The Education of Professionals - Research Proposal Example

"Critically examine the issues raised for the education of professionals in the light of the changing nature of professional practice." This question relates to a discussion of the concept of professionalism arising from the contested nature of the professions, professional knowledge and the relation of theory to practice. Also involved are the issues arising from the ethical implications and notions of professional accountability. Professional and higher education have become indispensable (Psarras 2006) to the development of the professions in the past few decades. This is especially so in the light of the intense technological and institutional developments with in the emerging knowledge based economy with in professional educational scenario.(Zeleny (2000;Psarras 2006).The trend of equating professional education with universities has affected almost all professions and professionals from all walks of life and age groups who are worried (Zeleny 2000) as to whether they are "updated" within their professions, a concern which was formerly satisfied by gleaning over recent professional magazines as will be seen later in the essay(Psarras 2006) . This paper aims to explore the changing notions of all these concepts and explores both sides of the debate engulfing the issues arising for the education of professionals in the changing times. Introduction Today professionals from all walks of life whether they are nurses, business executives legal and medical practitioners all seem to be queuing up in the light of increasingly popular "professional courses" for further specializations or seminars in the face of intense competition in their fields based on the recent regulations in this area (Psarras 2006). This trend has been prevalent since the decade of the eighties where as according to Cooke and Cooke (1998) there has been growth of what is called "learner centred knowledge and action learning, a growing significance of work-related learning and the recognition of work and work experience as a key source of learning" (Psarras 2006 citing Cooke and Cooke 1998).Finally the advent of information technology has made the need to revolutionise professional teaching and learning methodologies more than ever(Cooke and Cooke 1998). . In this paper, I examine the extent to which professional updating is actually necessary or whether some forms of professional development essentially ignores the values of ethics of professionalism that have become appended to the issue of professional and continuing professional education. As Larson argues modern professional education has come a long way as the word "Professional" has attained its own baggage of simple and undeniable face saving requirements (Larson, 1977). According to Hall [(1968) as cited by Fertig (2003)], professionalism can be associated with the performance of the professional in his or her most individual capacity. Hall (1968) identified the role of the professional academic as embodying a belief in serving the public and a sense of autonomy and commitment towards his or her respective profession. This view is also shared by Engel (1970) who regarded professionalism amongst academics as focussing on individuality in the actions and the decision making process. Exworthy & Halford (1999) have stressed the impact of tighter accountability control within Higher Education particularly for the professionals within the HE sector in order to achieve efficiency [as cited by Fertig (2003)]. In this vein this paper explores how this has affected the concept of professionalism in Higher Education. The Changing Meaning of Professionals and Professionalism It is true to a large extent that the modern notions of professionals and professionalism have changed considerably due to the changing notions of these concepts over time. As stated in Fertig (2003), Robson (1998) and Harper (2000) share the view that there is a pronounced trend of professional management within the Higher Education sector in England where a distinction can be drawn with in the 'managerialist' and the 'professional' paradigms There is also a pronounced trend of specialisation within the professions which is reflected in the way the modern courses and teaching are structured.. This is demonstrated by Koehn (1994:150) for whom professional ethics are "an institutionalized expression of prevailing public morality". Abbott (1988) has argued that professionalism and higher professional education share a deep bond. Ethics and Professionalism The problem of ethics with in the education of the professions comes in where there is a problem of "specialisation" providing the ability to ask for high fees and higher rewards which some academics have sought to pacify as necessary for the public interest (Abbott, 1988). Larson (1977) states that this has led to abject materialism within professional careers and has led to a transformation of what he has termed "professionalisation" or the procedure involved in becoming a professional causing aspiring "professionals" to regard professional education as a means of climbing the financial and social ladder. Larson (1977) also argues that this has led to a change in practice and theory as somewhere between the time doctors were judged by their practice and knowledge, now we have an "ologist" for every part of our body and a lawyer specialising in the most minor of practices (Zeleny 2000). Back in the 1960's Wilensky (1964) showed a very