Download - Professionalization of Project Management

I TO MAP THE FUTURE

Project Management Institute

TO MAP THE FUTURE

Dr. Bill L. Zwerrnan, PhD, MA, BA Professor, Department o f Sociology, University o f Cakary

Dr. Janice L. Thomas, PhD, MBA, BSc Program Director, M B A in Project Management

Centre for Innovative Management, Athabasca University A4urut Profasur, Project M a q m t Speaalization, University o f Cakaty

Susan Haydt, MA, BA Research Assistant

with the assistance of:

Terry A. Williams, MCS, BA Research Assistant

iii

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Zwerman, William L. Professionalization of project management: exploring the past to map the

futurelprincipal investigator, Bill L. Zwerman with Janice Thomas; Susan Haydt, Terry A. Williams, research assistant.

p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-930699-06-9 (paperback]

1. Project management- Standards. 2. Project management- Licenses. 3. Project management-Research. 4. Professional practice. 5. Occupational surveys. 1. Thomas, Janice, 1959- 11. Project Man- agement Institute. HI. Title

ISBN 13: 978-1-930699-06-9 ISBN 10: 1-930699-06-9

Published by: Project Management Institute, Inc. Four Campus Boulevard Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073-3299 USA. Phone: + 610-356-4600 Fax: + 610-356-4647 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.pmi.org

02004 Project Management Institute, h c . All nghts reserved. "PMI", the PMI logo, "PMP", the PMP logo, "PMBOK", "Project Management Journal", "PM Network", and the PMI Today logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of PMI marks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

PMI Publications welcomes corrections and comments on its books. Please feel free to send comments on typographical, formatting, or other errors. Simply make a copy of the relevant page of the book, mark the error, and send it to: Book Editor, PMI Publications, Four Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA

PMI books are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs, as well as other educational programs. For more information, please write to Bookstore Adminis- trator, PMI Publications, Four Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, PA 19073- 3299 USA, or e-mail: [email protected]. Or contact your local bookstore.

Printed in the United States of America. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, manual, photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (239.48-1984).

1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Acknowledgments

I T his research report was made possible by the strong vision of the Project Management Institute (PMIm), the world's leading

not-for-profit project management professional association, in order to advance research in project management.

We particularly want to acknowledge the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation for providing funding to launch this project.

We are also deeply indebted to PMI for project support, as well as the PMI Research Program Member Advisory Group (RMAG) for their guidance. In particular, the authors value the opportunity to have worked with key people at PMI who are driving project management research forward: Dr. Harry Stefanou, PMI Research Manager during the execution of this project; members of the RMAG; and Eva Goldrnan, PMI Research Associate.

We are also.gratefu1 to the practitioners, consultants, and executives, as well as the academic community, for their contributions, interest and support. For all who helped us ground this research by providing resources, granting interviews, answering surveys, attend- ing lectures and offering questions, critiques and confirmations, thank you for the time, ideas, and support. We also sincerely thank our universities for the support they provided to us for this research (Athabasca University and the University of Calgary).

We have looked intently at the study results and selected what is believed to be the most useful information for readers. These results have been presented to audiences around the world, who reinforced interest in the topic and the authors' belief in the value of what has been accomplished. However, the true value of this study, as with all research, comes ultimately from the ideas and discussions it generates amongst those who read it. The readers are the people who will judge this work and determine its value, both in practice and in theory.

As researchers know, work of this nature is truly a labor of love. We have worked diligently and enthusiastically over the last two years to conduct this research, learning much more about topics than we are able to enumerate here, and overcoming many challenges. In

the process, we have built a strong research team that we value highly.

For those who supported us behind the scenes, we thank you for your patience, support and love. We could not have done this research without your help.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v

Tables and Figures ix

Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Study Background 3

Research Objectives 3 Research Questions 3 Research Approach 4

Team Structure and Management Process 4 Researchers and Their Background 4 Timing 6 Deliverables 6 Report Structure 6

Chapter 2: Theoretical Foundation 9 The Sociological Study of Professions 10

Definitions: Occupation, Profession, Professional 11 The Traits of a Profession 1 1 The Process of Professionalization 13

Power and the Professions 14 Exploring the Professionalization Journey 18

Theory and Methods 19 Strategies of Professionalization by Occupation 21

Issues in Relation to Professionalization 22 In Summary 34 Lessons Learned, Questions Raised and Implications for Project Management 34

Chapter 3: Study Methodology 37 Research Design Overview 37

Web Site Survey Methodology 38 Sampling and Data Analysis 38 Notes About Web Site Citations 40

Online Survey Methodology 40 Sampling Frame 40 Survey Structure 42 Survey Logistics 42

Conclusions 43

vii

Chapter 4: Findings from Nursing Web Site Survey 45 Scope of Practice Issues 46

Protection from Semi-Professional Invasion 46 Role Expansion 49

Registration/Licensing Issues 54 Monopoly over Title 55 Education and Accreditation Strategies in Nursing 57

Raising Minimum Education Requirements 57 Continued Education/Continued Competence 60 Accreditation 62

Tensions with Bureaucracy/Employer 63 Issues Surrounding the Body of Knowledge 69

The Theory Base and Research 69 Standardized Nursing Language 71

Professional Associations: Innovation in Structures 72 The Switch to a College Model 73 Disaffiliation from National Association 74

Implications for Project Management from Nursing's Professionalization Journey 75

Chapter 5: Findings From Social Work Web Site Survey 81 Scope of Practice Issues 82 Licensing and Certification Issues 85

National Certification 85 Licensure and Registration 86 Monopoly over Use of Title 90 Education and Accreditation Strategies 91

Minimum Education for EntrylPractice 91 Continued Education/Continued Competence 94 Accreditation Strategies 97

Issues Surrounding the Body of Knowledge 98 Implications for Project Management from Social Work's Professionalization Journey 102

Chapter 6: Findings from Teaching Web Site Survey 109 Scope of Practice Issues 11 1

Scope of Practice and Paraprofessionals 11 1 Role Expansion of Teachers 113

Licensing and Certification Issues 114 General Observations about Licensing/Certification 1 14 Voluntary Certification: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 1 18

Monopoly Over Use of Title 122 Education and Accreditation Strategies 123

Entry Level Strategies 123 Continued Education/Professional Development 124 Accreditation Strategies 129

Issues Surrounding the Body of Knowledge 129

Implications for Project Management from the Teacher's Professionalization Journey 132

Chapter 7: Findings from Comparative Online Survey 139 Association Information 140 Association Age 143 Current Level of Professionalization 146 Threats to the Professionalization Effort 149 Strategies for Professionalization 152 Conclusions 154

Chapter 8: Insights and Future Direction 155 Evaluating Project Management as a Profession 156

Project Management's Attainment of Characteristics of a Profession 156 Becoming a Profession 158 Role of Power in Professionalization of Project Management 159

Comparing Project Management to Other Professions 160 Learning from the Professionalization Journeys of Comparable Occupations 161 Learning from the Challenges and Actions of Professionalization across Occupations 168

Future Directions: Important Questions for Consideration 168

Professionalization of What? 168 Professionalization for Whom? 169 Impact of Professionalization on Practice 174 What Would a Global Profession Look Like: How Would One Be Created? 175 What are Prospects for the Creation of a Global Project Management Profession? 176

Conclusions 177 Crosstable 1: Question 14 Traits-Occupational Groups' Firmness of Grip 179 Crosstable 2: Question 18 Threats-Occupational Groups' Degrees of Challenge 181

References 183 Project Management Web Sites and Discussion Lists 186 Nursing Web Sites 186 Social Work Web Sites 187 Teaching Web Sites 188

Tables and Figures Table 3.1: Response Rates by Occupation 41 Table 4.1 : Nursing Progress-Characteristics of a Profession 76

Table 5.1 : Social Work Progress-Characteristics of the Profession 103 Table 6.1: Teaching Progress-Attaining Characteristics of a Profession 133 Table 7.1 : Occupational Group-Collapsed Categories 14 1 Table 7.2: Percentage of Females in Association 144 Table 7.3: Ranking of Dichotomized Question 14 Variables Regarding the Grasp on Various Traits Related to Professionalization 147 Table 7.4: Average of Rankings of Each Characteristic by Occupational Group 149 Table 7.5: Degree of Challenge to Professional Status 150 Crosstable 1-Question 14 Traits-Occupational Groups' Firmness of Grip 179 Crosstable %-Question 18 Threats-Occupational Groups' Degrees of Challenge 181 Figure 7.1: Occupations Represented in the Sample by Percent 141 Figure 7.2: Representation Level 142 Figure 7.3: Association Location 143 Figure 7.4: Number of Members in Collapsed Categories 144 Figure 7.5: Association Budget-Collapsed Categories 145

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

T his is a decade of decision and action for project management. The Project Management Institute's (PMI1s) commitment to pro-

fessionalization will be tested as the number of members grows, and the occupation becomes increasingly important and commonplace. Activities of project management associations throughout the world reflect the growing concern with the achievement of professional recognition.

Many consider that the practice of project management is a new "profession." Over the last few years, there has been a lot of discussion in PMI's publications and elsewhere about the state of project management as a profession. In January 2000's edition of PMI Today (the monthly PM Network supplement), then-PMI Executive Director Virgil Carter clearly put forward PMI's position by stating that "project management is truly a global profession." In addition, a survey of PMI membership indicated that two-thirds of the membership supported this view of project management as a profession (The PMI Project Management Fact Book 1999). In fact, we quite often read statements like "What will X mean for the future of our profession?"

PMI has explicitly undertaken the mission of "building professionalism in project managementu@ and, in the aforementioned survey, over 65% of PMI's membership identified project management as a profession (The PMI Project Management Fact Book 1999). However, in the sociological study of professions, project management is notably absent. According to traditional definitions of professions, project management would not qualify as one-in many countries, it is not even recognized as an occupation for statistical reporting purposes (Zwerman and Thomas 2001, April). At the same time, there continues to be significant debate over the nature of project

management, with some believing it to be a rather rigid formulaic practice of applying "best practices" to control projects, and others viewing it as a creative enterprise designed to assist learning and action in organizations (Thomas and Tjaeder 2000).

Traditional professions faced the challenge of convincing the public and governments that it was in the public interest to grant control of the practice to practitioners in exchange for assurances of an increase in the standards of practice and better service to the public. In Canada, the United Kingdom and United States, most of the professions evolved from the activities of practitioners who were successful in receiving public recognition of their claim to privilege and status. However, professional status in the future may be more difficult to obtain, as governments become more reluctant to inter- vene in the occupational market, and professional organizations will have to work harder to gain governmental approval and support. It is clear that the social and cultural conditions that gave rise to the modern professions have changed, and that the emerging occupations must seek new paths in their quest for professionalization.

Obtaining the status of a full profession requires that the members of an occupation work together to achieve recognition. The core characteristics of a profession are defined by the members' ability to capture exclusive use of the name of the occupation, to lay claim to the "exclusive" mastery of an esoteric body of knowledge, to achieve public and governmental recognition of the authority of the relevant professional association(s) to govern the practice of the occupation, and to set the educational requirements for entrance into the profession and continuance in the profession. (For more on this, see Zwerman and Thomas 2001; and Hodgson 2002.) The journey that occupations undertake to evolve into professions can be a long and protracted one. This is evident, for example, in the progress of the nursing occupation, as it evolved from a "handmaiden" role of one providing a lot of TLC (tender loving care), to that of the independent health care professional.

Project management, like medicine, law, engineering, nursing, social work and teaching, is a knowledge-based occupation. Thus, its journey is likely to mimic, in many ways, the journeys of these other occupations toward professional status. Each of these occupations is currently waging a battle to either maintain their professional privileges or obtain the rights and recognition associated with the full-fledged "traditional" professions. Examining the efforts, trials and accomplishments of these other occupations should provide valuable insights into the future of project management.

This monograph begins with a general consideration of the historical study of professions, followed by a discussion of the research

conducted via an analysis of Web sites of professional occupations, and a Web-based questionnaire directed at presidents of a number of national, state and provincial professional organizations. We conclude with a discussion of future alternatives for project management and a discussion of the paths most likely to be chosen.

The remainder of this chapter describes the research design, research team structure and management process, and structure of this monograph.

Study Background In 2001, project management practitioners, through PMI, decided to invest in research aimed at providing a contextual framework from which to move the quest for professional standing forward. In order to garner pertinent lessons, it was deemed important to explore the actions of existing professions and other occupations attempting to obtain professional status ("semi-professions"). Consequently, PMI issued an international request for research proposals in the spring of 2001. This report documented the research project that was selected for support in October 2001, as a result of the PMI proposal process. This project explored the efforts of other semi-professions, as well as the more traditional professions, to attain or retain professional status. This project was partially funded by PMI, with significant contributions from Athabasca University and The University of Calgary.

Research Objectives The purpose of this research is to present a framework within

which to consider the professionalization possibilities of project management. We will look at other occupations and the paths to professionalization they have traveled, or are traveling, learn what we can about their journey, and assess how this knowledge can be used to further the cause of professionalization for project management.

