Professional development, also known as professional education, is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing praxis in addition to the transferable skills and theoretical academic knowledge found in traditional liberal arts and pure sciences education. It is used to earn or maintain professional credentials such as professional certifications or academic degrees through formal coursework at institutions known as professional schools, or attending conferences and informal learning opportunities to strengthen or gain new skills.[1][2]

Professional education has been described as intensive and collaborative, ideally incorporating an evaluative stage.[1] There is a variety of approaches to professional development or professional education, including consultation, coaching, communities of practice, lesson study, case study, capstone project, mentoring, reflective supervision and technical assistance.[3]

Participants

A wide variety of people, such as teachers, military officers and non-commissioned officers, health care professionals, architects, lawyers, accountants and engineers engage in professional development. Individuals may participate in professional development because of an interest in lifelong learning, a sense of moral obligation, to maintain and improve professional competence, to enhance career progression, to keep abreast of new technology and practices, or to comply with professional regulatory requirements.[4][5] In the training of school staff in the United States, "[t]he need for professional development ... came to the forefront in the 1960s".[6] Many American states have professional development requirements for school teachers. For example, Arkansas teachers must complete 60 hours of documented professional development activities annually.[7] Professional development credits are named differently from state to state. For example, teachers in Indiana are required to earn 90 Continuing Renewal Units (CRUs) per year;[8] in Massachusetts, teachers need 150 Professional Development Points (PDPs);[9] and in Georgia, teachers must earn 10 Professional Learning Units (PLUs).[10] American and Canadian nurses, as well as those in the United Kingdom, have to participate in formal and informal professional development (earning credit based on attendance of education that has been accredited by a regulatory agency) in order to maintain professional registration.[11][12][13]

Professional school

A professional school is a constituent college, academic department, or university program that prepares students, through praxis, for careers in specific fields. Most professional schools are chiefly but not exclusively graduate school level institution, while in some cases universities at the undergraduate level, especially at research universities where research, graduate, and undergraduate faculty overlap and/or have close cooperation with each other, may have a professional development emphasis in their education programs.

Examples of this type of school include: architecture school, business school, divinity school, engineering school, journalism school, law school, library school, schools of education (normal school), public policy school, applied science programs, and social work school. The field of healthcare has many professional schools, including medical school, chiropractic school, dental school, pharmacy school, physician assistant school, physiotherapy school, podiatric medical school, public health school (professional degrees of public health), speech–language pathology school, occupational therapy school, nursing school, veterinary school and optometry school. Most professional schools confer professional degrees although not all degree programs at professional schools are considered professional degrees because, professional degrees, in addition to standard first-level academic accreditation requirements conferred by a regional accreditation body, have to go through secondary or tertiary institutional or program accreditation procedures specifically designated by professional associations of industry experts.

Approaches

In a broad sense, professional development may include formal types of vocational education, typically post-secondary or poly-technical training leading to qualification or credential required to obtain or retain employment. Professional development may also come in the form of pre-service or in-service professional development programs. These programs may be formal, or informal, group or individualized. Individuals may pursue professional development independently, or programs may be offered by human resource departments. Professional development on the job may develop or enhance process skills, sometimes referred to as leadership skills, as well as task skills. Some examples for process skills are 'effectiveness skills', 'team functioning skills', and 'systems thinking skills'.[14][15]

Professional development opportunities can range from a single workshop to a semester-long academic course, to services offered by a medley of different professional development providers and varying widely with respect to the philosophy, content, and format of the learning experiences. Some examples of approaches to professional development include:[3]

  • Case Study Method – The case method is a teaching approach that consists in presenting the students with a case, putting them in the role of a decision maker facing a problem (Hammond 1976) – See Case method.
  • Consultation – to assist an individual or group of individuals to clarify and address immediate concerns by following a systematic problem-solving process.
  • Coaching – to enhance a person’s competencies in a specific skill area by providing a process of observation, reflection, and action.
  • Communities of Practice – to improve professional practice by engaging in shared inquiry and learning with people who have a common goal
  • Lesson Study – to solve practical dilemmas related to intervention or instruction through participation with other professionals in systematically examining practice
  • Mentoring – to promote an individual's awareness and refinement of his or her own professional development by providing and recommending structured opportunities for reflection and observation
  • Reflective Supervision – to support, develop, and ultimately evaluate the performance of employees through a process of inquiry that encourages their understanding and articulation of the rationale for their own practices
  • Technical Assistance – to assist individuals and their organization to improve by offering resources and information, supporting networking and change efforts.

The World Bank's 2019 World Development Report on the future of work [16] argues that professional development opportunities for those both in and out of work, such as flexible learning opportunities at universities and adult learning programs, enable labor markets to adjust to the future of work.

Initial

Initial professional development (IPD) is defined as "a period of development during which an individual acquires a level of competence necessary in order to operate as an autonomous professional".[17] Professional associations may recognise the successful completion of IPD by the award of chartered or similar status. Examples of professional bodies that require IPD prior to the award of professional status are the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications,[18] the Institution of Structural Engineers,[19] and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.[20]

Continuing

Continuing professional development (CPD) or continuing professional education (CPE) is continuing education to maintain knowledge and skills. Most professions have CPD obligations. Examples are the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors,[21] American Academy of Financial Management,[22] safety professionals with the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM)[23] or the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH),[24] and medical and legal professionals, who are subject to continuing medical education or continuing legal education requirements, which vary by jurisdiction.

