What purpose is served by renovation or redesign of professionalism, and how successful a process is it likely to be? This article addresses these questions by examining the effectiveness as a ...professional development mechanism of the imposition of changes to policy and/or practice that require modification or renovation of professionalism. The 'new' professionalisms purported to have been fashioned over the last two or three decades across the spectrum of UK education sectors and contexts have been the subject of extensive analysis, and this article avoids going over old ground and revisiting issues that have already been much debated. Nevertheless, the example of UK government education policy during this period is used as a basis for considering the pitfalls associated with mechanisms for modifying professionalism through a reform and standards agenda. The article's analysis incorporates re-definition and examination of the concept and substance of professionalism and offers new perspectives in the form of three distinct conceptions: demanded, prescribed and enacted professionalism. Exploring the existentialist status of 'new' or 'modified' professionalisms and the relationship between professionality, professional culture and professionalism, it examines how professionalism may be interpreted and utilised for the development of education professionals.
Professionalism has long been a term understood to distinguish social strata, commonly highlighting those trusted to employ expert knowledge for the benefit of society. Professionalism however is ...evolving; this position article contributes to the subject in drawing together different threads of literature beyond empirical studies to extend the discussion on professionalism, shedding a light on an area of interest. Specifically, it is argued that professionalism is threatened by the shift of the loci of control from the traditional, occupational professional positions to what is now contemporary professionalism. To facilitate such a transition, trust, a long-time fundamental component of traditional professionalism, is being readily and overtly substituted by control, wielded in and by modern organisations for the primary benefit of that organisation. The first part of the article explicates an understanding of professionalism and trust. The following section then introduces the relationship between both traditional and contemporary professionalism with trust. The third part moves to discuss the rise of differing types of control, arguing that trust has been forced to take a minor role in contemporary notions of professionalism in organisational practice, leading to the term being utilised to induce the required behaviours within those organisations. The article concludes with direction on both potential implications and applications of the theoretical points raised through the discussion.
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