Building professionalism in a knowledge society: examining discourses of knowledge in four professional associations†

†Berit Karseth and Monika Nerland have contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

This article explores how contemporary professional associations employ discourses of knowledge as a means of promoting professionalism. By analysing policy documents from the Norwegian associations for teachers, nurses, engineers and accountants, we reveal dominant knowledge discourses and discuss how they serve to position the associations in distinct ways towards practitioners, working fields and the public community. Our analysis shows that the knowledge work of the four associations is constructed quite differently, and that this is related to differences in their notions of professional knowledge, their view on standardisation and the structure of their professional field. Moreover, all associations draw on several and partly contradictory discourses. Modern professionalism depends on a reflexive management of knowledge and learning within a context of negotiation between different concerns. We particularly discuss the challenge of balancing between professional‐internal and ‐external demands.

†Berit Karseth and Monika Nerland have contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:

• Professional associations
• Professionalism
• Knowledge society
• Knowledge work
• Discourse analysis

Acknowledgements

This research was carried out as part of the project Professional Learning in a Changing Society (ProLearn), funded by The Research Council of Norway. We would like to thank Professor Karen Jensen, University of Oslo, and the reviewers for their constructive comments.

Notes

†Berit Karseth and Monika Nerland have contributed equally to this work.