The Development of Professional Expertise

1. The Development of Professional Expertise A framework for managing and leading professional development Jan Fook School of Social Work Dalhousie University

2. What is professional expertise? • Professionalism in current contexts – challenges and difficulties: • Uncertainty and the effectiveness of professional knowledge • Challenges to professional authority/knowledge • Breakdown of hierarchies/boundaries so knowledge/expertise differences are less clear

3. What is expertise Involves a creative mix of: • Knowledge • Skills • Values/ethics • Other things!!

4. The dimensions of expertise • Knowledge (substantive) • Knowledge (procedural) • Skills • Values/ethics • Contextuality • Reflexivity • Breadth of vision • Flexibility/creativity • Use of theory • Approach • Perspective on profession

5. The dimensions in detail….. • Knowledge (substantive) – content knowledge eg. Legislation, theories of human behaviour • Knowledge (process) – knowledge about how to use substantive knowledge eg. Interpretations of legislation

6. Dimensions…cont… • Skills – practical abilities to enact procedural knowledge eg. Communicating to a service user about their legislated entitlements • Values/ethics – principles/beliefs about what is desirable/moral eg. Beliefs about a good society and relevant professional courses of action

7. Dimensions…cont…. • Contextuality – ability to see broader contexts and relationships between differing contexts eg. Historical changes in legislation and how this knowledge applies in other contexts • Reflexivity – ability to connect self with the situation eg. Ability to see understand one’s own agency/responsibility eg. The worker’s sense of discretionary ability in applying legislation

8. Dimensions…cont… • Breadth of vision – ability to see commitment in terms of broader values eg. Sense of social justice • Flexibility & creativity – ability to re/make ideas/actions eg. To change actions with new situations/information

9. Dimensions… • Use of theory – ability to use no. of theories creatively eg. Create new theories about how to apply legislation • Approach – breadth of orientation eg. Undstand own actions in the light of historical changes in legislation • Perspective on profession – identification with profession eg. Integrated idea of self in profession

10. The stages of expertise development • Pre-student • Beginner • Advanced beginner • Competent • Proficient • Experienced …………………….. • Expert

11. Refer to table for details of stages of development

12. Summary of changes… • from embedded assumptions/context-free rules …to… • Contextual rules, ability to prioritise and create

13. Summary of changes… • Personal/professional tensions to…. • Transcendence and broader values

14. Summary of changes… • domain specific and individualising to…. • Contextuality and transferability

15. Summary of changes… • passive detachment to….. • reflexivity, agency, responsibility

16. outcome-oriented to…….. • flexibility, process-oriented

17. use of personal experience to…. • create own theory from multiple sources

18. Features of expert professionals • Grounded in specific contexts • Relate to whole contexts in holistic manner • Reflexive and responsive interactors • Recognise multiple view points • prioritise • Flexible • use range of skills, with range of different players, at different levels • Create knowledge and use it creatively • Transfer knowledge • Transcend with broader vision • Adaptable to uncertainty and change

19. Issues for professional development • Importance of: • Strengthening values and professional commitment • Broadening perspectives and learning contextual awareness • Agency and responsibility (empowerment) • Learning skills of theory and knowledge creation

20. Strategies • Creating the conditions for: • staged learning in context • different types of learning (in/formal; different methods) • Uses of critical reflection for: exposing embedded assumptions; values clarification; prioritising; empowerment; theory creation • Joint responsibilities: individuals, organisations, partnerships with HEI’s and professional associations

21. Reference • J. Fook, M. Ryan & L. Hawkins (2000) Professional Expertise: Practice, Theory and Education for Workingin Uncertainty, Whitig & Birch, London