CA5.2 part 1 - Professions and professional values

I found Neal and Morgan (2000) a very interesting read. I was disappointed to see there were no comparisons being made to the teacher or academic training professions between the UK and Germany professionals listed. Despite the lack of academic professional status I was still able to identify with some elements which could contribute to the professionalization of elearning practitioners.

I believe the routes to professionalization identified for the UK are very relevant as an initial framework to the staged requirements to meet the professional status. Using these 7 areas below I add my own thoughts and questions in respect to being an elearning professional:

1. The occupation became full time – Should an e-learning professional be able to offer a service and does it have to be full time?

2. An articles systems was established – Do E-Learning training programmes need to be formalised and should opportunities be sought to practice and trial best practise among peers (through CoP).

3. A professional association was formed – If elearning is deemed as an extension of learning then can the professional association that support teacher training and other academic institutes (ie Institute for Learning) be used instead of creating a dedicated association?

4. Qualifying exams were introduced - Professions are governed by ethical values and national standards should these be introduced into post graduate training schemes which could lead to the necessary professional and academic grounding followed by a programme such as the MAODE?

5. Political agitation for legal protection of specifics work areas – Are additional professional bodies required in addition to those that cover the learning fraternity to set codes of practice or would self regulation work?

6. Academic routes to qualification were established in co-operation with higher education authorities – Should elearning professionals be existing graduates that pursue post graduate qualifications or can you become professional via an alternative Vocational means?

7. Rules were introduced to ensure continuous professional development (CPD) – Could CPD be achieved through the attendance of conferences and through additional research studies. Must it be a structured and recorded in an e-portfolio system similar to that offered by the Institute for Learning?

Questioning these statements has made me think more about whether elearning is just an extension of learning and therefore should the professional grouping be placed under existing teacher training associations.

Respect your views if you would care to comment..

Reference:

Neal, M. and Morgan, J. (2000) ‘The professionalization of everyone? A comparative study of the development of the professions in the United Kingdom and Germany’, European Sociological Review, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 9-26. Available from: http://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/esr/16.1.9 (acessed 5 Nov 2010).