The evolution of professionalism - Centre for Policy Studies in ...

The Context
The history of teaching in Canada has been profoundly infl uenced by changes
in the role of the Canadian state. The introduction of social welfare legislation
based on Keynesian economics, was mirrored in social policy as the state took an
active, interventionist role in the supply and training of teachers. The inclusion of
education and all teacher education in the university curriculum has been informed
by a broader structural societal trend toward professionalization and utilitarianism.
The liberal concept of education has, in one sense, been surpassed by the advance of
a culture of professionalism in Canadian universities and by the professionalization
of Canadian society.
As in other industrialized societies, the aristocratic ideal of civility has been
overtaken by the professional ideal, which according to Perkin is
based on trained expertise and selection by merit...[emphasizing] human capital
rather than passive or active property, highly skilled and differentiated labour
rather than the simple labour theory of value, and selection by merit defi ned as
trained and certifi ed expertise (Perkin 1989, 4).
The predominance of this ideal in modern society is clearly linked to the emergence
of the interventionist state and its emphasis on the public good. By the late 1960s,
education had become a central legitimating institution in the modern Canadian state.
As in many other countries, education in Canada has been shaped by a reformist
trend toward the professionalization of teaching. This policy trend addresses
the training of school agents, 2 as well as the basic knowledge and competencies
inherent in their work and their professional identity. The creation of professional
colleges of teachers in British Columbia (1986) and Ontario (1996) are in line with
this movement. Similar initiatives in other provinces (Alberta, New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia) have been aimed at raising the standards in teacher-training and
better control its quality through the defi nition of standards for training and practice
(CMEC 2003). This professionalization of teaching goes beyond the training and
education of school agents. This is the key issue when it comes to defi ning the place
of these agents in school and society.
Professionalization is regarded as a process of negotiation among the different
groups and organizations that share power (economic, organizational, political, and
symbolic) and have access to different forms of capital in the fi eld of education
(Bourdieu, 1969 and 1988). As governments have limited the size of the public
space in Canadian society, so necessarily the ideals of professionalism have come
under attack. The discourse of professionalism has in some respects been co-opted
by the state and transformed into government by norms. While professing to support
professionalization, the substitution of credentials for professional practice serves
to undermine professionalism.
The ideology of professionalism places merit and expertise at the centre of an
equation connecting individuals into appropriate vocational slots (Bledstein 1976;
Friedson, 1986; Clark 1987; Perkin 1989). A central and defi ning characteristic
of professions in modern society has traditionally been their high level of relative
autonomy. Professionals are expected to make decisions and come to judgements
based on their command of a particular body of theoretically based knowledge. The
2 Introduction