CSP Conference
Professionalism, Trust and Competence
The First CSP Conference in the Study of Professions
Centre for the Study of Professions (CSP), Oslo University College
Oslo, Norway, 17 – 19 June 2004
- Aim of the conference
- Keynote speakers
- Parallel sessions
- Programme
- Abstracts and papers
- Registration
- Accommodation
Aim of the conference
Professionalism is a conspicuous feature of modern societies. It is intrinsic to their problem-solving capacity and legitimacy basis. Today the conditions for professional practice are challenged. Research suggests an overall decline in trust in the professions and points to an array of factors which may challenge the path towards professional competence, e.g. fragmented identities, disintegrated learning environments and a weakened sense of social purpose.
These challenges have lead to a renewed interest in professionalism. It has been claimed that professionalism exhibits a third logic of problem-solving in modern societies besides that of the market and bureaucracy. One central feature of professionalism is the use of discretion, which means that the professionals' work cannot be measured or entirely controlled. At the same time their behaviour seriously affects the lives of people in a wide range of fields, and trust between the professionals and the society is therefore important. The professionals' work, as well as their motivation and status, depend upon recognition and approval by society: they are vulnerable to public exposure and criticism and changes in confidence patterns.
The aim of this conference is to draw together researchers within different disciplines with a common interest in the study of professions, and to discuss such issues.
Keynote Speakers
The conference will consist of both plenary and parallel sessions. Keynote speakers in the plenary sessions are:
- Professor Julia Evetts, University of Nottingham
- Professor Thomas Ziehe, University of Hannover
- Professor Michael Young, University of London
- Dr. Ellen Kuhlmann, University of Bremen
- Professor Erik Oddvar Eriksen, CSP, Oslo University College
Thomas Ziehe is Professor at the Institute of Education at the University of Hannover in Germany. Earlier he held a professorship at the University of Frankfurt/Main. He has also been awarded the title Honorary Doctor at several universities.
Professor Thomas Ziehe is a pioneer within the field of cultural theory and youth research. He has written numerous books and inspired a generation of researchers with his theories on late modernity. By weaving together lines of thought which often have been separated – social analysis, cultural theories, psychoanalysis, theories of identity etc. – he expands mainstream theories on modernity to include questions related to identity, subjectivity and the formation of the self. Changing patterns of socialisation, he argues, affect the formation the inner psychic structures of individuals, giving rise to a psychological modernisation process. In his presentation to the CSP Conference in Oslo he discusses what psychic structures or “modes of orientation characterise today’s youth and how these may play out within the field of professional education and work.
Julia Evetts is Professor and Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham, UK. Currently she is President of ISA, Research Committee 52, the Sociology of Professional Groups and co-chair of Professions Networks for the European Sociological Association (ESA).
Her research interests lie primarily in the areas of professions, occupations and work. She has done research and published books and papers on women’s and men’s careers in teaching, engineering and science, and banking, in service and industrial organisations.
Currently she is discussing the appeal and increased use of the concept of professionalism in different occupational groups, work contexts and social systems. in her presentation to the CSP Conference in Oslo she would consider how the balance between the normative and ideological elements of professionalism is played out differently in occupational groups in very different employment situations.
Michael Young is Professor Emeritus of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. From 1984 until 2000 he was Head of the Education Centre (P 16) and was appointed to a Chair in Education in 1998.
The main focus of his research interests has been on the sociology of the curriculum, with a particular reference to the post compulsory phase of schooling. During the 1990s Michael Young was involved in a range of European projects concerned with overcoming the division between academic and professional learning. His most well known book, Knowledge and Control and The Curriculum of the Future have been translated into Chinese, Portuguese and Japanese.
Most recently he has been concerned with the role of knowledge in vocational and professional education. He will be developing these ideas in his presentation to the CSP Conference in Oslo.
Ellen Kuhlmann is Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Policy Research, University of Bremen, Germany. She was trained as a nurse with specialisation in intensive cares, and received her doctoral degree on the thesis ”Professions and gender. A study of the German dental profession”. She co-ordinates a German network of gender researchers in the area of work, professions and organisations in the service sector.
Her research interests are primarily connected to the study of feminist perspectives on health professions. Her main focus is on gender and structural and ethical change in the healthcare system. She is currently contributing to a book about trust and the professions - a theme she also will pursue in her speech to the conference.
Erik Oddvar Eriksen is Professor of Political Science at ARENA (Advanced Research on the Europeanisation of the Nation-State), University of Oslo. He is Professor II at Centre for the Study of Professions, OsloUniversityCollege. Eriksen is scientific responsible for a commission funded project on Citizenship and Democratic Legitimacy in the European Union CIDEL 2002-2005.