Research Questions The study is based on a number of research questions, each of

which ultimately address the question "What paths are available to project managers, should they wish to attain professional status?" (Chapter 8)

The questions addressed include: .What is a "profession" and how does an occupation become

one? (Chapter 2) How did the traditional professions arise? (Chapter 2)

What can project management learn from the recent attempts of knowledge occupations to attain professional status? (Chap- ters 4, 5, and 6 ) . What characteristics of professional status do traditional and emerging professions share? (Chapter 7) What are the challenges facing traditional and emerging professions in attaining or retaining the status of profession? (Chap- ter 7)

Research Approach This study used a multi-method approach. Literature from a

variety of fields including sociology of professions and work, medicine, nursing, social work, law, engineering, and accounting provided background concepts and historical notes. Qualitative textual analysis techniques were used to study the documentary evidence stored on professional association Web sites of the professionalization journey of nursing, social work, and teaching. More quantitative techniques, in the form of an online survey, were used to collect comparative information on the shared characteristics of professions, and the challenges of attaining or retaining this status across occupations.

Team Structure and Management Process Both senior members of the research team are experienced researchers with significant, long-term interest in the development of professions, and of project management in particular. Bill Zwerman has studied the development of professions for more than 30 years, and recently turned his attention to project management. He served as principal investigator for the study. Janice Thomas has studied the development of project management and management consulting for 15 years. Susan Haydt completed her master's degree in sociology while working with Bill Zwerman, and provided research assistance throughout all stages of the project. Terry Williams provided editing throughout the manuscript and ran the data analysis for the Web site questionnaire.

Researchers and Their Background

William (Bill) Zwerman, PhD, MA, BA

Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada Phone: (403) 25 1-3164

Bill has been working in the area of organizations and occupations for 30 years, focusing on new occupations that have been developing in association with the new, computer-based technologies. Over the last six years, he has focused his

research on software developers and project managers. Bill has extensive experience in the area of applied research, and has functioned as a consultant in the private and public sectors. He also has considerable experience in the area of training in the corporate world.

Janice Thomas, PhD, MBA, BSc

Associate Professor and Program Director, MBA in Project Management Program, Centre for Innovation Management, Athabasca University

Adjunct Professor, Project Management Specialization, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Phone: (403) 949-4965 E-mail: [email protected]

Janice is the Director of the Executive MBA in Project Manage- ment Program at Athabasca University. She is also a member of the core faculty team at the Centre for Innovation Manage- ment and a faculty member of the joint Engineering and Man- agement Project Management Specialization at the University of Calgary. In addition, she has ten years experience in managing information technology and organizational change projects. She has coached project managers on difficult projects and explored the reasons for the failure of project management in specific situations. As an academic, she studies the interpersonal dynamics of project management and, in particular, the sense-making that allows projects to work or causes them to fail. Janice was the principal investigator on a two-year (1999-2001) research project partially funded by PMI on the challenges of selling project management to executives.

Susan Haydt, MA, BA E-mail: [email protected]

Susan is a recent graduate of the master's program in sociology at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include the sociology of work and occupations, gender, and qualitative research methods. Before the PMI project, she worked as an analyst in a qualitative research project dealing with implementing telehealth systems in rural areas of Canada.

Terry A. Williams, MCS, BA

Terry has participated in academic and consulting research rangingfrom an on-site study of the social effects of thevaldez oil spill to organizational research for the private and public sectors, served as a co-investigator on a study of software developers, and has worked extensively in the area of citizen relationships with local governments.

From a communications perspective, the team completed quarterly project status reports for the PMI Research Program Manager and the liaison to the PMI Research Program Member Advisory Group (MAG). As a general rule, the research team carried out most of the work in a virtual team environment, although team lunches were held on a roughly bimonthly basis.

Timing The project began in the spring of 2001 and was completed in the fall of 2003. It was originally designed to follow a two-phased approach. The first phase of data collection, including literature review and Web site survey, was largely completed by the summer of 2002. The second phase consisted of designing an online survey and collecting data, and was completed by the end of summer, 2003. The research monograph was completed in the fall of 2003.

Deliverables Deliverables of this study included completion of a series of public communications listed below:

Two symposia debating whether project management has attained "profession" status: one in London, England and one in Calgary, Alberta A conference paper and presentation at PMI Research Confer- ence 2002 in Seattle Washington (Zwerman, Thomas and Haydt 2002) A conference paper and presentation at the PMI 2002 Seminars & Symposium in San Antonio, Texas USA in October 2002 (Zwerman, Thomas and Haydt 2002) A conference paper and presentation at the PMI Global Con- gress 2003-North America in Baltimore, Maryland in Septem- ber 2003 (Zwerman, Thomas and Haydt 2003) This research monograph (Zwerman, Thomas and Haydt 2003) A paper for presentation at the PMI Research Conference held in London, England in the summer of 2004.

Report Structure The report contains seven chapters (2-8) that tell the story of this research study, its processes, and outcomes. This first chapter provides an introduction to the topic of study, the research purpose and scope, research objectives, research questions, limitations, and the management of this research project. The remaining chapters provide more details on each of the following parts of the research study:

Chapter 2: Theoretical Foundation Chapter 3: Study Methodology Chapter 4: Findings from Nursing Web Site Survey Chapter 5: Findings from Social Work Web Site Survey Chapter 6: Findings from Teaching Web Site Survey Chapter 7: Findings from Comparative Online Survey Chapter 8: Conclusions, Insights and Future Directions

Our investment in this report is evident, in part, in the length. Rather than try to summarize our findings in the last chapter, each chapter concludes with a brief summary. Chapter 8 addresses the question of what it will take for project management to attain traditional professional status based on the foregoing analysis of other emerging and traditional professions.

CHAPTER 2

Theoretical Foundation1

T raditional professions such as law, medicine, accounting and engineering evolved out of the respect and recognition for the

social benefit bestowed by members of such vocations. Usually the title of profession was bestowed upon such occupations by the local government through an act of law. These professions acquired the right to monitor admittance, set standards of conduct and enforce them.

In some jurisdictions, such as Italy, the professionalization of occupations has been prolific, and the political power of professional societies is immense. Professional societies encompass a wide range of occupations ranging from chemists to veterinarians, and ski instructors to dance instructors. The objectives of all these professional societies is to maintain limited entry into the professions through examinations of appropriateness and capability to enforce standards of conduct for those accepted, to generate automatic career development for its membership, and to fix minimum prices. The widespread professionalization of occupations in Italy is recognized as a deterrent to competition and a free economy.

In most other countries, governments have been highly resistant to mandating new professions. In Canada and the United States, occupations seeking professional status, such as nursing, social work, and teaching, have had to fight for and win such recognition and privilege. At present, there is no evidence to support the hope

Some of the material included in this chapter has been published in earlier conference papers and publications including Zwerman and Thomas 2001; Zwerman, Thomas, and Haydt 2002. This chapter represents an integration, elaboration and synthesis of this material to present the whole background in one place.

that project management will have professional status bestowed upon it. If project management is to become a recognized profession with all the associated rights and responsibilities, it will require a concerted effort on the part of project managers to convince their publics that they deserve recognition as a formal profession.

Sociologists have posited various theories to explain why, and how, some occupations have evolved into professions while others have not; they have attempted to study and specify both the characteristics of occupations and the processes by which occupations become professions. Do these theories have practical application in the case of project management?

We begin this chapter with a review of the sociological study of professions that provides background information on characteristics and processes of development of the traditional professions. Next, we explore the recent development of categories of professions and "semi" professions that has occurred simultaneously with the rise in "knowledge work" in society. We follow this up with a review of the literature on the development of a specific set of "semi" professions (teaching, social work, and nursing) whose recent experience with the professionalization process should yield insights for the development of a project management profession. This chapter provides the conceptual foundation for data collection and analysis depicted in the rest of the monograph.

The Sociological Study of Professions Sociologists have studied the "professions" for more than 70 years. Two dominant perspectives in professions research are the Trait and Process approaches. The Trait perspective specifies the characteristics of those occupations that have successfully laid claim to professional status, while the Process perspective describes how occupations migrate from non-professional to professional status. This analysis has provided an in-depth understanding of the characteristics and traits of professions, and of the stages or steps most occupations have taken in attaining professional status. Other approaches to the study of professions have also emerged more recently. These alternative theoretical approaches tend to coalesce around the fundamental role of power in the emergence of professions. The last decade has also introduced significant discussion about alternative forms of professions. Recently, attention has been directed to those groups of occupations that do not fit into the category of traditional professions, but are seeking to attain such status. Each of these topics is summarized, in order to frame our discussion of the challenges facing those interested in the professionalization of project management. To start the discussion, we must first deal with some definitional

issues around the use of the terms "occupation," "profession" and "professional" in sociology.

Definitions: Occupation, Profession, and Professional Sociologically, an occupation is defined as a category of jobs

characterized by a set of skills, responsibilities, earnings, entry qualifications, and associated prestige. These jobs constitute a major focus of the individual's life and are relatively enduring.

Two of the ways a profession is viewed in sociology are as an organizational form and as a work orientation. According to the organizational view, a profession includes some central regulatory body to ensure the standard of performance of individual members; a code of conduct; careful management of knowledge in relation to the expertise that constitutes the basis of the profession's activities; and, lastly, control of numbers, selection and training of new entrants. From the perspective of profession as an organizational form, there are very few traditional professions recognized in sociology; law, medicine, accounting and engineering are examples of occupations that are recognized as traditional professions.

Profession is also viewed as a work orientation. The work orientation of a professional entails a focus on the intrinsic rewards and performance of a task, and is typically associated with personal services involving confidentiality and high trust. Although project managers may exhibit the work orientation of a professional as defined above, as an organizational form, this occupation fails to meet some of the criteria necessary to be viewed as a profession (Zwerman and Thomas 2001, April).

The Traits of a Profession Researchers have studied the professionalization of occupations

extensively and characterized them as involving "specialized knowledge and skills required to perform different tasks in a division of labor" [Freidson, as cited in Ritzer and Walczak 19861. Professions are distinguished from occupations in that they typically involve an esoteric body of knowledge, a culture sustained by a professional association, code of ethics, recognized authority, and community sanction (Greenwood 1957). This perspective emerged with the pioneering work of Carr-Saunders and Wilson (1933), who sought to identify those characteristics of a select group of knowledge occupations that had received special public and legal recognition, and had been publicly accorded very high occupational status, that of a profession.

Although the specific list of occupational traits cited by analysts varies, professions such as law, medicine, engineering, and accounting

all share the following characteristics (or have successfully laid claim to possessing these]:

Exclusive control and command of an esoteric and systematic body of knowledge-essentially a monopoly on understanding and application. Education and research-the body of knowledge is constantly reviewed and extended within the educational and research institutes of the profession. The claim to mastery of the body of knowledge is verified through the completion of a prescribed educational program, coupled with tests and training supervised by members of the profession and their representative professional associations. Code of ethics-occupational associations adopt a code of ethics to guide practice. Professional practitioners are supposed to commit to maintaining the highest standards of practice adopted by their associations. Autonomy of practice-incumbents are the only ones capable of understanding and practicing, and believe they should be free to control their own work; outside interference would threaten "professional" standards of practice. Norm of altruism-members have been imbued with a sense of service to their clients and the community, and do not act out of self-interest. Control of the name-the professional associations gain, and retain, control of the name of the occupations. For example, the use of the title "lawyer" is restricted to those who are approved of by the various legally constituted bodies that control practice. Authority over clients-professionals should control the cli- entlpractitioner relationship. The quality of service is compromised if clients challenge the authority of the professional practitioner. . Distinctive occupational culture-a distinctive set of norms, values, and symbols sets a particular professional occupation apart from others. Recognition-there is an explicit acknowledgment by both the community and the law that the occupation is special and its incumbents are deserving of special privileges. This means that a profession comes into existence when its practice is recognized by some governmental authority as requiring specific training and preparation, regulation of that profession is turned over to a professional body, and there is general acceptance that the tasks of this profession cannot be done without such preparation.

I The critical points in this discussion are the recognition of claims

made by occupational groups in the form of legal establishment of their rights and responsibilities. Critics may challenge the claims put forth by "professions," but there is legal acceptance of these, and significant authority is delegated to professional associations to control their own destiny.

Using the criteria established for recognizing an occupation as a profession, project management does not qualify as a profession. Many project managers conduct themselves in a professional manner, but the occupation is not organized along the lines of a profession, and there is no explicit legal recognition of the professional nature of the occupation.

The Process of Professionalization The second question studied in the sociology of professions, one

that is very important to project management, is "how does an

I occupation go from non-professional to professional status, and achieve the social and political recognition, which characterizes the established professions?" There have been several efforts made to define the processes involved in an occupation evolving into a profession. Critics of these efforts have pointed out that there has not been a single process set ever identified and that, even when the various identified steps are taken, they are not necessarily taken in the order identified by the analysts. Research has shown that the paths taken to professionalization differ between societies. For example, professions in North America, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand share a similar history of development, which is differentiated from those that are found in a European context (Zwerman 2000,325).

