Skills, professional education and the disabling university

Abstract

ABSTRACT The education and training of professionals concentrates on developing the theoretical and knowledge base of that profession and to a lesser extent on the skills with which the profession performs its tasks. Within higher education most attention is paid to theoretical knowledge; the development of skills is usually expected to occur within the practice element of professional training, e.g. articles, teaching practice, supervised fieldwork, etc. In a wide range of professions studied (law, teaching, social work, youth and community work) little attention is paid to what one can describe as non-exclusive skills and knowledge. These include the skills and knowledge necessary for: 1. (a)working in one to one situations, including interviewing; 2. (b)working in teams and other co-operative situations; 3. (c)continued learning, monitoring and evaluation; 4. (d)the organisation of one's own work; 5. (e)enabling others to learn. These non-exclusive skills are essential prerequisites to good professional practice; the lack of them leads to many of the most serious criticisms by consumers of professional services. Generally the higher education element of professional education ignores these skills. Where attention is paid to these issues, the methods used are often inappropriate; focus is on theories of practice as opposed to capacity to apply knowledge and theory. Assessment is based on ability to know and discuss, rather than ability to perceive what is necessary and to act. The assumption is made that to know about something means that one can do it in practice. The values and methods of higher education are in general inimical to these non-exclusive skills and knowledge. Unless the greatest care is taken with methods of teaching, the learning environment, course organisation and assessment, the values and skills that students acquire will unfit them for good professional practice. This is partly rectified by the practice element of professional education. However, there is no guarantee that the average or even good professional practitioner, who is usually responsible for a student's learning, can enable another's learning. It is more likely that they will utilise the inappropriate methods by which they themselves have learnt.