optimistic view of the advent and emphasis upon professional education and regarded it as a positive sign for the future advancement of the professions and the advancement of the society as a whole. Ethics and professionalism have thus come a long way in being regarded as a cure for problems with the profession pertaining to effective delivery of expertise. However, the modern state of professionalism demonstrates a competition between the notions of entrepreneurship, managerialism and consumerism (Hanlon, 1998). Thus it is a challenging time for universities to be aware of the transitions in their roles as knowledge providers and provide flexible, innovative and research intensive learning. Further more there is a need for Curricula that reflects the reestablishment of the link of learning with experience with a more environmentally responsive curriculum which addresses the real issues that happen in a real world. (Hanlon 1998) Expert vs. Social Trustee Professionalism Of course these issues can also be analysed in sociological terms. Steven Brint (1994), a sociologist, has referred to the notion of professionalism and ethics as "social trustee professionalism," which banks on the notions of the professionals being aware of their social contract with the larger society. For Brint (1994) the conclusion is that the past decades have seen "a key historical change" in a transition from what was initially "social trustee professionalism" to what is the modern day "expert professionalism". This view is shared by Sullivan (2004:28) who has termed this transition in professionalism as the loss of "the ethical-social values of professional identity". Thus to add to Brint's analysis Sullivan (2004:32) has also spoken of the need to have the professional education "restructured in ways that suffuse technical competence with civic awareness and purpose". Restructuring of the Professional Education The modern professionals need to compete with the other rivals in their field and this necessitates further education which is becoming unaffordable for those professionals who decide to attend courses because universities increase their fees every year (Wiig K (1993;Cooke and Cooke 1998)..However there is a new found trend that most of the companies/firms employing professionals will fund their further education to enrich of the quality of their employee base.(Psarras 2006) As struggling professionals it is true that the modern professional will attempt to incorporate his Curriculum Vitae with every piece of "certification" or medal as evidence of his professional capabilities.(Pels 2000;Psarras 2006). The modern professional is thus faced by the dilemma of superficiality versus actual skill and according to Schon (1987) this has eroded the reflective aspect of teaching. The view of Schon (1987) reflects the case for the introduction of a reflective practicum into professional schooling and has opposed the view that practice is a "second-class activity" and that theory is "a privileged form of knowledge" (Schon, 1987). Thus Schon (1987) has stressed upon a more reflective teaching approach and has disapproved of the 'squeeze play' which restricts individual freedom within professional teaching. Schon (1987) has suggested that students need the help of the professional teaching artistry and learn skills by practicing them in the context of real world problem which will require the need of problem-framing, application and improvisation in addition to technical expertise as he diminishes the importance of the mere coaching process for the educational needs. This coaching according to Schon (1987) would include "telling/listening and demonstrating/imitating" (p.114) where as he perceives teaching as a more profound reflective experience. Thus, the teacher as a coach can actually help the students understand the problems of the understanding and problem solving and criticise the students' mode of thinking and problem solving. Then Schon (1987) delves in the ladder of reflection in learning where the communication between the coach and student becomes "a chain of reciprocal actions and reflections" (p.114) and it is analysed in a vertical way each action of learning and teaching that has to be analysed from a general view.Arguably Schon's views would seem to manifest themselves in the modern era of the"Knowledge-based Economy" (Cooke and Cooke 1998) where as the the knowledge-based economy pertains to knowledge creation and its diffusion with the role of information management with in the Professions.(Wiig 1993). All the actors of this new knowledge based economy, whether they are the individuals and companies or even the state have to be wary of losing out the in fiercely competitive global economy (Cooke and Cooke 1998).This means that the education and training of the labour force has to be based upon maintenance and knowledge enhancement of the knowledge capital in order to be more innovative and adaptable to technological changes.