Nevertheless, the work of professionalization draws attention to the fact that professions do not spring full blown from the soil, and a consideration of the process perspective can be illuminating for any occupation that aspires to professional status. We situate this work in the North American and English experience; working from examples in that experience, Ritzer and Walczak combined the works of Caplow and Wilensky into a six-step process of becoming a profession, the steps not necessarily occurring in this order:

Create a full-time occupation Create a name, which becomes the occupation's exclusive domain Establish a national association Develop a training school Create a code of ethics Engage in political agitation to win popular and legal support (Ritzer and Walczak 1986).

Typically, the process starts with a full-time occupation, which then moves to legal recognition of its claims to special status.

The sociological discussion of a profession's "traits" and the "process" of becoming a profession are followed by considerations of the power and politics of professionalization, and the establishment and maintenance of associated rights and responsibilities. We introduce this discussion below.

Power and the Professions In the 1960s, Terrence Johnson introduced a power perspective in the study of the professions. Prior to this, the professions had been dealt with in terms of their commitment to altruistic service to the larger community. Critics had queried the altruistic nature of this service and the question as to whether or not the services provided by professionals were any more essential to the good of society. However, no voice challenging the basic assumptions of the dominant perspectives had reached a wide audience. Johnson viewed the privileges of the professionals as resulting from their successful efforts to capture authority and to exercise it in such a way as to maintain it in the face of criticism. He believed that such privilege was unjustified and that, eventually, the state would exercise control over professions in such a way as to bring greater benefit to the public at large. His work was soon followed by that of Friedson, Margolis, and Abbott.

Today, there is general consensus that recognized professions and occupations aspiring to be professions are fighting battles in the contested terrain of the work world. Occupational groups, with the exception of law, have not generally been handed the rights and responsibilities of professions without their own intervention. Exceptions often occur in jurisdictions where the government actively intervenes in a proactive manner. This is increasingly less likely to happen when governments are withdrawing from control, on the one hand, or exercising greater control, on the other. It is indeed a peculiar situation when governments simultaneously withdraw from direct action while removing privilege from established groups. Governments show little interest in establishing licensing for the new knowledge occupations while moving to withdraw privilege from those that are established, whether through more direct control or actual removal of privilege. Physicians are scrutinized and controlled by the government with respect to their prescription of drugs and, in another example of this type of withdrawal, the state of New South Wales downgraded the professional status of teachers.

The power perspective has, as its focus, the professionalization process, the struggle of occupational groups to "maintain their turf"

in the face of attacks from the bottom (emergence of related semi- professionals) and from the sides (competition from other professions), and the struggle to maintain professional autonomy in the face of increasing corporate control. It also raises the issue of categories of professions and their unique struggles to professionalize, as discussed next.

Categories of Professions There are three categories of professions that are relevant to this study of the development of project management:

These are fee-for-service professions, and are most closely associated with the privileges of the professions. This set consists of "established" professions such as mehcine, law, dentistry, architecture, and accounting that developed in the context of serving a clientele on a fee-for-service basis (Zwer- man 2001, 325). Engineering will be dealt with as a special case, since its development differs dramatically between North America and Europe, and is based more on an employer- employee relationship than are the other established professions (Zwerman 2000, 379).

This set consists of occupations, built around employer- employee relationships, which have attempted to achieve professional status in the second half of the twentieth century (Hugman 1996). Unlike members of traditional professions, who were generally self-employed, people in these occupations are employed by others to provide service. These occupations include nursing, teaching, and social work.

The third group is the set of occupations emerging from the knowledge industries of the late twentieth century. These include professionals from software development, information systems, and Internet organizations that employ professionals such as Chief Knowledge Officers (CKO), Chief Infor- mation Officers (CIO), Internet programmers and developers, software engineers, and privacy officers. The efforts of selected new knowledge occupations to professionalize will be examined later, and their experiences related to the questions now facing project management.

It is clear that the social and cultural conditions that gave rise to modern professions have changed, and that the emerging occupations

must seek new paths in their quest for professionalization. Project management is developing in an era dominated by large corporate structures that have very few ties to locale and/or community. The social world of the twenty-first century moves quickly, operating under extreme stress, and has little time for the kinds of interpersonal activities that formed the basis of the occupational communities of doctors and lawyers. This is a world where few "professionals" have time for extended coffee sessions, parties, extended evening meetings, and all those other events that assist in bringing people together to form a common occupational culture. Project managers do not have individuals as clients who will wait patiently to see them and defer to their professional judgment. Project managers must contend with employers who seek maximum control over their employees; employees become accustomed to serving the short-term interests of the corporation more often than long-term concerns.

Traditional professions faced the challenge of convincing the public and governments that it was in the public's interest to grant control of the practice to practitioners, in exchange for assurances of an increase in the standards of practice and better service to the public. All professional types of occupations, established professionals, and those interested in advancing their professional status are now faced with new challenges. The maintenance of professional independence or the advancement of that independence for all knowledge occupations is threatened by assimilation into employment in ever-larger organizations or the equivalent, acting as con- tractors to very large and dominant organizations, both public and private. The modern corporation is characterized by a focus on short- term profitability rather than long-term market strength. The value of professional standards and values is easily compromised in the corporate world. The specific questions facing established professions, emerging professions and new occupations all deal with the questions of control and influence, although the specifics vary.

Core Questions of Interest Thus, the core questions of interest to researchers and practitioners are decidedly different between the three categories of professions. The core questions facing established professionals such as medicine, law, and accounting, and their organizations include:

How to maintain professional independence in the face of growing employment by large corporations How to maintain professional control in the face of greater public scrutiny and control over practice How to maintain control in the face of increasingly strong political reaction from stakeholder groups

How to maintain membership commitments in cases where membership is voluntary, such as medicine in the United States How to balance the demands between maintaining the professional organization in its primary professional form, as labor activities become increasingly important, and there is an emergence of professional unions How to fend off encroachment of competing occupations, such as new holistic medical practitioners, semi-legal practitioners, and various forms of accounting certification.

The core questions facing emerging professionals and their organizations, such as nursing, teaching, and social work, include:

How to wrest control from established professions, as in the case of nursing How to balance the demands of an increasingly controlling public bureaucracy and an institutional setting that is experi- encing fragmentation into multi-tiered public and private spheres How to obtain serious professional certification in the face of opposition from psychological and psychiatric interests, as in the case of social workers . How to gain and maintain the allegiance of members How to develop the core bodies of knowledge in such a way as to enhance the occupation's claims to professional status.

The core questions facing the new knowledge occupations and related organizations, such as project management, software development, privacy, and knowledge officers, include:

How to decide whether or not to actively pursue a course for full professionalization How to convince members that they should accept the discipline of a fully professionalized organization, including the requirements of certification and licensing How to convince the corporate world that professional autonomy is the most effective way of assuring quality of practice.

All these questions are important and may be of interest in the project management context at some point. However, for the purposes of this research project, we focus on questions of interest to the emerging or semi-professions and the new knowledge occupations. In order to gain insights into these questions, we turn to the research literature discussing the professionalization journey of three knowledge-based emerging professions, namely, nursing, social work and teaching. These are chosen because of their explicit similarities and differences from project management, in order to tease out the lessons learned from these journeys with particular emphasis on those of interest to project management.

Exploring the Professionalization Journey The journey that occupations undertake to evolve into professions can be long and protracted. This is evident, for example, in the progress of the nursing occupation as it evolves from a "handmaiden" role of one who provides a lot of TLC (tender loving care) to that of an independent health care professional. If project management is to become a "profession" in the traditional sense, a number of important questions need to be addressed, including:

How to convince political authorities to recognize project management as a profession How to convince political authorities to recognize PMI as the preeminent organization representing project management How to reorganize PMI in order to function as a "professional" organization.

These questions, and others facing project management, can be illuminated by the history and current activities of other professional occupations and organizations. Our focus in this book is on professional occupations that have been pursuing professional status for the last several decades, and are typically characterized by an employer-employee relationship. We now consider the efforts of three employer-employee "professional" occupations that seek full recognition as professions: teaching, nursing and social work. These, we feel, are closely comparable to the project management occupation on a number of levels. We now consider the efforts of three employer-employee "professional" occupations that are closely comparable to project management on a number of levels. These three occupations have been engaged in professionalization for a much longer time than project management and, so, are likely to provide insight for project management into the process.

This work reviews professionalization literature in the occupations of nursing, social work, and teaching for the lessons that may be learned and applied to project management. It outlines the theoretical frameworks and methods used in the literature, outlines the strategies used by nursing, teaching and social work to professionalize, and examines some of the issues common in professionalization literature, including the relationship between professionals and bureaucracies and how these are impacted by cost-containment strategies, the importance of a secure knowledge base, and the pros and cons of setting credentials through state or federal agencies. Articles reviewed for this work come mainly from U.S., U.K., Australian, and Canadian authors, and date between 1982 and 2000.

Theory and Methods Most authors frame their inquiry or their findings in terms of

sociological theories of professionalization. The structural-function- alist based "trait approach" to professions is most often mentioned. This theory presents professions as occupations that possess particular traits that distinguish them from non-professions. These traits typically include: formal educational and entry requirements, a monopoly over an esoteric or discrete body of knowledge and related skills, autonomy over the terms and conditions of practice, a code of ethics and a commitment to service ideals (Roach Anleu 1992, 24; Hugman 1996, 132). Under this theory, nursing, teaching and social work (among others) are classified as "semi-professions" as they possess only some of the traits or have only partially developed some of the traits required by an occupation to be considered fully professional (Hugman 1996, 133).

However, there is a tendency in the newer literature to examine alternative theoretical frameworks. The most commonly used alternative theory in the articles reviewed for this paper is "control theory," as it deals with the relationship between professionals and bureaucracies, an issue commonly addressed in the literature. Tradi- tionally, literature on professions has viewed the relationship between professionals and bureaucracies as incompatible. This incompatibility was assumed by earlier theorists to be the result of the fundamental differences between the norms of bureaucracies and professions (Roach Anleu 1992,24). More recently, authors rely on "control" theory to conceptualize the relationship between bureaucracies and professionals. First, it is assumed that professions and their claims to professional status must be placed in historical, economic, political and social context and perceived as having been fundamentally shaped by these conditions, rather than assuming that claims to professional status are objective, inevitable and timeless (Roach Anleu 1992, 24; Hugman 1991, 201). Next, these claims to professional status (for example "autonomy," or "esoteric knowledge") are conceived as strategies for exerting occupational control and autonomy vis-h-vis other groups, including bureaucratic managers (Roach,Anleu 1992,25; Hugman 1991,201; Aldridge 1996, 184). In this view, attention shifts from a focus on incompatibility of goals to concentrating on processes between the two groups, such as on the ways they interact and impinge on each other (Roach Anleu 1992, 251, and how the competing demands of each group are managed and what this can tell us about "the profession's power in the market, derived from the demand for its expertise" (Aldridge 1996, 184). Similarly, !Hugman asserts that this approach places questions of "power at the centre of its understanding of professionalization"

(1991, 201). Finally, occupations such as social work, nursing and teaching are considered "mediated" or "bureau-professions," reflecting the reality that these professions developed mainly within bureaucracies (Hugman 1991, 201). In summary, this theoretical framework accounts for the struggles these occupations face, and the reality that members of these professions depend on organizations for their livelihood, yet provide an invaluable service to them as well.

Other theoretical approaches used in the literature reviewed for this work include feminist (e.g., Murray 1992; Llorens 1994; Glazer 199 1) and conflict approaches (e.g., Rispel and Schneider 199 1; Glazer 1991). Feminist approaches examine the gendered nature of professionalism, and generally recognize that the professionalization project is based on predominantly masculine values and constructions of professionalism (e.g., Adams, Lugsden, Chase, Arber, and Bond 2000, 543). Classic conflict approaches appear to focus on the ways that class and racial distinctions are maintained through professionalization projects (e.g., Rispel and Schneider 1991, 113).

In total, these three alternative approaches work better than trait theory for examining the professional status of nursing, teaching, and social work, as they have historically struggled to achieve professional status, rather than having a firm grip on it. Indeed, some have pointed out that even the firmly established professions (such as medicine and law) are increasingly subject to post-modern conditions and broad social change, especially in the age of cutbacks (Hugman 1996, 135; Hugman 1991, 212; Labaree 1992, 126). Trait theory is no longer a satisfactory model by itself, even with regard to the "classic" professions. Overall, theoretical models that account for change or the struggle to obtain professional status are favored by the majority of authors in this review.

Various methods of empirical study are used in this body of literature. The methods used by authors in this review are qualitative and match the general trend toward studying process and conflict. A very popular method is historical analysis of the professionalization process of a given occupation (e.g., Bourdoncle and Robert 2000, Labaree 1992, Murray 1992, and Spaull 1997 for teaching; Brannon 1996, Glazer 1991, and Rispel and Schneider 1991 for nursing; and Epstein 1992, Leighninger 1990, and Dressel, Waters, Sweat, Clay- ton, and Chandler-Clayton 1988 for social work). In-depth interviewing has been used as a method to assess the impact of a given aspect of professionalization (or deprofessionalization) on a given occupation (e.g., Adams et al. 2000 in nursing; Roach Anleu 1992 in social work). Sometimes, methods are combined to achieve this goal, such as Brannon's use of participant observation and interviewing (1994), and Daykin and Clarke's use of interviewing and historical analysis (2000) to study these impacts in the nursing profession.

