The Education of Professionals Research Proposal

The Education of Professionals - Research Proposal Example According to Hall [(1968) as cited by Fertig (2003)], professionalism can be associated with the performance of the professional in his or her most individual capacity. Hall (1968) identified the role of the professional academic as embodying a belief in serving the public and a sense of autonomy and commitment towards his or her respective profession. This view is also shared by Engel (1970) who regarded professionalism amongst academics as focussing on individuality in the actions and the decision-making process. Exworthy & Halford (1999) have stressed the impact of tighter accountability control within Higher Education particularly for the professionals within the HE sector in order to achieve efficiency [as cited by Fertig (2003)]. In this vein, this paper explores how this has affected the concept of professionalism in Higher Education. The Changing Meaning of Professionals and Professionalism It is true to a large extent that the modern notions of professionals and professionalism have changed considerably due to the changing notions of these concepts over time. As stated in Fertig (2003), Robson (1998) and Harper (2000) share the view that there is a pronounced trend of professional management within the Higher Education sector in England where a distinction can be drawn with and the 'professional' paradigms There is also a pronounced trend of specialization within the professions which is reflected in the way the modern courses and teaching are structured.. This is demonstrated by Koehn (1994:150) for whom professional ethics are â€Å"an institutionalized expression of prevailing public morality†. Abbott (1988) has argued that professionalism and higher professional education share a deep bond. Ethics and Professionalism The problem of ethics within the education of the professions comes in where there is a problem of â€Å"specialization† providing the ability to ask for high fees and higher rewards which some academics have sought to pacify as necessary for the public interest (Abbott, 1988).