(Nonaka 1991). Public and Private Sector in Professional Education According to Usher and Bryant (1987) the emphasising of academic qualifications causes stagnation within the practical aspect of professionalism but there is another emerging issue here which should be dealt with first.This the increased tendency for power struggles with the management and regulation of such professions.In this vein Laffin's view (1999 as cited by Fertig (2003)] suggests that professionalism within the public sector embodies the "efforts of members of an occupation to maximise their freedom from control by others in the immediate work setting, in the management of professional work, and in the regulation of the profession" (p.3) .This has inevitably led to a power struggle between the teaching profession to have minimum control from outside forces(Abbott 1998). All is not lost however and it is possible to see that self regulation is not as ineffective as has been portrayed by the academic literature For example the solicitors and barristers have their own professional bodies disciplining them. Solicitors can be suspended from the roll so they may no longer practice due to "unprofessional" conducts, which prevents them from acting as a solicitor although the frequency with which this happens can be doubted. Thus, self regulation is not present in isolation but is being supported by government initiatives. All these regulatory bodies try to ensure through their self regulated codes that the education for professionals does not lack the aspect of true professional. For example professional courses now offer "professional conduct" as a part of the vocal courses themselves which familiarise these professionals with the intricacies of following the self regulatory codes. - the next part does relate to your earlier arguments. What can be said about professional education in the private sector and the private sector thus is the emphasis that should be given upon the need for effective management and better governance within the management of higher professional education for the professionals unlike the views presented by Hall (1968) and Engel (1970) some four decades ago as mentioned in Fertig (2003). Moreover, Fertig [(2003) citing Strathern (2000)] mentions that the new era has brought with it an "audit culture." Accountability According to Pels [(2000:148) as cited by Fertig (2003)] this audit culture is "...the shift, in anthropological ethics, from professionalism to audit [being] yet another instance of the swing of the liberal pendulum from a romantic primacy of the ethical to a utilitarian primacy of the economic". This dichotomy has been further classified by Stronach et al [(2002:109) as cited by Fertig (2003)] as one between an 'economy of performance' and 'ecologies of practice'.What can also be seen is the new 'market driven' approach inherent focus within the open enrolment to schools through public sector in the United Kingdom -.As Swailes [(2003:134) as cited by Fertig (2003)] has indicated that "The effect of market changes was to make professionals (teachers) far more accountable to their client/customer markets in addition to greater scrutiny from an increasingly assertive management".Therefore we can say that the modern notion of knowledge has become a "steadily increasing" corporate asset (which amongst others are patients ,goodwill and brand identity etc) but also as "meaningful information; or the understanding, awareness, familiarity acquired through study, investigation, observation or experience over the course of time (citing Zelner , 2000)".(Psarras 2006). Klette [(2002:280) as cited by Fertig (2003)] has commented on the changing nature of professionalism within higher education as "Restructuring efforts, especially the pressure on evaluation, are in the midst of changing the teaching profession from being an implicit craft-oriented and oral working culture to an explicit, discursive, theory-informed and written working culture. In these terms, contemporary restructuring efforts are setting new professional demands on what it means to be a teacher."Based on the above it is worth revisting Schon's conceptions of reflective teaching at this point as the modern era of professionalism seems to be reflecting what he envisaged for professional education. The British Government has made efforts to make the professions the targets of sustained deregulatory efforts and there is an increased "routinisation, rationalisation and commoditisation" of the professions (Reed, 1996). In this vein Freidson (2001) has pointed out that there seems to be a growing gap between the formerly male dominated professions and the increased female participation in the professions and their journey to the higher posts which can be arguably said not to be a result of commodifcation but a heightened attention to the notion of equal opportunities for women!. This has led to new emerging breeds of professionals , especially of women professionals who have being exposed to an increased trend of managerial scrutiny and an increasingly unstable market. which Freidson (2001) has called a kind of 'internal polarisation' rather than a case of "de-professionalisation" or "managerialisation". Banks (1998:213) has also spoken about what she calls the "ethical implications of recent changes in social work .in relation to the conception of social workers as professionals guided by a code of ethics. According to Banks (1998:213) these changes can be spelled as "the fragmentation of the occupation, the increasing proceduralization of the work and the growing focus on consumer rights and user participation." The expansion of gender and racial diversity with in the workforce has give the notions of managerialism an entirely new dimension thus.