Strategies of Professionalization by Occupation To provide the reader with a clear picture of how each occupation

has approached the problem of obtaining greater professional status, following is an outline of the strategies used by nursing, teaching and social work to professionalize.

In the past twenty years, the main strategy used by nurses in the United States and United Kingdom (as well as Canada) to professionalize has been twofold: (1) raising educational requirements for Registered Nurses (RNs) to a four-year university degree and (2) full RNs reclaiming technical/skilled work formerly given to Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) or nursing aides (NAs) (Brannon 1994, 159; Brannon 1996, 644). This is referred to as "total patient care," to be given by professional nurses (Brannon 1994, 159). This model of care replaces "team nursing," where an RN was in charge of a team of lesser trained personnel, including LPNs and NAs (Bramon 1996, 644). The majority of the literature on nursing and professionalization focuses on these changes.

Efforts by social workers to professionalize vary by nation. U.S. social workers have relied on a "methods" approach to their work, where credentials and education are stressed. Social workers in the U.K. have focused on obtaining federal government support, going through the government bureaucracy to secure credentials and legitimacy, and to have their role spelled out and protected in legislation (Leighninger 1990, 32).

Efforts to professionalize teaching have been written about in the United States (Labaree 1992; Murray 1992) and France (Bourdon- cle and Robert 2000). Recent efforts to professionalize teaching in the United States are the result of two reports released in 1986 by educators and other stakeholders in education, which address concerns of the "dismal" state of the American education system (Labaree 1992,123). The Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profes- sion (an elite group of public officials, teacher union leaders and educators) released "A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Cen- tury" and the Holmes Group (a group of deans from teacher colleges across the U.S.) released "Tomorrow's Teachers." The reports address similar issues, and both call for professionalization of teaching through (1) raising minimum education standards for teachers, (2) the introduction of voluntary board certification, and (3) the restructuring of schools to include a two-tiered system of teachers. Both groups suggest that the undergraduate degree in teaching be eliminated, to be replaced by a system where prospective teachers first obtain a bachelor's degree in a substantive area, followed by a master's degree in the science of teaching as the minimum require-

ment to enter the field (Labaree 1992, 124). Following this, they propose an optional clinical internship period in a "professional development school" where they might specialize in a given area (similar to a teaching hospital) and, after this, the option to obtain certification as a professional teacher via an exam from the proposed National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) (ibid., 124).

The structure of teaching would be transformed so that a hierarchy would replace the existing undifferentiated structure. The elite of the structure would consist of "lead teachers," who have credentials beyond the master's level (such as a clinician or PhD) and possibly board certification. Lead teachers would be higher paid and would supervise lesser trained teachers, design curricula, and teach in teacher training institutes, as well as teaching within their own school. The regular body of teachers, accountable to lead teachers, would simply have a master's degree. This sounds like the old model of "team nursing" that was, ironically, dropped by nurses in an effort to professionalize, as mentioned earlier. As of November 2003, forty- nine states had provided legislation or policy incentives to participate

I in board certification by the NBPTS, and 530 school districts are participating (www.nbpts.org/about/state.cfm). There are currently three hundred testing centers in the United States, indicating that the trend to professionalize teaching in the United States is established and growing.

In France, efforts to professionalize teaching have consisted mainly of changing the teacher education system. In a move seemingly opposite that in the United States, the establishment of IUFMs2 (teacher training institutions) in 1981 standardized training for both primary and secondary school teachers, who were formerly trained separately and who were differentiated in status (secondary teachers had more status) (Bourdoncle and Robert 2000,76). Primary teachers thus enjoy greater professional status than before, but secondary teachers have not had the same gain (ibid.).

Issues in Relation to Professionalization This section explores professionalization efforts in the context of the issues commonly addressed in the professionalization literature, including the impact of the "New Right," the relationship between professionals and bureaucratic managers, the importance of a knowledge base to professions, and credentials.

=Instituts Universitaires de Formation des Maitres.

THE RISE OF CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY

As a prelude to discussions of professionalization of these three occupations, many authors discuss a change in ideology that occurred in the 1980s with the revival of conservative politics and ideology in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom (Aldridge 1996; Leighninger 1990; Hugman 1991), the United States (Labaree 1992), and Australia (Spaull 1997; Ryan 1994). Generally, the shift of governments and other organizations to the right on the political spectrum have resulted in thinking that encourages decentralized government, increased reliance on the market to solve social problems, stressing individual merit and competition, and streamlining the state and other organizations along the lines of business practice (often including reduced expenditure) to increase efficiency (Labaree 1992,129-130; Hugman 1996,135; Aldridge 1996,187). This change in ideology is presented as a broader social force that has impacted the professionalization of nursing, teaching and social work, especially through the adoption of these practices and beliefs by the bureaucracies where they work, which are explored in greater detail next.

RELATIONSHIP WITH BUREAUCRACIES

Examination of the relationship between nursing, social work, teaching, and bureaucracies is crucial to understanding the professionalization process of these occupations. Quite simply, this is because the vast majority of these professionals work in a bureaucratic setting. Epstein notes that only 15% of American social workers serve as private practitioners (1992, 155). Many professionals in these three occupations are hired by the state, because education and health care are often the jurisdiction of governments (to varying degrees) (Hugman 1996, 135), or by corporations, especially in the case of health care in the United States (Brannon 1994, 157). Aldridgels rhetorical question "In how many professions are the majority of practitioners small, genuinely self-employed groups?" (1996,184) also suggests that private practice is the exception, rather than the rule.

The benefits of working and even obtaining professional status within a bureaucracy are discussed by two authors, Leighninger (1990) and Roach Anleu (1992). Leighninger points out that social work in the U.K. has greatly benefited from working with the government bureaucracy to assert itself as a profession. Between the 1930s and 1960s, three social work associations3 lobbied the Central Gov-

3The British Federation of Social Workers, the Association of Social Workers, and the Standing Conference of Organizations of Social Workers (Leighninger 1990, 33).

ernment for recognition of the role professional social workers could play in the state's ever-increasing role in social welfare (ibid., 33-34). The state responded over time by clearly spelling out the role of various types of social workers, staffing policies, and areas of responsibilities in several pieces of legislation (ibid.). This left little ambigu- ity about the role of, or jurisdiction of, state social workers, which acts as protection against encroachment by other occupations. Legs- lation through the state also offered a sense of legitimacy for social workers. Overall, working with the government bureaucracy enhanced the professional status of social workers in the U.K.

Similarly, Roach Anleu studied Australian social workers in three organizational settings (a hospital, a child welfare agency, and aprobation service). She found that the settings with a higher amount of bureaucratic control (the child welfare agency and the probation office) had a more reliable flow of clientele and a high level of control over their relationship with their clients, because their mandates were clearly defined by the organizations for which they worked (1992, 40). Also, the clearly defined jurisdictions of these workers made them less susceptible to encroachment from other occupations (ibid.). The social workers in hospitals, who were subject to less bureaucratic control, had a less reliable flow of clients, as doctors viewed their role as "peripheral" rather than central to the treatment of health and illness, and often refused to refer clients to them (ibid., 28). Social workers in hospitals had to work harder at convincing medical personnel of their professional status, and often had to "flaunt" their credentials and their unique knowledge to obtain clientele (ibid., 40). Due to their less stringently defined roles in the hospitals, they were more subject to encroachment by other occupations (ibid., 28). Thus, the main benefits of working in a bureaucratic setting are the resources it can provide, for example, a steady influx of clients and a clearly defined mandate that protects these groups against other occupational groups.

Authors are more likely to address the struggles of these occupations to professionalize within the bureaucratic structures they work in, rather than the benefits. In general, the recent literature frames these struggles in terms of bureaucracies imposing a managerial agenda on professionals4, in line with the shift toward conservative ideology occurring since the 1980s, as mentioned above. Aldridge

While relations with other groups of professionals and non-professionals within the context of a bureaucracy is also discussed, much of the emphasis is on therelationship between bureaucratic managers and a given group of professionals, which is why this aspect is stressed in this review.

nicely sums this up when she notes that while bureaucracies like the state provide ample resources for professionals, "what [the bureaucracy] gives, it can take away or vary" (1996, 185). This has often been the case in each of the three occupations, and examples of bureaucratic managers imposing cost cutting measures and their effects on the professionalization process or professional status are explored in detail next.

Much of the literature reviewed discusses the impact of cost containment strategies implemented by organizations in an effort to become more efficient (in accordance with conservative ideology described earlier) on the professionalization of these occupations. In many cases, cost-containment strategies hinder the professionalization process. For example, the previously mentioned restructuring of work initiated by Registered Nurses (RNs) in the 1980s in an effort to professionalize would have been more successful if not for the trend of cost containment by management that occurred shortly afterward. Though RNs successfully laid claim to nursing work through total patient care (an assertion of their autonomy), thus enhancing their professional status5, simultaneous cost containment strategies by hospital administration restricted the total number of staff to improve efficiency (Brannon 1994, 165). This left a shortage of unskilled LPNs and NAs in the ward to do the "dirty work" or work not directly related to patient care, and increasingly left RNs to both organize and do all work on the ward (skilled and unskilled), leading to considerable amounts of strain on the nurses (ibid.).6 This is one example of how the cost containment strategy of staff cutbacks diminished the efforts of nurses to professionalize.

An extreme example of the effects of cost-cutting strategies (and, more broadly, of neo-conservative ideology) and its effect on professional status is found in the plight of teachers in Victoria, Australia in the early 1990s. From 1982 to 1992, teacher unions and the government of Victoria shared decision-making responsibilities in terms of setting working conditions, and teacher involvement in the design of the education system was very high (Spaull 1997, 291). In 1992,

51ronically, Brannon notes that RNs' reclamation of nursing work as something to be done exclusively by RNs was implemented by management because it "converged with managerial interests in increasing labor productivity" (1994, 165). 6Under total (patient care, nurses find themselves more accountable for their care work, to both,doctors and management. Under the team-nursing scheme, it was LPNs and NAs who were accountable to nurses. Some professional status is lost in total patient care, as doctors focus on the RNs' accountability of care work, but ignore RNs' efforts to express their professional opinions and suggestions regarding patient care (Brannon 1994, 173).

the conservative Kennett government came to power, and took a number of cost-cutting steps to remedy the "substantial economic and social dislocation bequeathed . . . by Victoria's Labor Govern- ment (Spaull1997,292)." These steps ultimately led to the deprofessionalization of teachers, namely by removing the rights of teachers to make decisions about the curriculum and removing control over their working conditions. The Employee Relations Act (1992) encouraged voluntary agreements and set up the Employee Relations Council to mediate bargaining (or arbitration) in education (and other industries), largely excluding teacher unions from the bargaining process. A second piece of legislation, the Public Sector Management Act (1992), significantly reduced the size of the teaching force and increased teaching loads and class sizes. Through these pieces of legislation, the state employer had taken away what had been in place for decades.

As well, the Kennett government refused to grant consultative rights to the teachers or their union representatives, in stark contrast to previous state governments (ibid., 295). The government justified excluding the teachers from joint decision-making in the education system by invoking the argument of "managerial prerogatives." That is, as employers, the state government felt itself entitled to make all decisions regarding the education system and the working conditions of teachers in the name of improving education and teacher productivity "without interference from either industrial tribunals or the established unions" (Spaull 1997,294). Throughout the early 1990s, teachers and unions attempted to override these decisions through the federal-level Australian Industrial Relations Commis- sion, but only met with partial success. Overall, this particular example demonstrates the tenuous nature of the relationship between professionals and the bureaucracies in which they work, and how quickly power imbalances can be established in the name of efficient management practice.

Deskilling of professional work and segmentation of the workforce in the bureaucratic setting, and the relationship of these to managerial cost containment strategies, has also been extensively discussed in literature. Deskilling refers to the application of scientific management techniques that break work down into smaller tasks, so that less qualified workers can do routinized tasks under the supervision of more qualified workers (Dressel et al. 1988, 118). The result is typically an increase in the amount of hierarchy in the work setting. Glazer refers to the resultant hierarchical structure between workers as segmentation (also known elsewhere as "para- professionalism"), and notes that segments typically vary in the amount of pay and benefits they receive and job autonomy (1991,

353). The team nursing structures used from the 1940s to the 1980s mentioned earlier is a good example of a segmented workforce. Usu- ally, segmentation is implemented by management in bureaucratic settings as a cost-saving strategy (Dressel et al. 1988, 117), as the majority of workers in the hierarchy are those with less training and skill (Glazer 1991, 353).

