An integrated professionalism in further education: a time for phronesis?

Plowright, David; Barr, Glenn

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the role taken by the Institute for Learning (IfL) in England to promote the nature of professionalism in the lifelong learning sector. It raises the possibility that the decisions taken by the IfL, since its inception in 2002, are leading to the de-professionalisation of teachers. It is argued that what is now needed is a new professionalism that is driven by the practice of phronesis: wise practical reasoning, based on judgement and wisdom, and that accords with the centrality of context and the reflective nature of the activity of teaching. It will be informed by values that enable practitioners to mediate the confrontational forces of managerialism which might otherwise threaten to undermine their professionalism.

Citation

Plowright, D., & Barr, G. (2012). An integrated professionalism in further education: a time for phronesis?. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 36(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2011.590584

• Publication Date: 2012-02
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Journal: Journal of further and higher education
• Print ISSN: 0309-877X
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9486
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-16
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2011.590584
• Keywords: Phronesis, Professionalism, Further education, Autonomy, Transcendent values
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/468646
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0309877X.2011.590584
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of further and higher education on 22nd September 2011, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/0309877X.2011.590584