Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the problems of applying competence standards to professional-level work, noting limitations in functional approaches and drawing on developments in professions and on a recent Erasmus+ project to propose a more adequate alternative. Design/methodology/approach: An approach to describing competence…

Within the discourse about the professionalisation of adult and continuing education, an extensive discussion about how adult and continuing education can become a profession has taken place. Based on 'classic professionalisation theories', which are guided by the concept of 'traditional professionals', this discussion was about the fulfilment of…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to an understanding of how individual characteristics and perceived contextual conditions shape reflection in professional work, particularly in workplaces that provide a variety of work experiences related to changes. The authors examine the effects of personal initiative, self-efficacy and perceived…

Between the turn of the twentieth century and the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision in 1954, the way that American schools taught about "race" changed dramatically. This transformation was engineered by the nation's most prominent anthropologists, including Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead, during World War II.…

Interviews with 14 human resource development practitioners who worked in German companies and 15 Germans working in U.S. divisions of German companies revealed that German curricula are more narrowly focused, U.S. managers receive more management training, and career and organizational development have no clear role in German companies. (SK)

Reviews the social impact of Burton J. Bledstein's 1976 book, "The Culture of Professionalism," on public attitudes about the social role of universities. Asserts that Bledstein's major contribution was to raise critical questions about the functions of the modern university and the relationship between knowledge and power. (CFR)

The success of German firms' searches for qualified personnel to fill openings in skilled occupations was examined through a statistical analysis of data from the Institut fur Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung der Bundesanstalt fur Arbeit's (IAB) establishment panel for 2000. An employer search model was used to explain the current German debate…

Profiles the reeducation and denazification efforts aimed at the training of doctors, lawyers, teachers, and engineers. The efforts espoused few radical innovations and generally supported a return to the well-regarded conditions of the Weimar Republic. These efforts laid the foundation for later reforms in the 1960s. (MJP)