Skip to main content

Studies in the Theory and Practice of Professionalism: Ways Forward

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
  • 4823 Accesses

Part of the book series: Innovation and Change in Professional Education ((ICPE,volume 5))

Abstract

This chapter aims to explore ways to meet prominent headline challenges to professionalism. The first part of the chapter refers to aspects of a report published by the Royal College of Physicians of London, Doctors in society: Medical professionalism in a changing world (2005), commissioned to explore directions for change in professional practice. Though not a full-scale analysis, the chapter relates some of its key features to practical and theoretical issues that have recently arisen in the literature concerning ethics and boundary-crossing especially. These have implications for the headline challenges. The second part of the chapter draws together the contributed chapters in this volume which can potentially address the headline challenges. Main themes that are found to emerge include specificity, holism, plasticity and illimitability, boundary-crossing and hybridity. The contribution of these towards building new forms of practical and theoretical understanding that positively address headline challenges is explored.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Authors of various chapters, of course, will have their own views as to how or if their contributions address these challenges.

  2. 2.

    Clearly “boundary-crossing” is required by hybridity, but not the converse; I have treated these together here because of space restrictions.

References

  • Bernstein, B. (2000). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique (revised edition). Lanham, ML: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braithwaite, J. (2006). Correspondence. The Lancet, 367, 645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Britten, N. (2001). Prescribing and the defence of clinical autonomy. Sociology of Health & Illness, 23(4), 478–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, N., & Bhugra, D. (2007). ‘New’ professionalism or professionalism derailed? Psychiatric Bulletin 38, 281–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, C. (2005). The deprofessionalism thesis, accountability and professional character. Social Work and Society, 3, 182–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewe, B., Otto, H.-U., & Schnurr, S. (2006). Introduction: New professionalism in social work – a social work and society series. Social Work and Society, 4(1), accessed online http://www.socwork.net/2006/1/series/professionalism/introduction, 29/12/2008.

  • Englund, T. (1996). Are professional teachers a good thing? In I. Goodson & A. Hargreaves (Eds.) Teachers’ Professional Lives. London : The Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eraut, M. (1994). Developing professional knowledge and competence. London: The Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1985). The use of pleasure (the history of sexuality, volume 2). New York: Pantheon Books

    Google Scholar 

  • Freidson, E. (2001). Professionalism: The third logic. Oxford: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, A. (2000). Four ages of professionalism and professional learning. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 6(2), 151–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenway, J., Bullen, E., Fahey, J., & Robb, S. (2006). Haunting the knowledge economy. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, K. (1985). Social closure and occupational registration. Sociology, 19(4), 541–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackey, H. (2007). ‘Do not ask me to remain the same’: Foucault and the professional identities of occupational therapists. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 54, 95–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, C. (1996). Social closure and the stifling of diversity in professions and management. In R. Fincham (Ed.), New relationships in the organised professions. Aldeshot: Avebury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Royal College of Physcians of London. (2005). Doctors in society: Medical professionalism in a changing world.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, R. (2002). Themes in the history of medical professionalism. The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 69(6), 357–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svensson, L. (2006). New professionalism, trust and competence: Some conceptual remarks and empirical data. Current Sociology, 54, 579–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weert, T. (2006). Education of the twenty-first century: New professionalism in lifelong learning, knowledge development and knowledge sharing. Education and Information Technologies. Dordrecht: Springer

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, M. (2006). Bringing knowledge back in: From social constructivism to social realism in the sociology of education. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clive Kanes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kanes, C. (2009). Studies in the Theory and Practice of Professionalism: Ways Forward. In: Kanes, C. (eds) Elaborating Professionalism. Innovation and Change in Professional Education, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2605-7_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics