Abstract
Many different constituencies have an interest in professional education. These constituents include government (as a surrogate for society) and government agencies, employers, members of the profession, clients of the profession, students and staff of tertiary education institutions, professional associations, and regulatory and statutory bodies. The interests may be sufficiently different that the interaction between the constituencies is complex and tense.
The interaction between government agencies and the professional schools in tertiary institutions is largely mediated through professional, regulatory and statutory bodies, and may take the form of general political accountability or an explicit contractual relationship.
This interaction is analysed, and its effect on the curricula of professional programmes is discussed. A survey of such bodies in New Zealand investigated their view of their interaction with tertiary institutions. The results of the survey are compared with similar surveys conducted in Australia, the UK and the USA, and some principles of good practice identified.