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Professionalism in Education and Work
Professionalism in Education and Work
Tuesday, 12 July 2016: 16:00-17:30
Location: Hörsaal 17 (Juridicum)
RC52 Sociology of Professional Groups (host committee) Language: English
During the past 40 to 50 years, vocational programmes worldwide have been upgraded to higher education programmes. It is generally taken for granted that higher education play a key role in the development of professionals’ knowledge and skills.
Collins (1979) challenged this optimistic assumption decades ago, however, claiming that the outcome of higher education first and foremost are credentials and that professional knowledge are primarily learned in working life. Even though such perspectives have significant consequences for our understanding of the characteristics of professionalism, there is a lack of evidence on how professional competence is acquired. The “academic drift” of vocational programmes may be considered as “professionalisation from above” as well as “professionalisation from below”. Moreover, “academic drift” is a multidimensional phenomenon and more academic do not have to imply less vocational.
There are no simple answers to these issues. The development of professionalism in education and work, therefore, has to be explored based on different perspectives including policy analyses, curriculum studies and individual learning trajectories and performance. Important questions to be addressed in this session are:
- What are the implications of the academic drift of vocational educational programmes?
- What have been the driving forces behind these processes?
- Are there contradictory institutional logics and an epistemological divide between knowledge and skills emphasised in higher education and occupational practice?
- What is the role of theoretical and practical knowledge in professional practice?
- How is professional expertise developed?
- Are programmes emphasising workplace learning a new trend?
Session Organizer:
Chair: