Continuing Professional Education Models

by Bizhan Nasseh

INTRODUCTION

     Information explosion, changing nature of knowledge, increasing organizational complexity, remaining competitive, public demand for better service and accountability, compulsory relicensure, advancement of technologies, and changes in governmental regulations are some of the reasons for believing education is no longer a stage of human development; it has become a life-long activity. We should look at professionals as consumers of education; their life-long learning status is very important for society and professions.

     Continuing education for professions as a field of educational practice is young and under development. Many of the concepts, theories, and practice procedures are from the models of professional education in the universities. That professionals continue their education is a responsibility of most institutions of higher education; most of them, however, neglect this part of their responsibility. More involved groups, such as professional associations, employers, and providers, may have knowledge of professional practice and work setting, but they lack understanding of educational processes and current research. Two major associations of adult educators (National University Continuing Education Association and American Association for Adult and Continuing Education) have specialized division devoted to continuing professional education. I think the field of continuing professional education needs more than divisions in order to direct and lead the vital activities in this field.

     Nowlen (1988) described three curriculum development models of continuing professional education--all of them can be beneficial models from a range of perspectives. In the following sections, I will introduce each of these models with its weaknesses, strengths, example of context, and rationale for justification. I will also discuss main related issues in the conclusion section with a pictorial presentation of the models.

1. Update Model

     In very simple terms, it means people who know something teach it to those who do not know it in two or three days of intensive short courses. These instructional systems are heavily didactic. The course content is dominated by informational update and is conducted by a single instructor who lectures in a formal setting. These heavily didactic short courses pursue the central aim of keeping professionals up to date in their practice. The emphasis on problem solving, as opposed to problem definition, is a natural consequence of the positivist model of knowledge. The process of problem definition is filled with uncertainly and uniqueness. The update model, represents the first generation of continuing education for professionals in the 1950s. In figure one, I try to show the update model, a less complex and popular environment from 1950s.

Weaknesses

1. In this model the main emphasis is on problem solving as opposed to problem definition. The value of extraordinary knowledge and experiences of professionals is directly related to problem definition (not problem solving) because the definition of the problem is full of uncertainty, uniqueness, and conflict dimensions.
2. The update model serves each profession separately through its individual knowledge base. It means separate approaches are required with each profession without attention to common needs and common relations of professions.
3. Being up to date does not guarantee the patients, clients, or customers will be better off. We should not forget that the main reason for continuing professional education is to provide higher levels of services for society.
4. The update model ignores problem setting, the process by which it defines the decision to be made, ends to be achieved, and means which may be chosen.
5. Being up to date is only one aspect of the relationship of knowledge and skill to competence.
6. The update model rarely addresses competence-related aptitudes and strengths, such as interpersonal skill and motivation, or events and personal weakness that impair competence.
   

Strengths

1. The update model provides practicing professionals with a level of knowledge comparable to those professionals graduating from professional schools. In other words, it closes the gap created by changes in technology, science, and skills between these two generations of professionals.
2. In the first 60 years of this century, professional schools' curricula were matrices reflecting few knowledge and skill specialties and few generic settings of practice (Nowlen, 1988). Nowlen's description of specialties is an indication of the effectiveness of the update model for that period of time.
3. Being up to date is one important aspect of the relationship between knowledge and skill.

Example and Context

     Educom announced a three day international conference from January 23 to 26, 1995 in Orlando, Florida. The title of the conference is "Computers in Higher Education". The developed curricula are based on two hours session, with offering four separate sessions the same time. These sessions are dominated with lectures and presentations (audio and video). These heavily didactic short sessions are designed to provide professionals in higher education with new ideas and concepts in using computers in the classroom. Over 3,000 national and international professionals participated in these three-day intensive conference. It was wonderful informative sessions without solving any particular problem or need. The conference addressed many current issues in utilization of computers in the classroom. Participants returned to their organizations with some up to date information.

     These few days sessions are very effective for understanding the new issues and possibilities in higher education. It also provides opportunities for professionals to be current about work of some of the pioneers in the field. But, keeping professionals up to date is a mean not an end. Also, process of problem definition in each higher education institute is filled with uniqueness, uncertainty, and value conflict. Being up to date does not guarantee a higher level of competency and performance by professionals. Validity of curriculum developed in the update model does not measured by new competency of professionals after three days of participation. I do not think learning new competency or measurement of competency is any part of the curriculum development in the update model.

2. Competence Model

     By changing in context of practices, generation of new practices, and transformation of some professions, many efforts in the professional environment have begun to focus on competence. Employers, professional associations, courts, and higher education have all taken a serious interest in developing standards, evaluation, certification and recertification, licensure and relicensure, and planning for long-term continuing education and re-evaluation of professional school curricula. The competence model represents the second generation of continuing education for professionals in the 1980s. This model has been a creative response to increasingly complex challenges faced by professionals. In figure two, I try to show the competence model, a complex environment from 1980s.

Weaknesses

1. The major setback in competence model is its implicit assumption that performance is entirely an individual affair that leads the model logically. Even in models that are sensitive to organizational context of professional activity, it is individual competence that is at the center of the inquiry.
2. The competence model fails to identify competence in personal affairs as job related, and yet absence of knowledge, skill, and maturity in managing private lives.
3. A serious conceptual flaw in the model is related to the lack of addressing weakness, demerit, and impairment in practice by competence model research. These issues are included in the definition of competence.
4. This model does not include the relationship of individuals with others in organizational setting: ensemble of peers, subordinates, supervisor, and culture.

Strengths

1. This model does not assume that prescriptions of professional- school education are descriptions of practice any more than it assumes that continuing education needs of practitioners are extensions of lines of inquiry pursued in professional school.
2. The competence model assumes competence required by practice can be improved by advancement, experiences, and technology changes.
3. The model deals with contexts of practice, both with changes and multiplied. It also evaluates professions that have undergone transformation.
4. The competence of professionals to provide new ways of service was the main objective of this model which was missing from the previous model.
5. The model introduced practice audit and job function analysis-- this was a strong reason for continuing professional education for professions.
6. It calls not only for updates in professional school basic knowledge and skills, but also for education derived from pluralistic sources (continuing education for professions) found useful in assuming competence required by what professionals actually do for a living (Cevero, Azzaretto, 1988).

Example and content

Example One

Example Two

3. Performance Model

     This model goes beyond the individual to consider the context of performance. It looks at the group as a major influence in performance. Finally, performance model is based on the act of performing a job efficiently, skillfully, and completely.

Weaknesses

1. This model has created all expectations for the ultimate performance of professions without covering details and standard procedures for accomplishment of goals.
2. The model has made expectations of new roles for continuing education for professions. These roles are additional and not replacement roles, but providers, institutions, professional associations, and educators are not in the same direction.
3. The model is too complex and too costly to implement.
4. The model needs great collaboration from different parties, even within the same organization.

Strengths

1. The model enabled professionals to review and understand all the factors which can have a major influence on their performance.
2. The model sees performance as an interactive phenomenon involving more than one professional and often involving several specialties and occupations as well as client.
3. The model enabled continuing educators to help individual professionals by reviewing all major influences on their performance.
4. The model introduced performance as a function of both the individual and assemblies and it is the result of the interaction of social and personal influences. It also recognized that being a professional is an unceasing movement toward a new level of performance.

Discussion

     As Houle and Schon said, "when new level of performances are achieved, they seem inadequate because better levels of possible performance come into view." Very simply, the professionals, environment, and clients' expectation are evolving and changing. The teacher who entered higher education institute 20 years ago is not the same person today. The practice of teaching and learning today is significantly different from what it was 20 years ago. Constant changes bring the necessity of being life-long learners for professionals. Design of a performance model is very difficult and expensive. It also requires major support and time commitment by organizations, professional associations, clients, peers, and continuing professional education provider.

Example

     Design of performance model like a good music depends on contribution of many players, audiences, environment, and organization. There are so many immediate needs for improvement which curriculums in competence model are more practical than performance model. With help of technology, we should continue our research in finding a less time consuming and inexpensive way of development of curriculum in performance model.

Conclusion

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