Nursing in the United States and United Kingdom has historically been subjected to the effects of segmentation. Glazer points out that nurses are "between a rock and a hard place" when it comes to segmentation, as nurses' professionalism can both benefit from and be harmed by it (1991,353). On the one hand, the esteem and status of nurses is raised by delegating low skilled tasks to less skilled staff. On the other hand, there is the danger of professional RNs being displaced by less skilled workers, especially in times of fiscal restraint, when employers prefer to hire these in favor of professionals (Glazer 1991,353). These fears are not unfounded. Bran- non notes that at the height of team nursing in the 1960s, professional RNs accounted for only one-third of the nursing staff, and non-professional nursing staff (LPNs and RAs) accounted for two- thirds (1996, 645). RNs were dissatisfied with the disproportionate number of auxiliary staff and the failure of team nursing to give them full professional status (Brannon 1994, 159). As was stated in that paper, the replacement of team nursing with total patient care starting in the 1970s and 80s gave nurses a sense of reclaiming their work as professionals.

Very recently, nursing has been subjected to a new form of segmentation. Brannon notes that RN shortages, along with the adoption of streamlining practices by health care management, have led to the reintroduction of paraprofessional workers into the hospital setting in the mid 1990s (1996, 647-648). However, the impact of this arrangement is slightly different from the traditional scientific management approach of team nursing, in that management has tried to downsize the total number of staff (Brannon 1996, 648). In order to maintain efficiency, those workers remaining take on an intensified workload and cross-train in areas normally outside of their jurisdiction, in order to be flexible in the tasks they can perform (Brannon 1996, 648). This cross-training is referred to by some authors as skillmix changes, and its implementation has mixed effects on RNs' professional status.

A skill mix change occurs at all levels of nursing work. RNs tend to upgrade to work on par with junior doctors (they become specialists with titles of Nurse Practitioner or Clinical Nurse), while LPNs and NAs receive formal training and certification to do more skilled work normally covered by RNs. Brannon notes that LPNs

and RAs, before total patient care, used to learn this skilled work informally from RNs on the job, and was one reason why RNs felt threatened by the use of paraprofessionals (1994, 163). The results of a recent study suggest that RNs are less comfortable with changes in skill mix than are LPNs and RAs, who, for the most part, welcome the additional training and prestige (Daykin and Clarke 2000,360). RNs, on the other hand, feel less confident about their abilities and experience role strain much more often (Adams et al. 2000, 543). Also, RNs, who are in the middle of the medical hierarchy, felt the most territorial about their skilled status, having to prove themselves to doctors, while also feeling their territory being encroached by LPNs and RAs who were receiving upgrades in training (Adams et al. 2000, 547-48).

Adams et al. suggest that these negative effects of changing the skill mix of workers can be mediated by careful HR practices (they list six strategies). In fact, when implemented correctly by management, changes in skill mix were found to be welcomed by RNs, who could "develop multi-faceted, influential roles" (Adams et al. 2000, 550). This was especially true of RNs who were taught to interpret clinical data, and could then discuss abnormalities or changes in this data on par with doctors (ibid., 551). In cases where HR poorly managed skill mix changes, especially in terms of not providing extra staff to handle jobs sloughed off at various levels, such changes were not perceived by RNs to be desirable (ibid., 550). Overall, the new form of segmentation in skill mix changes has both negative and positive effects on RNs' professional status.

American social work has also been subject to semi-professionalism. The implementation of programs in the 1960s that gave social work positions to those eligible to receive state assistance (an empowerment of the poor initiative that resulted in people with minimal training being hired in social work positions) created a two-tiered social work workforce (Dressel et al. 1988, 117). When cutbacks to social work staff were being made in the 1980s, professional social workers felt threatened by the tendency of employers to hire less qualified social work staff (ibid). To remedy this, professional social workers associated with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-a professional association) sought to have all social work practitioners licensed through state governments to stop the flow of lesser-trained social workers. This move had initially met with some success, as the number of these lesser-trained workers dropped (Dressel et al. 1988, 118), presumably with some states passing legislation. However, it appears that as of 2002, not all states require licensure of social workers (NASW Web site: www.nas-

wdc.org). Thus, social work in some states is still subject to encroachment from paraprofessionals.

In line with the rise of conservative ideology and cost-containment initiatives is a tendency toward organizations demanding the accountability of professionals, both in terms of the work they do and their claim to professional status. Australian social workers in Roach Anleu's study noted that management in their organizations measured work performance according to how many cases they han- dled (1992,31). Ironically, the amount of paperwork required by the organization in the form of report writing about each case (a form of accountability) decreased the amount of caseloads each social worker was capable of taking on. Further, the social workers felt that this constant requirement to report their work to management detracted from their professional autonomy and, more importantly, took time away from one-on-one contact with their clients, detract- ing from their service ideal (ibid). Accountability does not end with the work professionals do. Increasingly, professionals are being required to account for the legitimacy of their claim to professional status (Hugrnan 1996,135). Commonly, professionals are questioned on their claim to possess a monopoly over a unique body of knowledge. This is explored in detail next.

Given that cost containment is a trend that does not appear to be going away in the immediate future, some authors are suggesting that those occupations that are not clear about their roles (or effectiveness) as professionals, or their claim to a unique knowledge base, are subject to suspicion of their professional status (Hugrnan 1996, 131; Epstein 1992, 155). Several authors note that, despite all the recent changes in sociological theory about professions (especially in terms of abandoning trait theory in favor of control theory and other alternatives), it remains clear that a clearly defined knowledge base and a claim to a unique form of knowledge is key to professional status (Aldridge 1996, 178; Hugman 1996, 131; Labaree 1992, 125; Murray 1992,504). However, as will be demonstrated, the definition of knowledge is increasingly being debated, with implications for the professionalization projects of these occupations.

It has been suggested that both social work (Epstein 1992, 153; Aldridge 1996, 178) and teaching (Murray 1992 504; Labaree 1992, 134) do not have the solidly defined or esoteric form of knowledge that they may claim to possess. Hugman suggests this is due in part to the subject matter of these occupations-that is, teaching and social work are based on the social sciences, which are dogged by accusations of not being a real science (Hugman 1996, 134). This is

in contrast to nurses, who have a more solid claim to an important knowledge base grounded in medical science. However, Hugman also notes that while nurses can claim this tangible sort of knowledge, this knowledge base is tightly controlled and dominated by doctors and others higher in the chain of command in health care settings (ibid). Thus, for Hugman, the advantage nurses hold in having some claim to a firmly established scientific field is tempered

I by their domination by another occupational group in the same bureaucratic setting. The fact that nurses have a much more solid footing in terms of a scientific knowledge base is open to alternative arguments. For example, Adams et al. note that nurses' knowledge is actually "indeterminate" (2000, 543), giving the impression that it is not on as solid a footing as Hugman suggests. The explanation that social work and teaching as "soft sciences" have a less solid claim on knowledge than nurses is, thus, open to interpretation.

Some authors blame the poor quality of academic programs in teaching and social work for their inability to produce and lay claim to a knowledge base. Epstein asserts that the low level of publishing of scholarly work from social work educators in academic settings as a whole is harmful to the professional status of social work because it suggests that ideas within the profession are not put out for critical peer review and, as a result, theory in social work does not develop (1992, 153). This is in stark contrast to academics in the sciences, who constantly publish and rigorously debate ideas, from which a well developed theory base can emerge (ibid., 159). Furthermore, the number of full-time faculty in social work education programs has dropped, as has student enrollment, both leading to the general declining quality of professional social work education (ibid., 154). Aldridge also notes that the academic performance of social work educators is poor, and contributes to a weakened theoretical knowledge base (1996, 186). Much the same criticisms are aimed at teacher education. Labaree notes that critics of teacher education are quick to point to low levels of scholarly publication, and that teacher academics clearly do not conform to production standards followed by academics in other faculties (1992, 135). These critics see teacher educators as having a weak academic status, which, in turn, hurts the movement to professionalize teachers (1992, 136-137).

The weak performance of academics in the fields of social work and teaching is linked to the assertion that a link between theory and practice is of critical importance in a profession as a way of laying claim to a base of knowledge. That is, a profession's claim to a well-developed knowledge base is considered weak if there is no clear connection or interplay between its theories and practices (Labaree 1992,134). Epstein notes that when social work theory does

produce ideas worthy of testing in social work practice, such tests are either not done or are done in a manner so ad hoc (without proper controls or in a critical manner) as to be worthless (1992, 156). This leads to a further weakening of the knowledge base of social work. Aldridge notes that in addition to suffering from a weak theory base due to poor academic performance, social work in the U.K. suffers from a lack of clear guidelines of practice. She provides an example of how the professional association clearly lays out the theoretical component of intervention work, but fails to apply this theory to a clear outline of practice:

In order to validate training courses, CCETSW7 has had to prescribe the necessary values, knowledge and skills for practice. Even after the attempt to bridge the goals/methods gap by specifying l'competencies,'l the essence of social work remains elusive. Many of the competencies deal with the scene-setting for intervention: assessment, planning, evalua- tions, being a responsible professional. Criticism of the lack of preparedness of newly qualified workers has produced the concept of "areas of practice," yet the rules do not specify them, still less which permutation of knowledge and intervention techniques might be relevant (1996, 186).

This lack of connection between theory and practice threatens the professional claim to specialized theoretical knowledge that translates into a set of specialized skills.

A lack of consensus among members of these professions about their roles or goals as professionals is also problematic in claiming a body of knowledge. Aldridge points out that social work in the U.K. has long suffered from a lack of agreement about what social work "is." She notes that "[attempts] to define goals by both BASW8

and CCETSW have been pitched at such levels of generality that any unifying potential disappears (1996,186)." She further notes that the one point of consensus among social workers, that "one-on-one" skills are vital to the practice of social work, is not given any privilege in the framework of training (1996, 186). This is possibly due to the fact that these skills are seen as intuitive rather than objective, and do not fit well into standard definitions of professionalism. Aldridge concludes that it is more important for social workers as a group to identify elements of, and agree on, what their expertise really is, and to achieve broad consensus on the skills and techniques required by

'The Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work. 8British Association of Social Workers (Aldridge 1996, 180).

social workers to practice than to be concerned with whether the knowledge base is rooted in positivistic scientific principles (1996, 186).

Some have openly questioned the wisdom of occupations like nursing, social work and teaching to claim professional status, at least in terms of possessing a unique, esoteric and well defined knowledge base. Epstein suggests that until social workers in the United States are able to establish a firm mandate (including a stronger academic base) and devise rational and objective ways of evaluating their work, it would be better to abandon the professional project altogether (1992, 161). This argument hinges on the understanding and acceptance of a knowledge base as typically scientific and objective, in line with traditional conceptions of the professions.

Most authors do not carry this argument to such an extreme. Some have argued that, while a firm knowledge base is key to professional claims, alternative forms of knowledge are on the horizon, and are quickly gaining acceptance as alternatives to positivistic ways of knowing. Labaree points out that the scientific-rationalist model of thinking is becoming outmoded, increasingly abandoned by the disciplines that have traditionally used it, such as philosophy, the social sciences and even physics (1992, 146). In advocating and pursuing a rationalist-based "science of teaching" as part of professionalization, Labaree warns that teacher educators "may well be hitching their hopes to a research structure that is in the process of molting, which poses the possibility that they could be left behind with an empty shell" (ibid).

Alternative ways of knowing have already began to impact the professionalization projects of some occupations. Labaree notes that while the ideal of positivistic approaches to teaching research is still firmly entrenched and advocated as part of the professional project (i.e., objective, quantitative techniques), teaching research is opening up to interpretive, qualitative techniques, such as case study and ethnography, to develop theory (1992,143). As well, practicing teachers are using their practical, everyday knowledge of teaching to conduct action research, a reflexive process whereby teachers consider their experiences and formulate ways they can improve their own teachug, or the field as a whole (Labaree 1992, 142; Llorens 1994, 4). Whether conducted as a personal project or as a formal project in collaboration with teacher educators, this is viewed by many teachers to be a form of professionalization (Llorens 1994, 3).

EDUCATION AND LICENSURE STRATEGIES

As demonstrated earlier, the professionalization projects of nursing, social work and teaching have all involved the raising of

educational standards and/or tighter control over dictating the requirements for credentials. There are a number of advantages gained in this general strategy. One advantage is the ability to control entry into the field. Rispel and Schneider note that "[bly increasing the duration and complexity of nursing education, the nursing elite is ensuring that the profession becomes more exclusive and difficult to enter" (1991,121), thereby raising its professional status. Bourdon- cle and Robert also note that the increased educational standards for teachers in France have bolstered the professional status of teaching: enrollments in the WFMs increased 1 16% between 1991 and 1994, and graduating teachers feel they have greater prestige and social recognition than prior to the changes (2000, 78). Brannon points to increased educational standards for RNs as the reason for acute nursing shortages in the United States in the 1 9 8 0 ~ ~ which allowed nurses to lobby hospital management for increased wages and a greater say in staffing policy (1996,644). hicreasing the education requirements also acts as a protective measure against encroachment from paraprofessionals (Branaon 1996,647). One drawback of occupations using raised educational standards en masse as a way to professionahze is the inflation of credentials that occurs. Labaree points out that teaching as an occupation lost a considerable amount of professional status when a host of other occupations raised their educational requirements and lowered the value of a college degree (1992, 133). Overall, however, it appears that raising the educational requirement is a good way to enhance professional status.