CPD authorities in the United Kingdom include the CPD Standards Office[25] who work in partnership with the CPD Institute,[26] and also the CPD Certification Service.[27] For example, CPD by the Institute of Highway Engineers is approved by the CPD Standards Office,[28] and CPD by the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation is approved by the CPD Certification Service.[29]

A systematic review published in 2019 by the Campbell Collaboration found little evidence of the effectiveness of continuing professional development (CPD).[30]

See also

  • Apprenticeship – System for training new crafts-people
  • Career – Individual's journey through learning, work, and other aspects of life
  • Core competency – Management concept of identifying the basis of competitiveness in an industry
  • Induction training – A form of introduction to an organisation for new employees
  • Licensure – Form of government regulation on professions or vocations for compensation
  • Mentor – Guidance relationship
  • Organizational dissent – expression of disagreement or contradictory opinions about organizational practices and policies
  • Reflective practice – Ability to reflect on one's actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning
  • Training and development – Improving the effectiveness of organizations and the individuals and teams within them
  • Vocational education – Studies that prepares a person for a specific occupation
  • Arete (moral virtue) – Greek philosophical concept related to Telos, ultimate achievement; fulfillment of purpose
  • SWOT analysis – Business planning and analysis technique

References

  1. 1 2 Speck, M. & Knipe, C. (2005) Why can't we get it right? Designing high-quality professional development for standards-based schools(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press
  2. ↑ Summer, Gail (2006-01-01). "Professional Education/Liberal Arts Education: Not a Case of Either-Or but Both-And". Intersections. 2006 (24). Available at: http://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/intersections/vol2006/iss24/6
  3. 1 2 National Professional Development Center on Inclusion. (2008). "What do we mean by professional development in the early childhood field?" Archived 2018-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute.
  4. ↑ Golding, L. & Gray, I. (2006).Continuing professional development for clinical psychologists:A practical handbook. The British Psychological Society. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
  5. ↑ Jasper, M. (2006).Professional development, reflection, and decision-making. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
  6. ↑ Murphy-Latta, Terry (2008). A Comparative Study of Professional Development Utilizing the Missouri Commissioner's Award of Excellence and Indicators of Student Achievement. p. 19. ISBN 9780549489900. Retrieved 2013-08-12. Throughout the history of American education, numerous theories and issues have been emphasized as important factors in teaching and learning. The need for professional development for school staff came to the forefront in the 1960s.
  7. ↑ "Professional Development and Renewal of Standard Teaching License". ArkansasEd.org. Arkansas Department of Education. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009.
  8. ↑ "Indiana Certification Renewal | Find Out How to Renew Indiana Teaching Certificates on". Teacher-world.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  9. ↑ "Recertification Q and A - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education". Doe.mass.edu. 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  10. ↑ "Georgia Teacher Certification Information - Georgia PLU's Resources Online - GA Teaching License Resources". Teachersprofessionallearningunits.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  11. ↑ "Continuing Competence". College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba. April 2004. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008.
  12. ↑ "Continuing Education". North Dakota Board of Nursing. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009.
  13. ↑ "The Nursing and Midwifery Council | Nursing and Midwifery Council". Nmc-uk.org. 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  14. ↑ Garet, M. S.; Porter, A. C; Desimone, L.; Birman, B. F; Yoon, K. S. (1 January 2001). "What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers". American Educational Research Journal. 38 (4): 915–945. doi:10.3102/00028312038004915. S2CID 14682751.
  15. ↑ "Connecting Coaches to Corporates". twofold.asia. Archived from the original on 24 June 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  16. ↑ World Bank World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work.
  17. ↑ The UK Initial Professional Development (IPD) Forum http://www.littlerichley.eclipse.co.uk/ukipdforum/
  18. ↑ "Initial Professional Development (IPD)". The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Initial Professional Development". The Institution of Structural Engineers. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Membership: About membership: Professional development: About IPD". (IOSH). Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "About RCIS: What we do: Continuing professional development (CPD)". Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "GAFM ® Certified Financial Analyst Certification Risk Certified Financial Planner Books GAFM ® - AFA Accredited Financial Analyst ® Certification - AMA Accredited Management Accountant ® - MMC Master Management Consultant ® Chartered Economist - Continuing Ed". www.financialanalyst.org.
  23. ↑ "IIRSM | Become a Member | Membership Levels". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  24. ↑ "Membership: About membership: Professional development: About CPD". (IOSH). Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  25. ↑ "CPD Standards Office". Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  26. ↑ "CPD Institute". Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  27. ↑ "CPD Certification Service". Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Institute of Highway Engineers". cpdstandards.com. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  29. ↑ "CPD in the Construction Sector". cpduk.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2022. Click on 'Professional Bodies'
  30. ↑ Filges, T, Torgerson, C, Gascoine, L, Dietrichson, J, Nielsen, C, Viinholt, BA. Effectiveness of continuing professional development training of welfare professionals on outcomes for children and young people: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2019; 15:e1060. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1060
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