A New Professionalism for a Collaborative Culture of Organizational Learning in Contemporary Society

Abstract

The purpose of this article is critically to evaluate the notion of professionalism in the contemporary context and to suggest a way forward which will enhance the ‘learning capability’ of institutions in whicheducational professionals work. The characteristics of what are shown to be‘new times’ will be briefly summarized and a case made for a particular reinterpretation of professionalism in the light of these new circumstances. Crucial to the practice of a new professionalism will be an emphasis in institutions on democratic collaborationas a basis for rational communication in the context of uncertainty which characterizes ‘new times’. The discussion focuses on bureaucraticconstraints on such a collaborative model and on the operation of disciplinary power(Foucault) in institutions. Reformswhich aim to foster collaborative cultures, such as the National Curriculumand the school effectiveness/school improvement movement, often conceal theextent to which disciplinary power remains dominant. Professionals need to be more sensitive towards the role of power in the construction of selves and in their understanding of their own expertise in this regard.