Two methods of obtaining control over licensure are mentioned in the literature. The first involves lobbying governments at the state or provincial level to establish licensure as a requirement for practice in that area. Lobbying for state licensure excludes those in other occupations from performing the same work by claiming exclusive jurisdiction over it, enhancing professional status through a daim to a monopoly over work. Although state licensure is very effective against encroachment from other occupations or from paraprofessionals, it is not impervious to attack. Just as legislation can be established to regulate a profession, it can be used to deregulate it. An example of this is found in Brannon's work, where he notes that hospital administrators across the United States have recently lobbied their state governments to limit or completely eradicate licensing and practice legislation (1 996, 65 1 ). Legislation, then, is not a guarantee to permanent protection to jurisdictional claims.

The second method of establishing licensure for a profession is to obtain certification from a national-level board. An example provided earlier was the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In the case of U.S. teachers, board certification is not

mandatory for practice; i t is voluntary. Labaree distinguishes between the two approaches, calling the pursuit for state licensure the "political" approach, and the pursuit of national board certification the "market" approach (1992, 131). The latter is referred to as such because it encourages competition between members of a profession to "go the extra mile" to obtain the extra credential, making them more attractive to employers over those who decide not to pursue it (ibid.). Proponents of the market approach argue that professionalism is increased, in that individuals will strive "for excellence in the practice of their profession" (Labaree 1992, 131). A drawback of this method is that employers are not legally obligated to hire people with this credential. The employer may choose to hire paraprofessionals instead, if the work can be properly organized and there is a financial imperative to do so.

In Summary Each of the "employee" occupations considered here share several problems and have responded in similar ways to the challenge of gaining recognition as a profession. . All have had to deal with their bureaucratic masters, and have

struggled to achieve and retain recognition for their claim to professional status. Each has been subjected to the vagaries of the bureaucracies and is in a position where their claims must be constantly renewed Each has struggled to lay claim to mastery of an esoteric knowledge base necessary for the performance of their special functions Each has been struggling to define what is unique to their practice. What is it that "teachers" do that separates them from anyone else who happens to be in a teaching role? What is it that "social workers" do that differentiates them from others who are helping and counselling?

Lessons Learned, Questions Raised and Implications for Project Management Clearly, project management has not yet attained all the characteristics of a "profession," although there are equally clear steps being taken to move the occupation in that direction (Zwerman and Thomas 2001). Project management is facing all of the questions that the aforementioned occupations have encountered. The choices made by practitioners and their associations over the next several years could have a profound effect upon the development of project management as an occupation.

A number of important lessons can be gleaned from this review of the literature on the professionalization process of nursing, social work and teaching. In examining the relationship between professionals and bureaucracies in the age of cost-efficiency, it is apparent that professional status does not always guarantee protection against the de-skilling of work and the use of semi-professional workers to replace professionals. Additionally, it was shown that the relationship between professionals and management can quickly become unequal with the assertion of management prerogative. However, when there is more balance in power between professionals and bureaucratic managers, there is significant gain for professionals in terms of client referral and resources. Project management will have to closely consider their relationship to the bureaucracies in which they work, and whether professional status would be beneficial if the bureaucracy commits to cutting costs.

One of the more interesting efforts to use a bureaucratic base to move toward "professionalization" of project management was

I entered into by Nortel several years ago. Financial woes of the corporation resulted in the immediate end of its POM program, which

I provided training and an alternative career ladder for project managers. In that environment, established professions were considered "servants" of corporations during their early and maturing phase. They were, indeed, friends of the corporate world. As legal and medical costs have risen, we have witnessed moves against both these professions to contain costs. The employee professions are even more vulnerable and their task, to establish and maintain professional independence, is greater than it was for the earlier professionals.

Project management might also consider its claim to a unique or esoteric knowledge base as its major claim to professional status. How strong is the theoretical component of project management knowledge? Are their practices and skills clearly linked to theory? Is there a general consensus among project managers as to what their special knowledge and skills are, and how these should be practiced? Further, with some authors' claims that rational scientific paradigms are being abandoned as a claim to knowledge by other professions, will project management consider alternative modes of laying claim to knowledge, or will they maintain a claim, as medicine continues to do, to a scientific way of knowing? Despite challenges presented to ways of ,knowing, a clearly defined knowledge base is still vital to a claim t o professional status, along with upgrading the formal educational requirements associated with an occupation. What kinds of "projects" belong to the "profession" of project management and which don't? What are the basic skills that define a "professional" project manager?

All occupations which have been reasonably successful in laying claim to professional status have built their claim upon an explicit educational program that clearly differentiated their members from the larger population. If project management is serious about attaining "professional" status and recognition, it must develop an explicit educational program. In this regard, there may be several potential paths to follow. Several of the alternatives possible are:

Continuance of the current policy of allowing graduate educational programs to develop on their own with minimum evaluation for PMI accreditation purposes Active collaboration with developing and established graduate project management courses to try and ensure minimum standards and a core curriculum Aggressively pursing efforts to collaborate and influence the content and form of graduate education, in a manner similar to other professional associations.

Finally, project management will want to consider how it will pursue licensing and whether to raise its minimum credentials. Will raising the education requirements of project management enhance its status as a profession? If conservative ideologies prevail, will governments at the statelprovincial level continue to protect the license acts, or will they sympathize with management and deregulate the professions, making federal board certification a more attractive option to project management?

In considering the lessons that nursing, social work and teaching have to offer, and pondering the questions these raise, project management will be better positioned to make decisions about its own professionalization project. The following sections of this monograph contain information about strategies that related professional associations are following in furthering their professionalization journey. This data will provide insights into potential professionalization paths that need to be considered by project management associations and practitioners.

CHAPTER 3

Study Methodology

T his research project employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. This chapter describes the overall research design

and provides details on the methodologies used in each phase of the research.

Research Design Overview This project entailed three phases of research that occurred simultaneously and recursively over the two years of the study. The first phase consisted of a review of the literature on professionalization with particular attention to (a) the efforts of knowledge-based occupations that could be considered similar to project management but who have a longer history of seeking professional status (teaching, social work, nursing) and (b ) the ongoing efforts of those occupations traditionally considered as "professions" (law, medicine, accounting, engineering, etc.). This review was conducted initially in 2001 and recursively over the duration of the study.

The second phase entailed a qualitative survey of the Web sites of associations supporting the professionalization of nursing, social work and teaching in Canada and the United States. This phase was conducted between March and October of 2002 and updated and finalized in September of 2003. The primary goal of this portion of the research was to identify strategies in use to promote the professionalization of these knowledge occupations in the belief that project management can learn about the most effective practices from the experience of other occupations. The results of these two phases provided the basis for developing the survey used in the final phase of data collection.

The final phase entailed conducting an email survey of leaders of professional associations for occupations that fit into three

categories: traditionally defined professions, neo-professions and project management. Professional association leaders in Australia, Canada and the United States were invited to participate. This data was collected between March and August of 2003. This phase was designed to enable the project management occupation to compare their level of professionalization and the tactics in use with other traditional and neo-professions. We were particularly interested in the degree to which these occupations felt they had a "grip" on various aspects of profession status and the "threats" they saw to their obtaining these characteristics. This information is expected to provide interesting insights into the future direction and development of the project management occupation.

Full ethical review and approval of the intended conduct of the research investigation was obtained from Athabasca University. The informed consent process involved a letter to participants before they began the interview or survey. All respondents were given or were able to print a copy of the letter for their records.

The next two sections provide more detail on the methodologies underlying the Web site survey and the online survey to help readers understand the approaches used and the rigor with which the methods were applied. In both phases, methodologies were chosen based on their ability to help answer the research questions.

Web Site Survey Methodology Textual data was gathered from the Web sites of professional

associations in order to determine what topics relating to professional status, or the process of professionalization, were important to each occupation, and to determine how such associations dealt with these issues. This analysis represents textual data gathered from the professional associations representing nursing, social work, and teaching in Canada and the United States.

To focus the investigation, several questions were considered while observing the content of the Web sites: How does each occupation address professional status? How is professional status used? How is it sought? How is it maintained? What threats are present? How are key components of professional status addressed, particularly regarding scope of practice, body of knowledge, education, use of title, and licensing/certification?

Sampling and Data Analysis Data were collected between March and October of 2002. For

Canadian data, all provinces were sampled wherever possible. For American data, eight states were consistently sampled, and were chosen a priori to provide representation from a number of geo-

graphic regions. These were: California, Minnesota, Texas, Pennsyl- vania, Florida, Michigan, Washington (state) and Massachusetts. Wherever possible, the national level organizations representing nursing, teaching and social work were sampled as well.

Readers should consider a few points regarding the sampling frame:

Not all jurisdictions had Web sites for every occupation The teaching occupation in the United States was often (but not always) represented by two professional organizations (the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers) Some professional association Web sites were more articulate than others in addressing professional issues. As a result, some associations are cited or quoted more than others in this study. These points collectively constitute some sampling bias. This being said, this is a qualitative analysis, and more attention is paid to how citations give insights into professionalization processes, structures and strategies than on sampling consistency.

The use of Web sites as sources of data had a number of advantages. Materials and issues of importance to the profession were often posted on the sites, presumably to keep professional members and the general public informed. These materials were already in textual form, requiring no transcription, and were readily available. Thus, data from a wide variety of locations and occupations were gathered in a cost-effective manner and produced excellent data that reflected the concerns and strategies of the professions.

Data came in a variety of forms and from various sources within the Web sites. These included basic text displayed on Web pages of the associations and information from news releases, position statements, newsletters, and other posted documents.

Textual analysis was conducted utilizing WinMAXo, an electronic qualitative analysis tool for the social sciences. Each profession was analyzed by nationality. Coding was both open (emergent codes) and a priori, using themes relating to indicators traditionally associated with professional status and professionalization issues from the literature and available theory. Relevant coded texts were then analyzed, bearing the above questions in mind. Data were read on three different levels: (1) for basic facts and issues relating to the profession, (2) for the arguments, viewpoints and justifications of the profession related to the issues, and (3) for strategies used by each of the professions to address those issues. These form the analysis that follows.

Notes About Web Site Citations Because Web sites were rarely consistent in structure, and docu-

ments were sometimes posted with no authors, dates, volume or issue numbers noted, the citations in this analysis provide the name of the association from which information was taken and a title that reflects a recognizable part of the site, be it a document title, section title, or the page http link title. Wherever possible, the fullest amount of detail is provided to foster easier recall. Readers should also be aware that some Web sites may have changed their structures or appearances considerably since data were gathered for this project.

Online Survey Methodology The results from the literature review and the Web site survey served to identify the most commonly identified indications of professionalization. These concepts serve as the primary variables studied in Phase 11. Measurement of these variables required the development of a questionnaire survey instrument. The foundation of these questions is based upon conclusions coming from confirmation/challenges to results initially examined and interpretations of concepts generated from Phase I analysis, literature review findings, discussions with experts in the field, and examination of previous question- naires on similar topics.

The survey targeted three specific areas of inquiry, including: Examining how firmly each occupational group believes it possesses the characteristics of a traditional profession Identifying the tactics and strategies in use to either retain or attain these indications of professional status Exploring the "threats" these occupations see to their obtaining professional status.

Sampling Frame The sampling frame for Phase I1 was a purposeful sampling from

a number of key association sources. Association leaders were identified from Web listings and directly sent an e-mail requesting their participation in our survey. For the neo-professions and traditional professions, every association leader in the region of interest was included. This meant that we focused on the ten Canadian provinces, eight states identified above and six Australian states. Because professionalization of project management was the ultimate interest of this study, we decided to sample this occupation group more fully, extending invitations to participate to all chapter and association leadership in Canada, the United States and Australia, as well as board leadership of the national or international associations.

The occupational groups surveyed are depicted in Table 3.1. In general ten provincial, eight U.S. state and six Australian state associations were surveyed, plus any relevant national associations. Wherever possible, the e-mail went directly to the individual identified as leading the association. In some cases, the e-mail went to a generic mailbox. Finally, in some cases, no relevant e-mail was available. Data were collected in March and April of 2003, with some follow-up data collected in August. In total, 50 usable surveys were collected.

Total Bounct Backs

Table 3.1 Response Rates by Occupation

Total Non-Professions

Total Response Rate

The raw response rate for this survey is 13% overall. Excluding bounce backs (e-mail invitations that never reached the intended recipient), the response rate jumps to a more respectable 18%. Given that response rates of 12-18% are considered acceptable in online surveys, the survey provides enough data to provide insights into the nature of professionalization in these three groups of occupations.

