Professionalism: Value and ideology

Abstract

Professionalism is a key concept in the sociologies of work, occupations, professions and organizations. But professionalism is changing and being changed. The article considers the different ways in which professionalism has been and is currently being interpreted. Beginning with a section on defining the field and clarifying concepts, the second section examines the concept of professionalism, its history and current developments. The third section considers the consequences of changes in work contexts and employment conditions for aspects of professionalism both as an occupational value and as an ideology in the global world. KeywordsDiscourse, ideology, occupational value, professionalism For a long time, the sociological analysis of professional work has differentiated professionalism as a special means of organizing work and controlling workers and in contrast to the hierarchical, bureaucratic and managerial controls of industrial and commercial organizations. But professional work is changing and being changed as increasingly professionals (such as doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers) now work in employing organizations; lawyers and accountants in large professional service firms (PSFs) and sometimes in international and commercial organizations; pharmacists in national (retailing) companies; and engineers, journalists, performing artists, the armed forces and police find occupational control of their work and discretionary decision-making increasingly difficult to maintain and sustain (Adler et al.

Leadership for professional development and learning: enhancing our understanding of how teachers develop

“…Gewirtz et al's (2009, p. 3) arguing for the 'need to work with plural conceptions of professionalism' reflects a widely acknowledged lack of consensus over its meaning. A range of views (Evetts, 2013;Freidson, 2001;Gewirtz et al, 2009;Nixon, 2001;Nooredegraf, 2007;Ozga, 1995;Troman, 1996) represent professionalism variously as, inter alia: a form of occupational control; a socially constructed and dynamic entity; a mode of social coordination; the application of knowledge to specific cases; the use of knowledge as social capital; a normative values system that incorporates consideration of standards, ethics, and quality of service; the basis of the relationship between professionals and their clients or publics; a source of specific identity/ies; and a basis and determinant of social and professional status and power. To these I add my own definition of professionalism as: work practice that is consistent with commonly-held consensual delineations of a specific profession or occupation and that both contributes to and reflects perceptions of the profession's or occupation's purpose and status and the specific nature, range and levels of service provided by, and expertise prevalent within, the profession or occupation, as well as the general ethical code underpinning this practice (Evans, 2008, p. 29).…”

The Struggle for Teacher Professionalism in a Mandated Literacy Curriculum

“…Researchers have viewed the term profession as an occupation (Evetts, 2013;Hughes, 1958), while others avoid defining the term and instead "offer a list of relevant occupational groups" (Evetts, 2013, p. 4). Evetts (2013) defined the concept of profession as a "distinct and generic category of occupational work" (p. 4) but added that most researchers consider a profession to be the knowledge-based aspect of service occupations. Many academics have "debated whether teaching is a profession or a semi-profession, whether it is an art, a craft or a science" (Talbert & McLaughlin, 1996, p. 129).…”

“…Professionalization, as discussed in the introduction to this section, is often erroneously used interchangeably with professionalism. In fact, professionalization is a related term which refers to the specific aspects of the status of teachers as professionals, including issues related to professionalization such as salary, status, and power (Evetts, 2013;Hargreaves, 2000). Doyle (1986) defined a professional as "the master of a discipline and its interpreter" (p. 7).…”

Os despachantes documentalistas na era do profissionalismo organizacional

“…Por outro lado, o profissionalismo como discurso -e seu desdobramento no profissionalismo organizacional (Evetts, 2013) -desempenha principalmente o papel oposto do profissionalismo como valor normativo: não unifica o grupo, fragilizando-o diante dos segmentos de elite que articulam visões críticas a tal ideário, na perspectiva de gerar práticas sujeitas ao controle das cúpulas das organizações privadas e dos órgãos públicos. A força do profissionalismo organizacional vem de cima e de fora do campo das profissões: seu poder origina-se no âmbito da política ou da esfera econômica e social.…”

“…Teoricamente, três enfoques analíticos foram mobilizados na construção do argumento: a definição de profissão segundo Saks (2012), que se centra nas lutas por monopólios em vez de domínio de expertise; a vertente discursiva do profissionalismo organizacional, conceituada por Evetts (2013) e Muzio e Kirkpatrick (2011); e os conceitos de trabalho sujo e instituições bastardas, aprofundados na obra de Hughes (1984).…”