His main research fields are political theory, democratic governance, public policy and European integration. His interest in legitimate governance has led to publications on governance and leadership, functions and limits of the state, deliberative democracy, communicative leadership, regional politics, the welfare state professions and justice (including the problem of technocracy and paternalism), democracy in the EU, Eriksen is currently addressing the tension between professionalism and democracy. Professional expertise is a precondition for democracy in complex and pluralist societies at the same time as it in fact threatens the very basis for popular self-government. He will be developing these ideas in his presentation to the CSP Conference in Oslo.
Parallel Sessions
The parallel sessions are organised in workshop-like groups.
- Detailed timetable of the parallel sessions - with instructions to paper presenters, chairs and discussants in parallel sessions (pdf-file)
1. Professionalism
We welcome papers that in various ways address the meaning of professionalism today. What is professionalism? How are professional identities formed? Have they changed over time? Do they differ, and are professional identities at all viable under modern conditions? Does professionalism really exhibit a third logic of problem-solving, besides that of the market and the bureaucracy?
2. Trust
We welcome papers that in various ways address trust between professionals and society. Is there an overall decline in trust in professionals or is it merely a question of changed trust-relations? Is there a change in power-relations between professionals and their clients, and what does that mean for trust? Modern societies become increasingly open and complex. What are the implications of more openness and transparency for the conditions of trust? What are the implications for trust of growing complexity, or of new forms of accountability and audit?
3. Professional competence and identity
We welcome papers that in various ways discuss professional competence and identity. In what does professional competence consist? How is professional competence developed in education and work? Is there a tension between the desires, attractions and modes of orientation typical of today's youth, and the demands which professional work implies? What may be done within the framework of professional education to qualify students for work of this type? Does youth culture carry a seed to the development of new commitment structures among the professions? What is the relation between the ethical and cognitive knowledge-base of professionals?
Programme
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Thursday 17 June |
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14.00-16.00 |
Registration and distribution of documentation |
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16.00-17.30 |
Opening Plenary |
Chair: Professor Karen Jensen, CSP, OUC |
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Welcome
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Professor Julia Evetts, University of Nottingham: |
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18.30-22.00 |
Welcome Cruise on the Oslofjord |
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Friday 18 June |
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9.00-10.15 |
Plenary session |
Chair: Professor Arne Mastekaasa, CSP, OUC |
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Professor Thomas Ziehe, University of Hanover: |
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Discussant: Professor Kåre Heggen, Volda University College |
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10.30-12.30 |
Parallel sessions - timetable and instructions |
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12.30-14.00 |
Lunch |
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14.00-15.15 |
Plenary session |
Chair: Professor Per Nortvedt, CSP, OUC |
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Dr. Ellen Kuhlmann, University of Bremen: |
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Discussant: Professor Harald Grimen, CSP, OUC |
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15.30-18.00 |
Parallel sessions - timetable and instructions |
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20.00 |
Dinner |
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Saturday 19 June |
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9.00-10.15 |
Plenary session |
Chair: Ass. professor Anton Havnes, OUC |
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Professor Michael Young, University of London: |
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Discussant: Professor Karen Jensen, CSP, OUC |
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10.30-11.45 |
Parallel sessions - timetable and instructions |
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12.00-12.45 |
Closing Plenary |
Chair: Professor Christer Brusling, CSP, OUC |
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Professor Erik Oddvar Eriksen, CSP, OUC: |
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13.00 |
Lunch |
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Abstracts and papers
- Accepted abstract proposals (pdf-file)
- Papers
Please submit papers to Siri.Hogseth@hio.no
Registration
Registration fees: NOK 2500
This includes a conference bag, dinner, lunches and the welcome cruise.
Unfortunately the conference is fully booked, but send us an e-mail if you wish to be put on a waiting list.
Accommodation
Here below is one hotel suggested. Special rates have been negotiated with this hotel. You are requested to contact the hotel directly to make your booking and quote the following reference number to take advantage of the special rate: GB 008. The offer ends at April 30.
Rica Holberg Hotel:
Single room with breakfast: NOK 620
Double room with breakfast: NOK 820
Tel : +(47) 23 15 72 00
Fax :+ (47) 23 15 72 01
e-mail:
rica.holberg.hotel@rica.no
The hotel is centrally located in Oslo with only 10 minutes walk to the main street (Karl Johans gate) and 5 minutes walk to the conference venue (Oslo University College). More information about this hotel
Other accommodation:
- Rent a cabin at MS Innvik - a boat down at the harbour that offers rooms at reasonable prices.
- Bed and Breakfast Vigelandspark - a loveley place not far from the college campus, by the beautiful "Vigelandspark".
- Cochs pensjonat
- Europa
- Gyldenløve