Dual professionalism: facing the challenges of continuing professional development in the workplace?

Abstract

The diversity of reflective practices in Continuing Professional Development across different professions offers a potentially fertile ground to explore the complexities involved in both teaching and practicing reflection with the aim of maintaining and enhancing an individual’s professionalism. This paper considers the challenges facing the case of a ‘learning professional’ who enjoys a dual identity as a professional with a specialism, whilst at the same time being a professional teacher. This double professionalism raises a number of questions: how can professional teachers use reflective practice for CPD? How can they foster a commitment to CPD in the classroom? What ethical issues might arise? This paper draws on specific theoretical insights from the land use planning and educational literature concerned with the changing concepts of professionalism, and the practical requirements for CPD. Associated issues and challenges are then illustrated and discussed through experiential insights derived through self‐study as the result of active and explicit reflective practice with students in the classroom.

Notes

* The Geddes Institute, School of Town and Regional Planning, University of Dundee, Scotland. DD1 4HT. Email: [email protected]

For an alternative perspective on action research, see Gibbs (1995), for example, who explains that some commentators consider action research as nothing more than ‘organised commonsense’ and may, in the case of lecturers, simply serve in researching one’s own practice and re‐inforcing one’s own preconceptions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Deborah Peel *

* The Geddes Institute, School of Town and Regional Planning, University of Dundee, Scotland. DD1 4HT. Email: [email protected]