From ‘traditional professions’ to ‘new professionalism’: A multi-level perspective for analysing professionalisation in adult and continuing education

Abstract

Within the discourse about the professionalisation of adult and continuing education, an extensive discussion about how adult and continuing education can become a profession has taken place. Based on ‘classic professionalisation theories’, which are guided by the concept of ‘traditional professionals’, this discussion was about the fulfilment of specific attributes, and profession was considered in terms of its role in society. In the last two decades, this perspective has changed, and theoretical and empirical approaches now focus on the ‘professionalism’ of adult educators. This development is linked to extensive transformations in the modern working world, in which professionalism is considered a sign of quality. These changes and their influence on professionalisation were already discussed in terms of a sociology of professions and the ‘new professionalism’ approach – but researchers in adult and continuing education have so far made little use of this perspective. This paper is analysing the discourse around ‘new professionalism’ for its adaptability in adult and continuing education. Based on this analysis, it proposes a multi-level perspective for analysing professionalisation in adult and continuing education.

The role of organisations in the professionalisation of adult educators in Germany and Slovenia

“…Thinking of organisations and profession(alism) as two distinct forms of social coordination in general and of the societal coordination of work and knowledge in particular opens up the possibility to analyse their hybridisation as an absolutely typical phenomenon in late modernity: The theoretical approach of a "new professionalism" hence not only highlights the general significance of "organisational professionalism" but also emphasises the opportunities connected with it, leading to new empirical approaches (see Egetenmeyer et al, 2019;Schwarz, 2016).…”

A felnőttnevelési szakemberek formális kiképzési útjai Magyarországon

“…Minden szakmának kell, hogy legyenek jól képzett, kompetens képviselői. Az adott szakmára való egyetemi kiképzés a professziók egyik alapfeltételének minősül, amely biztosítja a szakmai tevékenység megfelelő ellátását, tudományos fejlesztését és képviseletét (Despotović, 2010;Evetts, 2011, Egetenmeyer et al, 2019. A felnőttnevelés esetében gyakran nem egyértelmű, hogy ki a szakma ellátója.…”

Teil III: Die Förderung medienbezogener pädagogischer Kompetenzen

“…Overall, the stakeholders and conditions are organized on three levels: a macro level, a meso level, and a micro level, with interdependencies between all levels and stakeholder groups, and the practices of advancing media-related educational competencies as the central educational process researched. In accordance with the design of further related multi-level models seeking to analyze influences on educational processes, the three main levels are arranged from general to specific influence (Schrader 2011;Egetenmeyer, Breitschwerdt, and Lechner 2019;Lima, Guimarães, and Touma 2016). There are two stakeholders or influences on each level; they are arranged from a looser to a more binding or direct influence within the level.…”

“…The macro level further includes political stakeholders as an inherent part of the national frame (Egetenmeyer, Breitschwerdt, and Lechner 2019). Political stakeholders are particularly indebted to their societal background: they represent and reinforce this background at the same time and are usually expected to act for the public benefit of their country or reference context.…”