(Banks 1998) Where as many academics have argued that the notion of code of ethics within professional education is relapsing to the conceptions of self regulation (Larson, 1977) others assume that there is a need to maintain the "sanctity" of the professions from external attacks (Abbott, 1998).This means that if the disputes of professional issues are dealt with state made law this will leave the disputes in the hands of the courts which may not be able to assess the intricacies of the professional requirements and this may also cause a heightened distrust by the public in the integrity of the due to the open nature of such adjudication.(Abbott 1998) . New Consumerism and Robson's four actor's model According to Banks (1998:213) there is a wave of "'new consumerism' laying emphasis upon the technical skills of the labour force (instead of professional ethics) and consumer rights (as opposed to professional obligations) and secondly a pronounced 'new radicalism' which emphasises upon the worker's own personal or political commitments rather than stressing upon individual moral responsibility (as opposed to an externally imposed code of professional ethics". There is a role played by modern corporations in this regard and their hiring policies where as professional qualifications are often given preference over actual experience of the candidates and this is also reflected by the pay structure.(Banks 1998). Robson has offered some insightful analysis upon what she calls the current status of the "further education teaching profession" in the United Kingdom. She offers these perspectives based upon her experiences of sociological work on the professions and FE teachers. It is indeed true that the sociological experience of the 1950s and 1960s of professional education was based upon the functionalist theory (Robson) and professionalism was defined as embodying 'traits' [Macdonald (1995) as cited by Robson, p.1] that were identified as including 'altruism', 'specialist intellectual knowledge' and 'a self-governing body' [Lieberman (1956) and Goode (1957) as cited by Robson, p.1]. This was termed as the 'attribute approach' which was later discarded as the new breed of professionals who were increasingly seen as powerful and important "rather than altruistic servants of the public good" (Robson) and thus the new approach was named the 'power approach' [Macdonald (1995) as cited by Robson, p.1]. This trend of dominance or interactionism has also been pointed out by Freidson (1970) and Larson (1977) as cited by Robson. Robson has also drawn upon the "four 'actors' model" by Burrage et al (1990) where she states that the four actors are "the practising professionals, the state, the users and the universities" (p.2). She goes on to identify how all these four actors have their own interests and limitations for example the "practising professionals are chiefly concerned to protect their interests as a group, to control entry to their ranks and to preserve their autonomy and (will use) their professional knowledge as a resource, for example, in the socialisation of new members through the training process" (Robson, p.2). In addition to this the second actor who is the state will struggle to establish its dominance and authority and will be likely to lobby for its own political and monetary interests through the tools of "policy, regulation and legislation" (Robson, p.2). The third actor or stakeholder then is the "user or client" who can be the aggrieved parties in litigation, patients or even students (Robson). Last but not the least within the context of the FE model the fourth 'actor' is the university or the institution where Robson (p.2) states that "Tensions between academics and practising professionals may arise since academics may be interested in interrogating the professional knowledge base, challenging, disseminating or extending it and universities may be more interested in recruiting students than in restricting entry to the ranks of the profession". Hard vs. Soft Knowledge Every year thousands of overseas students bring foreign exchange into the United Kingdom for the academic honour of becoming Barristers from the Honourable Inns of Court or as students of the Royal Nursing College. The average British student who struggles with student loans and benefits will make his or her way to a professional degree by his or her mid twenties and will spend many years paying off these student loans. Come practical life, the "professional" decides that now that he or she acquires an expensive degree it is time to recover the investment. (If you want to make a point about the cost of higher education, you must provide evidence - you should also acknowledge that graduates earn considerably more during their lifetime than non-graduates) Academics have attempted to relate the cost of Higher education to the divide between hard and soft knowledge (Robson 1998). Academics like Becher [(1989) as cited by Robson] have identified what they call "hierarchies of knowledge" in the society. Some of this knowledge is scientific; some is based on arts and social sciences. Here Becher (1989) states that the "hard, pure knowledge" tends to attract prestige and power. This has often led critics to disregard and undermine social science and literature or social work as mere "everyday knowledge" (Robson, p.4). So given that professional qualifications are seen as "hard" knowledge they will attract more cost and expenditure (Zeleny 2000). Conclusion According to the above literature it is possible to understand the emerging complaint (Abbott 1998) from the public and academia for the lack of "ethics" and "professionalism". In this regard some useful analysis can be drawn from the observations of Eraut (1985) who has concluded that the quality of practice of the professionals can be positively affected by their continuing education but this has to be viewed in terms of "further learning beyond initial qualification, not in the narrow sense of attending courses" (Eraut 1985:131). Eraut (1985:131) also notes that this should include "informal learning and on-the-job learning." This broader view of continuing professional should enhance the know-how of the practitioners and technical learning rather than mere qualifications (Eraut, 1985). This should exclude the emphasis upon the re-development of syllabus knowledge and focus upon "practice-created knowledge" which can be attained through mid career educational courses (Eraut 1985:131). In these terms "knowledge creation, knowledge use and continuing education are highly interdependent" (Eraut 1985:131). Finally he has stressed upon the use of "collaborative research projects .problem-oriented seminars, and programmes of continuing education opportunities for mid-career professionals to focus on the more practical aspect of the professional education." (Eraut, 1985:131). Other recommendations include the fact that the British system of higher education has over all been the envy of the world and the same can be said for the public and private sector. There seems to be need for the professional teacher thus to devote himself to experimentation and innovation and resort to borrowing or knowledge transfer in order to avoid gaps in information and experience. This can be done through trial and error and the efficacy of such methods thus has to be determined properly. Of course the duty of the academic auditors () is to promote a culture of trust and ethics not only with in the studentship but also amongst the colleagues based upon the ideal standards of professionalism and integrity. The way ahead should not be too rigid but should be based upon clear and coherent decisions of the practitioners and the evaluation of the practitioners to listen and carefully evaluate the needs of the sector. In terms of what the government can do here it could be mentioned that any further decisions of regulation and deregulation would have to be taken in the light of future sustainable change and not as mere political discursive interventions. The political commitment to reform often resorts to polemics and high promises and can potentially damage the professionals in the public education sector by radically downgrading the influence of the major organised forces which can actually play a better role towards self regulation. For example the funding problem for specialist SEN teachers has been a major complaint by the Local Education Authorities (LEA) particularly in the area of Special Educational Needs (SEN) which requires professionalism in teachers more than ever (Norwich et al, 2004). Of course last but not the least my recommendation would pertain to the some form of 'professional accountability' to the government and students by the higher education teaching profession and also a need for the proper and more focused and collaborated need of the achievement of the professionals in this area. On a concluding note it is worth looking at the views of Lord Phillips of Sudbury which seem to bring about an accurate description of the current state of professionalism: "Many professionals, I sense, do not feel that individual moral toughness which will need to be in good trim if they are to resist the pressures exerted by less scrupulous bosses or, more likely, corporate clients.That issue of the moral character of practitioners, in whatever profession, is one which, surely requires the greatest attention in the course of this project. Our moral ozone layer, if I can call it that, has been punctured and depleted by the excessive emissions of commercialism and managerialism.That is not, I hasten to add, to characterise those who work in public companies, let alone private ones, as themselves morally indifferent, but to point to the ethical deadening which the moral neutrality of the corporate vehicle can contribute to." (Lord Sudbury, 2002:5).Lord Sudbury's views are indeed important as they talk about the emerging ethical vacuum with in the professions as discussed above. Over all it has been seen that the professionals in public education lack a general overall absence of a code of ethics as discussed above (Abbott 1988) although this has nothing to do with the alleged lack of ethics (Zeleny 2000) with in the professionals in higher education and this is something which can no longer be left to bureaucrats and administrators. If we look at the history of "Professional ethics" this lack of ethics emerged not just in education but in the fee taking professions like medicine and law of the yester years where the patient and the client needed protection from unfair conduct. In corporate jobs we have the employers formulating and enforcing standards of ethics (Abbott 1998:Zeleny 2000).The query then leads to the education of professionals. Generally this will be done by school districts and universities and previously the National Education Association and their like were adopting their own "codes" of ethics but the "collective" bargaining aspect of teaching in the professional higher education has always disturbed academics and as it is alleged by Lieberman (1994) the teacher unions have not paid enough attention to the problems of accountability with their continued insistence on compulsory membership their teacher