Reflexión teórica

Pierre Bourdieu explains that habitus is influenced by predetermined dispositions that sway individuals to act and react subconsciously in quite specific ways (Bourdieu, 1991), for example, views and perceptions concerning the value of education. Some CCRNs appreciate CPD whilst others do not or will not. Bourdieu did not search for a universal explanatory principle. In providing a localised principle, Bourdieu provides practical transferability and application of his philosophical writings (Robbins, 2000). This qualification provides important

clarity around the use of habitus. The predetermined dispositions that Bourdieu references give rise to practices, perceptions and attitudes consistent with but not consciously coordinated or governed by rules. The dispositions that contribute to habitus are inculcated, structured, durable, generative and transposable (Bourdieu, 1991). Each feature requires an explanation and application to the CPD of nurses.

Inculcated dispositions are generated over time and influenced by the individual’s first exposure to traditional practices and or perceptions (Bourdieu, 1991). An individual’s exposure and experiences, over their lifetime, with education and learning, further acts as an inculcated disposition and influences the approach to CPD at a subconscious level. Despite a disposition being significantly predisposed early in life and by the social environment, dispositions continue to be influenced throughout life. The workplace environment and culture effects inculcated dispositions, with values, such as the belief in lifelong education and CPD, able to be swayed by colleagues. Workplace environments (i.e. social fields), can reinforce the importance of CPD when colleagues are invested and receptive to learning and change. Likewise, in work environments where CPD and knowledge generation are not accepted as worthy, former dispositions may be questioned by the individual and adapted to match those of the current workplace.

Inculcated dispositions are not consciously used to guide action and behaviour, adapted to meet societal needs. Individuals possess an inherited concept of society. This is modified by the individual in order to generate a new concept appropriate for their condition and experiences (Robbins, 2000). It is our past experiences that continue to have an active present which influence practices in a more reliable fashion than rules and explicit norms (Bourdieu, 1992). The combination of past and present experiences allows individuals to navigate the field and conform to habitus. This can be seen in the way nurses openly embrace or silently approach their CPD mandate across different ICUs.

Dispositions produced are structured and inevitably reflect the social conditions in which they were acquired. Bourdieu provides the example of table manners and social class, to explain structured dispositions, with differences seen

between classes that become ingrained and carried throughout life (Bourdieu, 1991). Education and knowledge acquisition share similarities to the table manners example, with the drive for knowledge and growth embedded in many across their life, influenced by the social setting.

Due to the deep-rooted nature of structured dispositions, Bourdieu (1991) reminds individuals that dispositions are durable and remain with the individual for life. Dispositions operate in a way that is preconscious and not readily amenable to conscious reflection and modification. This can be observed in nurses that have been encouraged or discouraged to embrace learning and change throughout their lives which impacts their future beliefs and behaviours surrounding learning. This may subconsciously alter the disposition and influence an individual’s habitus and that of their social environment, particularly when combined with exposure to strong influences that may encourage embracing or rejecting CPD early in their career.

Finally, dispositions are generative and transposable, capable of creating practice and perceptions across fields other than where they originated (Bourdieu, 1991). This means that the values and beliefs of nurses toward CPD may be influenced by other factors in their lives. CPD is driven by nurses who seek to be proactive and independent, directing their learning to seek out opportunities to extend their practice knowledge. Nurses’ previous life experience affects their ability to achieve such directed learning.

This can be appreciated through the participants driving opportunities in their lives. Leah, who holds an arts degree, used dispositions gained from previous experiences to support her ‘mid-life’ career change. Leah entered the nursing profession with skills and values of personal independence and ownership of personal growth and she used these to be successful in nursing. These dispositions allowed the generation of new practice through a career change. And they were transferrable from her previous career into the changes now applied to the profession of nursing and CPD.

Habitus can be seen on one hand as the way that individual’s become themselves, developing attitudes and dispositions and on the other hand, the way

that agents engage in practice (Webb, Schirato, & Danaher, 2002). A nurse’s habitus disposes the individual to a desire to improve patients’ health outcomes. This improvement comes about from activities and perspectives that reflect contemporary knowledge which are culturally and historically valued in the nursing field. Thus, the habitus of embracing new knowledge and practice is often subconsciously influenced by the field.

Habitus also affords individuals with a sense of how to act and respond in situations of daily life, orientating actions and tendencies but not strictly determining them. Habitus provides individuals with a sense of what is and is not appropriate in the social game (Bourdieu, 1991). Nurses can be seen to respond to their habitus in discussions, disclosures and their approach towards CPD. Some nurses are openly transparent in their perceptions of CPD while other nurses are more reserved or cautious.

Bourdieu’s writings on habitus have described how the social conditions in which dispositions are instilled influences similarities and differences observed across individuals. This gives rise to a habitus that is reflective of social conditions (Bourdieu, 1991). Examples of this are seen in the participants’ stories and experiences where their backgrounds present different perspectives and views on CPD. Nurses are able to attribute their views to their past and to apply these insights to their present. One participant that exemplifies this is Kaylah, who had previously worked in a large metropolitan hospital, and attributed this to her valuing of CPD. In the metropolitan ICU the social conditions instilled a drive for knowledge through CPD. Kaylah then moved to a regional area and found a vastly different field. In a conscious response she reduced her pursuit of CPD in the regional area so as ‘to not cause trouble’. Kaylah perceives that in her current social environment there is a resistance to change, repercussions of which include overt, negative barriers and consequences directed towards nurses that openly engage in CPD and encourage practice change.

A habitus embodies the attitudes we inherit but it does not constitute an incentive that conditions expected behaviour. We do not regulate present actions to a future goal, as our actions are not purposeful. Instead, they are continuously adapted to allow future goals to be achieved (Robbins, 2000). But, habitus can

be used as a strategic calculation based on past efforts related to an expectation or objective. This requires the individual to carefully navigate the field and to do or not do, and to say or not say in order to be successful (Bourdieu, 1992). It is this careful navigation of the field, influenced by habitus, that has been illuminated in using Bourdieu’s philosophical writings of field, habitus and capital. In illuminating the field and habitus we are able to develop a greater understanding of the reality and the rhetoric of CPD for regional CCRNs. The identification of different forms of capital that influence nurses’ commitment towards CPD is also possible.