzed comparatively. The description of the different stages of data analysis in the present work draws attention to the roles of the inductive-deductive Straussian procedure and the inductive Glaserian procedure.

After the empirical stage, the main goal of the study was to formulate a general formal theory of human empowerment. The basic assumption of the theory of empowerment developed in this work is that empowerment is an inherently human and individual process. It is a personal and social process, in which the inner power is nontransferable to another. The theory of empowerment is based on a combination of the empirical findings and the current research findings.

The theory formulated here identifies the different subprocesses of empowerment. It does not aim to indicate the measurable qualities of an empowered person or the causal factors contributing to empowerment. The subprocesses of empowerment are classified into a framework which is a modification of Ford's Motivational Systems Theory (MST) and consists of goals, capacity beliefs, context beliefs and emotions. The theory postulates that a person may remain disempowered if he or she has difficulties with some of the subprocesses that constitute the framework. It also claims that empowerment has a catalytic effect on commitment: poor empowerment results in poor commitment, while strong empowerment results in strong commitment. On the basis of the theoretical discussion, it can be concluded that empowerment is not a permanent state. It is, however, possible to strengthen empowerment through subtle and supportive measures that open up possibilities through, for example, openness, freedom of action, encouragement and through strengthening a sense of security, trust and equality. Empowerment arises out of and gives rise to human well-being.

The theory of empowerment can be used as the underlying theory in projects and studies aiming to maintain human resources and prevent exhaustion. Especially people working as superiors would benefit from knowledge of the theory of empowerment in their efforts to ensure the well-being of their subordinates in workplaces. The findings of this study can probably also be utilized in supporting the empowerment of the elderly, handicapped, marginalised and unemployed individuals and chronically ill patients. Teacher educators and teacher education supervisors can utilize the empirical findings and the formulated theory in planning their work of supporting students" processes of growth and professional commitment. The theory of empowerment is valuable for both preservice and inservice teacher education in working toward the well-being of students and teachers as well as the realization of human rights.