Four elements of the context of professional practice influence continuing professional education: professional allegiance, nature of professional work, narratives in organizational culture, and level of independence and autonomy. Individual agency and positionality (sociocultural background) should also be considered. (Contains 14 references.)…

The vision of continuing professional education should be reframed to place development of expertise and improvement of professional practice at the core. Providers would offer market-driven services that include education, evaluation, and consultation. (SK)

An expanded model of learning upon which to base continuing professional education views knowledge as the social construction of information through constructivist and transformative learning. The model also depicts the effect of context on the process. Providers must change their mindset and become active facilitators of knowledge construction.…

Interviews with 80 social workers, lawyers, adult educators, and nurses who had participated in continuing education suggested that professionals made meaning as they moved between continuing education and professional practice. Each profession framed meaning making through understanding of the nature of its professional work. (Contains 42…