The bounce back rate for this sample was fairly high, averaging 26%. This likely is representative of two things. First, many associa-

159

383

33

99

2 1

50

17%

18%

tion Web sites may not be maintained regularly and kept current as e-mails change, either as a result of changes in leadership or changes in the leadership's e-mail addresses. Second, more and more organizations are using e-mail filters that simply bounce any e-mail that comes out as a mass mailing or if the filter does not recognize the source. To attempt to avoid the spam filter on mass mailings, each of our invitations was individually mailed out and addressed to the relevant person, wherever possible. Unfortunately, this bounce back issue is likely to be present in future online survey initiatives.

Survey Structure The final instrument consisted of twenty-two questions, includ-

ing eleven questions on demographics and six open-ended questions. The survey used a behaviorally anchored, five-point Likert scale (with "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree" as the anchors). The intermediate choices were "somewhat agree," "somewhat disagree," and "neither."

The survey questions reflected underlying concepts in three major areas of interest, as described below:

The questions about association demographics described the nature and constitution of the professional associations. These questions examine the size, budget, membership, leadership, etc. of the responding associations. . The next set of questions were designed to determine the association leaders' perceptions of the level of movement toward traditional professional status, by exploring their associations' grip on characteristics of professional status on a number of the characteristics of traditional professions. The third set of questions explored the degree to which certain threats to professional status were deemed relevant by the various association leaders.

Survey Logistics ZOOMERANGTM (http://www.zoomerang.com) was used to

upload/post the survey and monitor response rates. SurveySiteTM also provided a final data file of responses in the format of a Microsoft@ Excel@ spreadsheet. The data file was later converted to an SPSS@ (version 10.0.7) data file. Information on SPSS@ is available at http:// www.spss.com/. SPSS@ is a powerful academic and business statistical analysis software package. The authors used SPSS@ for data screening, descriptive statistics and frequency calculations. Unfortu- nately, the small sample size did not allow for calculation of interpretive statistics such as correlations, exploratory factor analyses, or reliability testing.

Conclusions This chapter provides insights into the motivations and methods utilized in collecting data for this study. In all cases, methods were chosen to most expeditiously and cost effectively collect relevant data to address the questions surrounding the professionalization process in occupations that can be deemed comparable to project management (on at least some criteria) or that already hold profession status. We expect that this information will provide significant insights into the professionalization process and the journey that project management has undertaken.

The following chapters provide reviews of the findings of this study. Each of the Web site analysis chapters first explores the data in some detail for that occupation and then provides insights into the implications we see for project management from this evidence. The online survey chapter presents the results of the survey grouped into professions, neo-professions and project management. Although the sample size is relatively small, there are important similarities and differences among the three groups that may help shape project management's professionalization journey.

Findings fiom Nursing Web Site Survey

N ursing provides an interesting comparison to project management for several reasons. First, the issues and implications of

the professionalization of nursing have been well studied in the nursing, medicine, and sociology literatures. This wealth of research provides an important history of the professionalization effort and provided the foundation issues identified in Chapter 2. Second, nursing is a quintessential employee-based profession that has many similarities with the large component of project management that is practiced within organizations by employees. This means that the struggle to maintain autonomy over the scope of practice should be informative. Third, nursing originally "borrowed" much of its medical body of knowledge from the established profession of medicine to which it is closely tied, adding to that a focus on the "soft" skills of actual hands-on care. Project management, in some ways, originated as a subset of engineering knowledge. Many of the "hard" aspects of project management originate in the engineering spheres of influence, while much of the "soft" project management theories come from management or social science disciplines. Thus, the nature of the struggle to identify a unique body of knowledge is likely to be similar. Finally, nursing has been pursuing a professionalization quest for several decades. This allows us to view the strategies and effects of professionalization efforts over time. Thus, Web site material on professionalization should provide both historical and current insights into the nature of the professionalization journey.

Overall, the nursing professional association Web sites were the most vocal, and detailed of the three occupations studied regarding

professional issues. As such, in addition to sections dealing with scope of practice, licensing, monopoly over title, education/accreditation, and the body of knowledge, sections regarding tensions with bureaucracy and professional associations and their relation to professional status appear in this chapter. These latter topics are absent in the chapters dealing with social workers and teachers. We conclude the chapter by highlighting some of the key themes evident across the nursing association Web sites and commenting on the implications of these themes with respect to the professionalization of project management.

Scope of Practice Issues Issues surrounding the definition of nursing jurisdiction were very evident in the nursing data. This is expected, given that nurses (like project managers) are situated (seemingly) in the middle of the health care professions, above unlicensed health care workers and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and below medical doctors. Overall, the data shows that the nursing occupation's arguments and strategies serve to both keep LPNs and unregistered health workers out of nursing territory, and to justify the nurses' role expansion into medical territory.

Protection from Semi-Professional Invasion In terms of threats from below, the nursing profession faces

invasion into their field of practice from both unregulated health workers and regulated health workers (Licensed Practical Nurses or Licensed Vocational Nurses). Nurses use their professional status in a variety of ways to protect their scope of practice (and their patients) from these lesser-trained occupations. The age of bureaucratic cutbacks in the late 1980s and early 1990s is said by nursing Web sites, and in the literature, to have exacerbated the problem of invasion from below, as health care providers opted to use more unregulated workers and LPNs in favor of highly trained and, therefore, costly nurses. Here is the situation presented by the California Nurses Association (CNA)9:

Operating under the current competition model, managed care systems are attempting to lower their costs by compart- mentalizing patient care and de-skilling the health care work-

9The reader should be aware that the acronym CNA is used by both the California Nurses Association and the Canadian Nurses Association. Throughout this document, the full name of the association being discussed in a given paragraph/section is always placed first to avoid confusion.

force. These models are promoted by consumer-friendly names such as "patient focused care," "Vision 2000," "Patient Centered Care," etc. The result is higher patient-to-nurse ratios, skill mix changes with less care being provided by RNs despite higher acuities, and a marked increase in anecdotal reports of "near misses" or outright examples of serious negative patient outcomes (California Nurses Association, "CNA Handbook: Current Economic Trends Affecting Staff Nurses and Other Caregivers").

Our data suggest that nurses resist these bureaucratic tactics in a number of ways. Overall, nurses assert the truly professional status of nurses vis-a-vis these workers. Documents dealing with delegation and scopes of practice clearly delineate what tasks and privileges of diagnosisltreatment decisions belong to whom. The following passage from the California Nurses Association is a good example of the construction of the RN as professional and the LPN as "helper":

The RN's scope of practice or the authority to perform specific nursing functions under the law is unrestricted, so long as the RN is competent and refrains from practicing medicine. RN practice requires a substantial amount of scientific knowledge or technical skills. In contrast, the scope of practice or legal authority to perform specific nursing functions of the LVN is very restricted in that it is dependent on the clinical supervision of the RN. The LVN's scope is limited to performing basic nursing services (as defined next) requiring technical and manual skills, with basic assessments limited to the task of data collection (California Nurses Association, "LVN Scope of Practice").

Data from the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia (CRNNS) makes a very similar argument:

The College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia (CRNNS) supports the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) position that the licensed practical nurse fulfils a valuable role as a member of the nursing care delivery team and a participant in providing quality nursing care. Quality nursing care is the provision of nursing care unique to the individual client's needs by the health care provider with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience, at a cost that society can afford. It is the result of collaboration between the registered nurse, the client and herlhis family, other health care professionals, and caregivers. The CRNNS believes that the role of the licensed practical nurse in the nursing care delivery team is determined by the client's health care needs and the nursing

knowledge, skills, and abilities required in meeting those needs. The licensed practical nurse, under the general supervision of the registered nurse, may provide supportive care to patients in stable condtion, who require nursing care with predictable outcomes. Under the direct supervision of the registered nurse, the licensed practical nurse may implement selected nursing interventions to support acutely ill clients (CRNNS, "Licensed Practical Nurse").

In both of these examples, the responsibility for delegation by the nurse is rooted firmly in nurses' unique/special claim to the theoretical knowledge that drives the tasks, a claim that cannot be made by LPNs or unregulated workers.

In addition, delegation rules often construct the nurse as the one who accepts responsibility for all actions of lesser trained workers. Typically, this is couched in terms like "professional accountability":

In defhng accountability, administrative personnel and registered nurses must distinguish between professional and non-professional role responsibilities. Ancillary personnel, both licensed and non-licensed, may learn to provide specific care in a competent manner. All must be clear, however, that it is the registered nurse who is accountable for clinical decision-making (Massachusetts Nurses Association, "Accountability in Nursing Practice Principles").

Another example, from the California Nurses Association "LVN Scope of Practice" document, also illustrates this point:

If a [sic] RN accepts an assignment with a LVN, the RN has the responsibility under the law to carry out the nursing process on all of assigned patients, regardless of how the LVN is utilized within the assignment. Therefore, if a RN is assigned six patients and a [sic] LVN, under the drection of the RN, is also assigned six patients during a shift, the RN is then legally responsible for all twelve patients. This is known as the "doubling factor" (California Nurses Associa- tion).

In both cases, the nurse is again clearly the professional, with the corresponding responsibility of liability.

In addition to simply outlining arguments, some associations have outlined action plans to protect nursing practice from LPNs and LVNs. In an open letter (posted online) to nurses at Kaiser hospital, the California Nurses Association outlines six initiatives that nurses should take with management, including insistence that

LVNs are subordinate to nurses, that LVNs should not be counted in nurse-to-patient ratios, that the work of LVNs be limited to technical or manual labor under the supervision of an RN (and additionally any abnormalities be reported to the RN), and that LVNs are not to collaborate with physicians (CNA, "Letter to Kaiser RNs"). The CNA has even gone so far as to actively speak out against regulations that would allow LVNs to administer intravenous medications for hemodialysis patients, through a letter campaign written to the board responsible for controlling LVN scopes of practice. Within the letter is a section that outlines the medical reasons as to why this procedure should be limited to nurses, and ends with the assertion that:

There is no reason for the proposed change, and were it to go into effect, patient care would be harmed. LVNs are an important part of the patient care team in halysis facilities. Their function should not be jeopardized by the expansion of their scope of practice beyond statutory authority and beyond what the requirements of patient safety allow (CNA, "Prac- tice Alert").

Clearly, nursing associations are very active in defending their scopes of practice from being performed by unqualified personnel.

Role Expansion Many of the nursing association Web sites contain information

about nursing roles that have expanded into roles traditionally held by medical doctors. This was generally referred to as Advanced Nurs- ing Practice. Such roles typically include nurse practitioners (NPs) and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs). NPs are distinguished from other nurses in that they are often situated in primary care settings and have the authority to do basic medical examinations, diagnoses and treatment of common illnesses and injuries, prescribe drugs, and order and interpret certain laboratory tests (Texas Nurses Associ- ation, "TNA Facts"; College of Nurses of Ontario, "Nursing and You"). CNSs typically have extra expertise in a very specific area of clinical practice. For example, categories of expertise for CNSs in Texas include ". . . mental health, gerontology, cardiac or cancer care, and community or neonatal health" (Texas Nurses Association, "TNA Facts"). Both NPs and CNSs may have prescriptive authority, with the proper training.l0 In general, the role of NP was discussed more than that of CNS.

'OOf 1,659 CNSs in Texas, 277 have prescriptive authority. Of 3,666 NPs in Texas, 2,300 have prescriptive authority (TNA, "TNA Facts").

This successful expansion into medical territory is the result of several strategies. First, nurses in some jurisdictions in Canada have recently established the advanced educational requirements for role expansion. The Canadian Nurses Association notes that the majority of provincial nursing associations have not clearly outlined minimum educational requirements, preferring instead to allow a more evolutionary development of the requirements (CNA, "Advanced Nursing Practice"). However, there is agreement among most nursing authorities in Canada that

. . . a graduate degree in nursing, either master's or doctoral, is necessary for all forms of advanced nursing practice. A formal graduate degree program is valued because it covers the growing theoretical base of nursing, promotes the incorpo- ration of new knowledge into the nurse's practice, and evaluates and documents the nurse's achievement. Graduate degrees also provide a credential that can be evaluated for equivalency throughout the world (ibid.).

The Alberta Association of Registered Nurses is an example of a professional association that clearly outlines their educational criteria for advanced nursing practice in Alberta. Their requirements are "(1) a baccalaureate in nursing, (2) three to five years experience,

I (3) an approved program preparing them to provide extended health services, (4) a demonstrated expertise in their practice area, and, (5) personal qualities congruent with the responsibility (CNA, Advanced Nursing Practice). In a similar manner, the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia has completed a plan to mandate the minimum competencies of nurse practitioners in the province (RNABC, "Nurse Practitioner Project Update").

Accreditation of nursing schools is another strategy to take control of advanced nursing practice. The RNABC is actively involved in attempting to expand the mandate of its Education Approval Committee to have the sole responsibility of accrediting schools and educational programs for Nurse Practitioners in British Columbia (ibid.). Other associations, including Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan explicitly mention in their Web sites that they have won the right to approve schools for advanced nursing practice in their jurisdictions (CRNNS, "Program Approvals," Online Feb 2003; SRNA, "What's New: Regulating Nurse Practitioners Soon to be a Reality"). No information about the educational requirements was found in the states sampled for this project.

