Professionalisation as development and as regulation: Adult education in Germany, the United Kingdom and India

Abstract

In this paper, the authors seek to disentangle what they see as contradictory uses of the term "professionalisation" with reference to adult educator development and training (AEDT). They set out to distinguish professionalisation from professionalism, and to identify the locus of control of AEDT in Germany, the UK and India. In these three countries, all of which have a long tradition of adult education, "professionalisation" and "professionalism" are used interchangeably to describe conflicting purposes. The authors aim to identify and critically explore the organisations and policies which control and support AEDT in their own countries using American sociologist Eliot Freidson's "third logic" model, and drawing on his juxtaposition of "professions", "the market" and "bureaucracy". Applying Freidson's models to the organisations highlights the role of bureaucracy and that where adult education is concerned, national governments, the European Union and aid organisations not only serve bureaucracy but also support the market rather than operating separately from it. While the term "professionalisation" continues to be used to mean professional development, either by adult educators and representative organisations (as in the UK) or by organisations acting on their behalf (as in Germany and India), it is also used to denote regulation and standardisation issuing from bureaucratic institutions and adult education provider organisations in the interests of the market. The authors suggest that Freidson's model provides a useful tool for adult educators in other countries to reflect on their professional position and to engage in the development of their own professional standards, both in their own interests and in the interests of those they educate. . Mais il est également employé pour désigner la réglementation et la 2 standardisation émanant des institutions bureaucratiques et des prestataires en éducation des adultes dans l'intérêt du marché. Les auteurs suggèrent que le modèle de Freidson fournit un outil utile aux éducateurs d'adultes d'autres pays, leur permettant de considérer leur situation en termes professionnels afin de prendre en main leurs propres normes, dans l'intérêt de la « profession » quelle que soit sa forme, et de ceux auxquels ils dispensent une éducation.

Policies for professionalisation in adult learning and education: A comparative study from India, Colombia and Denmark

“…A profession can be characterised by common practice, a shared knowledge base, an ethical code of conduct determining the behaviour of the professionals, and control on the entry into the specified group of professionals (Benn and Fieldhouse's assertion (1994) in Doyle, Egetenmeyer, Singai, & Devi, 2016). A professional delivers a distinctive product, gets specific training to produce it, and keeps control over the final product (Larson, 1977).…”

“…A professional delivers a distinctive product, gets specific training to produce it, and keeps control over the final product (Larson, 1977). In adult and continuing education, the term "professionalisation" has been used to indicate personal behaviour (for instance in the UK, Germany and India) as well as regulation and standardisation of the field, especially in favour of economic considerations (Doyle et al, 2016). At least in European policies, the change from the former to the latter has been widely reflected (Research voor Beleid [Alpine], 2008).…”

Competences of adult education professionals in the European and Slovene context

“…One of the basic characteristics of European adult education policy, which developed relatively late at the beginning of the 21st century -but with the turning point in 2006, when the EC issued 'Adult Learning: It Is Never Too Late to Learn' (see Milana, 2012) -is its orientation towards lifelong learning and the outcome dimension of learning, rather than strictly focusing on education (Milana, 2013). This orientation is also strongly embedded in the EC's endeavours (see EC, 2006EC, , 2007Research voor Beleid, 2010) to ensure a greater quality of adult education by improving the professionalisation of the people working in adult education based on standardisation of the broad and diverse field of practice through outcomeoriented competency descriptions, while other identifiers, such as academic qualification, professional organisation and autonomy have been somehow neglected (Doyle, Egetenmeyer, Singai & Devi, 2016;Ju¨tte et al, 2011). Report commissioned by the EC (Research voor Beleid, 2010), which seems to be 'a basis for the EC in defining adult learning professionalism' (Egetenmeyer & K€ applinger, 2011, p. 29), established seven generic and 12 specific competencies, which adult education providers should achieve at an organisational level (and individuals; general competencies at a personal level).…”

Profiling adult literacy facilitators in development contexts: An ethnographic study in Ethiopia

“…There are some studies concerned with the training (or lack of training) of facilitators (e.g. Openjuru 2002;Youngman and Singh 2005;McCaffery 2004;Diarra 2011;UIL 2012;Doyle et al 2016); with the competences they need to be effective (e.g. Lytle et al 1993;Oluoch et al 2014;Wahlgren 2016); with their sense of identity in their task (e.g.…”