The Meaning and Practice of Professionalism: Concepts & Constructs
Across the wide expanse of endless international conferences there has been a lot of discussion, speculation and predictions about the changing nature and future shape of education. While the most obvious topic within the global debate currently centers around the benefits and wonders of technology for learners, very little attention has been given to the present state and evolutionary condition of professionalism within the field itself.
The problem of professionalism is it is an abstract construct making it difficult to define and underpin. Secondly, in view of this complexity can it be measured and more importantly by whom?
The very nature that shapes and forms professionalism
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Does it mean having a certain level of mastery of an acquired knowledge, or a natural born genetic skill? Is it having an occupational degree? Is it working on the job or having some kind of longevity of experience in a particular role? Is it a contract or some kind of service agreement? Meeting competency standards? Is it being able to adapt and diversify to different occupational cultures and conditions? Is it the set of values and ethics you carry with you? The answer to any one of these could match the …show more content…
In this sense, one’s own career is not instantly professionalised, but it is more like a journey to the earned status of a professional, as some sort of constant life-long learning process of continued professional development (CPD), because the true nature of any profession will change and evolve as will the role of the professionals, the mode of the function they practice (as we have seen, with the transformation of technology in our