unions. Furthermore, it has been discussed in this paper that the higher education of professionals pertains to a dedication to the learning and high educational standards and the educationist as professional has to possess the professionalism. Apart from skill and inherent "caring" perspectives the need for ethics has been identified and explored in line with better professionalism and the attainment of the objectives of enhanced outputs like growth and institution effectiveness. There is a need for a heightened sense of personal and corporate responsibility towards the student whose education, welfare and clarity in character bank upon the professional teacher, mainly like the coach in Schon's (1987) philosophy as to how the reflective practitioner is perceived by the student, so they can react to and observe from the coach/teacher's behaviour. As far as the role of the government is concerned it has been seen that the heavy political influence can make or break educational policy for the professional educators. This paper has seen how there is a heightened need for some kind of authentic and legitimate professionalism based on the notions of the nature of the teaching profession and professional governance as Eraut has pointed out above and there should be efforts to avoid de-professionalization of the professions or over-accountability. I have briefly tried to introduce the special example of SEN professionals in higher education, where as currently in England there is little of special training for such professional teachers and where there is it is too expensive (Norwich et al, 2004). Moreover, it is worth noting that the persistent lack of funds that comes from the teaching staff of those public sector higher education particularly when dealing with disability, leaves the entire professional educational processes inchoate when the student finds himself deprived of the practice time and disadvantaged by the lack of teaching continuum. It has also been suggested that to avoid all these problems, it is worth using common professional teaching codes and it is required incorporating individual learning needs and difficulties in a learning initiative, much more bases achieving mastery, more examples to learn concepts, an explicit teaching of learning strategies and reinforcement, more specific assessment of learning, more time to solve problems and better preparation for the disabled professional students in learning (Norwich et al, 2004). Thus particularly in terms of teaching professionals involved in disability teaching there is a need for associated better management of professionalism and ethics with the better quality and flexibility of teaching approaches for the majority of pupils with learning difficulties. Last but not the least it is important to understand the need to create a culture of compliance with in the professions of a kind of self regulation or compliance which can be based upon the new found governing bodies similar to the law society for the solicitors. Recently there was a new of the upcoming Professional Standards for Teachers in 2007 but can we regulate professionals by standards at all by silencing their creativity How teaching professionals can be divided and what is the basis for the titles of the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or Advanced Skills Teacher No doubt though that the professional teacher is in need of better career paths and training opportunities but this should not be as incentives by the government but for their own personal enrichment. The issue of qualifications as price tags on professionals discussed above then repeats itself here. I firmly believe that the public sector cannot formulate a hierarchy based upon qualification rather than talent and experience. However, what is also true is the fact that teaching professionals should be set free to study further in the arena of philosophy of education or MBAs and be able to receive remuneration or compensations for their interests in further education. On a concluding note it can be said that the modern economy of education demands better ability and innovation from the education professional and the dawn of the 20th century has made such requirements indispensable particularly in terms of the public sector, where initially little was being done to appease and cater to the needs of the receivers of the product of education. In conclusion the future belongs to those who can understand the need to make continuous learning and modern education and training for the modern work force. Thus Higher Education in the knowledge based economy cannot be perceived as ignoring the intricacies and mechanics of the various educational disciplines and should be perceived as a kind of learning not as an institution. The aim should thus be to provide a durable, learner-centred, achievement-led and economically diverse medium of education (Psarras 2006 ) in the context of learner support, curriculum and credit to pave the way towards a more knowledge intensive environment to innovate the learning environment for the modern who has to earn a living in the increasingly demanding knowledge-based economy. This paper has seen how teaching is as a profession now and also it has been discussed the need for its accountability as a profession. The resolution of the ethical and accountability concerns is however grounded firmly with in state cooperation particularly due to the public nature of this sector. 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