Second, nursing associations have fought for legislation for licensing Nurse Practitioners. Again, information about this form of action comes only from the Canadian data. However, the Canadian

Nurses Association notes that the United States, as a whole, requires licensure for specific categories of advanced practice (CNA, "Advanced Nursing Practice"), perhaps indicating that these battles have already been won in the U.S. Five provinces in our sample (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Bruns- wick) explicitly discuss legislation that has been passed in their province, requiring that advanced practice nurses be licensed (Alberta Association of Registered Nurses, "Extended Practice: Nurse Practitioner Competencies"; SRNA, "What's New: Regulat- ing Nurse Practitioners Soon to be a Reality"; ARNNL, "Standards of Practice for Nurse Practitioners"; CRNNS, "New Act Officially Changes 92 Year History of Nursing Association"; NANB, "News Release: Nurse Practitioner a Reality"). In all of these cases, the professional association is responsible for licensing NPs. Further, they are responsible for outlining competencies and determining the legal scope of practice for nurse practitioners (ibid.). All five associations have posted minimum competencies and/or scopes of practice they have developed for nurse practitioners on their Web sites.

Third, it was evident that, in some cases, the professional associations of both the nursing profession and the medical profession worked together to chisel out acceptable scopes of practices for advanced practice nurses and to delineate the competencies shared with doctors. For example, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA)ll has worked cooperatively with both the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) and the Minnesota Psychiatric Society (MPS) to produce memoranda of agreements that outline exactly how prescriptive authority of advanced practice nurses would be developed in collaboration with doctors/psychiatrists (Minnesota Nurses Asso- ciation, "For Written Prescribing Agreements Between an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and a Collaborating Physician Memoran- dum of Understanding"). Pennsylvania and Nova Scotia were two other jurisdictions that discussed overlapping scopes of practice and ways of working collaboratively with doctors. In every case, the nursing association strove to uphold the autonomy and professional status of the nurse, as demonstrated here:

The collaborating physician and certified registered nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or certified clinical nurse specialist have the responsibility to jointly

"The reader should be aware that the acronym "MNA" is used by Massachusetts, Minnesota and Michigan Nurses Associations. The full name of the association being discussed is always placed first to avoid confusion.

determine the amount of autonomy that will be delegated specific to the prescribing of drugs and therapeutic devices (MNA, "For Written Prescribing Agreements Between an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and a Collaborating Phy- sician Memorandum of Understanding").

Likewise, the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association applauds the efforts of the state nursing board for creating agreements with the state medical board for outlining the overlapping competencies of nurse practitioners with doctors in emergency situations (i.e., NPs diagnosing in medical emergencies, rather than using clinical algorithms). The state nursing board "does not support the Board of Medicine's recommendation for physician review and supervision of nurse's actions" during such situations (PSNA, "Nurse Triage in Pennsylvania, Position Statement").

The latter comment suggests that the medical community is not always open to the expansion of the nursing profession. A clear example of "attack" on advanced nursing practice from the medical profession is given by the Florida Nurses Association (FNA), in its assessment of a senate bill that demands that physicians delegate and supervise all advertised medical procedures, excluding nurse practitioners from performing them:

Another horrible bill has arisen, SB 2190 by Senator Posey that attacks our ARNP [advanced registered nurse practitioner] colleagues. The bill addresses advertising by physicians similar to a SB 2010 by Senator Dyer but this killer bill has a Section three that spells out the Duties of a Supervising Physi- cian that delegates statutorily authorized Medcal Care or services that are advertised. This is a new section of the Mehcal Practice Act.

The Duties are proposed to read, "Any physician delegating statutorily authorized medical care or services that are advertised or promoted as specialty services to a non-physician must directly supervise the initial non-emergency patient contact, any non-emergency medical condition, and all surgical procedures other than minor surgical procedures for previously dagnosed conditions." This section does not apply to practitioners while they are in facilities licensed under chapter 395 (hospitals) or chapter 400 (ALFs and Nursing homes). It goes on to duplicate this language in the Osteo- pathic Medical Act, chapter 459.

As you can all see this is a frontal attack on Advanced Nursing Practice. Every ARNP should indeed discuss this bill with your collaborating physician and urge them to tell the Medical Societies to Call Off The War They Have Declared on Nursing.

We do not see a House Companion Bill for this bill but we must attack this bill head on. NPs and your physician colleagues MUST contact Senator Posey and urge him to delete this section of his bill . . . (FNA, "Action Alert: Take Action, S.B. 2190").

In contrast to the resistance given by the medical community, other parts of the data show that the public has strong support for the extended role of nurses into medical territory. An Ipsos-Reid poll of Albertans (N=648) conducted in August of 2000 revealed that 81 % of the sample believed that nurses with extra training are capable of admitting patients into hospitals, 76% felt that expanded role nurses are capable of performing the initial examination of a patient, and 53% agreed that expanded role nurses were capable of prescribing medication (Alberta Association of Registered Nurses, "News Releases, October 5, 2000").

Educating the public about nurses' role expansion is also a strategy used to enhance the professional status of nurses. For example, the Michigan Nurses Association's Web site outlines its support for the Nurse Practitioner National Marketing Campaign (NPNMC). The NPNMC is a campaign designed to "increase the visibility and improve the representation of nurses practitioners 'before select groups and the public"' (Michigan Nurses Association, "NP National Marketing Campaign Gains National Support").

Professional nursing associations have engaged in other strategies to promote expanded nursing roles, including the formation of committees that deal especially with advanced nurses' issues. In our sample, for example, both the Michigan and Pennsylvania nurses associations had formed such committees (the Michigan Nurses Association Coalition of Nurses in Advanced Practice and the Coun- cil of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses [CAPRN], respectively). Each of these committees serve to provide networking opportunities between various advanced practitioner groups, to serve as a liaison with the local public, and as a forum to address problems common to advanced practice nurses. Also, two associations in the U.S. sample (Minnesota and Massachusetts) are fighting for, or have mechanisms in place for, third-party reimbursement of nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists, who, because of their expanded practice into medicine, have to be billed for medical services under rules set by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) at the federal level.

RegistrationILicensing Issues Issues surrounding the acquisition of registration/li~ensing~~ systems at the regular level of nursing (i.e., the non-advanced practice level) were not evident in our dataset. The Canadian Nurses Association notes that registration systems are the legal responsibility of the professional association of each province, with the exception of Ontario, where there is a separate body that sets the standards for registration (CNA, "Nursing Professional Regulatory Framework"). The same applies in the U.S. context. The American Nurses Associa- tion notes that nurses must be licensed by the state in which they practice (ANA, "Multistate Regulation of Nurses: Backgrounder"), making licensure a state responsibility.

While basic registration systems at the state/provincial level are not a problem, the transferability of registration from area to area was a thorny issue for at least one jurisdiction in our sample. The Minnesota Nurses Association voiced opposition to a federal bill (HF 2702/SF 2508) proposing a licensure system that would allow nurses to practice in more than one state at any given time. The MNA states:

MNA's opposition to this legislation is based upon our wish to maintain the integrity of the state licensure system. We are proud of the fact that Minnesota has high nurse licensing standards with requirements for continuing education aimed at encouraging nurses to continue to learn and improve their slulls. While this legislation is being championed by the Min- nesota Hospital and Health Care Partnership as a solution to the nursing shortage, MNA does not believe it will have any effect on the nurse shortage. The legislation will make it easier for nurses to move from state to state without securing a MN nurse license. The legislation will also make it easier to decrease nurse licensure standards and erode professional nursing over time. MNA1s specific concerns about this licensure scheme are many, beginning with a concern that nurses could come to Minnesota to practice nursing without first securing a permit or a Minnesota license. The Minnesota Board of Nursing would not know if they were practicing here unless there was a complaint made against the nurse (MNA, "Legislative Fact Sheet: Oppose National Multistate Nurse License Legislation").

12"Registration" is the term used in the Canadian context to denote being a legally recognized practitioner, while "licensing1' is the term used in the American context.

The MNA listed a further concern that nurses from other states with this dual licensure would not be required to meet Minnesota's continued education requirements (ibid.). In general, it is feared that nursing standards would be compromised by multi-state licensing systems, particularly in states that have standards higher than most. Aside from this issue, there was no other discussion of registration1 licensing issues at the level of the registered nurse.

Monopoly over Title Nursing association Web sites, particularly Canadian associations, also address use of title issues. The Alberta Association of Registered Nurses (AARN) discusses the professional duty of any practicing registered nurse to disclose herlhis official title and position to patients. This action of disclosing professional credentials to patients ". . . is necessary to provide for consistency in identification of the health care providers to consumers and to enhance the individual professional's accountability" (AARN-Report of the Joint Working Group to Address Staffing and Resource Allocation in the Health Care System in Alberta, February 1996). Similarly, the Massachu- setts Nurses Association recently won the right for nurses to disclose their licensure status to patients at the bedside (Massachusetts Nur- ses Association, "Advocating for Nurses and Patients"). The College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia states that:

Nurse and nursing are now protected terms. To use the designation of nurse or to describe their activities as nursing, individuals must either: ( I ] hold a current or temporary license to practice as a registered nurse; (2) be a licensed practical nurse; or (3) be a student enrolled in a nursing education (baccalaureate/master's degree) or practical nursing program. While providing an important measure of protection for the public, this change should eliminate some confusion in the identification of health care providers (CRNNS, "New Act, New Name, New Profession"].

Wherever possible, nursing associations stress that the title of nurse is a privilege accessible only to those with proper training, licensing and registration, and this privilege is protected by law.

Other professional associations highlight the consequences of unregistered nurses using the officially protected title of "registered nurse." The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) has reported a rise in the number of "impostors" reported in the last two years (that is, people practicing nursing without a license or sometimes without any training), from two cases in 1999 to ten cases in 2001 (CNO, "Quality Practice Newsletter," Volume 1, Issue 1). As a result, CNO

has embarked on a mission to "stamp out impostors" by strongly encouraging employers to check the validity of credentials of nursing employees with CNO when hiring and also on a yearly basis (ibid.). Impostors are seen as a danger to public safety, as shown by one particular case: "One impostor gave four different registration numbers to a hospital four years running. It wasn't until an act of incompetence led someone from the hospital to call the college that the impostor was discovered" (ibid.). Given the reality of misrepresenta- tion and even harm to patients posed by unqualified practitioners, it is not surprising that some nursing associations stress the need to police the use of the title.

Nurse practitioners (a new class of nurses with expanded scope of practice) also have issues related to the title of nurse practitioner. For example, though nurse practitioners have existed in Ontario for many years, "[tlhe term 'nurse practitioner' is not protected, which means that registered nurses other than those in the Extended Class13 (the official title given to nurse practitioners by the college, who have successfully completed extra educationalltraining requirements) can use this title" (CNO, "Quality Practice Newsletter," Issue 4, 2001). This lack of protection of the title of nurse practitioner is potentially dangerous if unqualified people are practicing under this title. The

I Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia "has recom- mended to government that 'nurse practitioner' be a reserved title, similar to the reserved title of 'registered nurse' " (RNABC, 'Nurse Practitioner Project Update'). The College of Registered nurses of Nova Scotia stresses the importance of clarity in defining titles and credentials for advanced nursing practice, noting that:

Dynamic changes in the health system are creating pressure for nursing to clarify its position on advanced nursing practice. The evolution of nursing roles and functions has resulted in a proliferation of credentials and titles that have received both formal and informal sanctions from the profession and employers, causing confusion among nurses and the public (CRNNS, "Advanced Nurse Practitioner").

Ultimately, clarity and protection of titles surrounding advanced nursing practice is required to protect the public. Overall, protection

I3The official title given by the college to NPs who have completed the necessary trainingleducation.

of title issues figured prominently in the data, and focused mainly on the need for these for public protection.

Education and Accreditation Strategies in Nursing

Raising Minimum Education Requirements The nursing profession in North America is currently very active

in pursuits related to improving education, which further boosts their claims to a solid knowledge base. The most fundamental of these is raising the minimum educational requirement for entry into the profession from a diploma program to a Bachelor of Nursing degree. The bulk of the discussion about this trend comes from the Canadian data, though Texas was the one U.S. jurisdiction that also discussed this issue. The push for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing/ Bachelor of Nursing (BScN/BN) as the minimum entry standard in Canada gained momentum with a position statement adopted by the Canadian Nurses Association in 1982, which stated that the BScN/BN should be the minimum requirement for entry by the year 2000 (Saskatchewan Registered Nurses' Association, "Changes in Basic Nursing Education Requirements and the Maintenance of Reg- istration Eligibility"). The following provinces currently legally require the BScN/BN for entry into nursing: Saskatchewan, Mani- toba, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (ibid.). Professional associations in four of these provinces explicitly cite the CNA1s 1982 statement as the catalyst for the province adopting this new standard, with the professional associations of Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia adopting it in 1984, New Brunswick in 1989, and Newfoundland in the early 1990s (SRNA, "Changes in Basic Nursing Education. . ."; College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia, "Future Registration Security"; Nurses Asso- ciation of New Brunswick, "Entry to Practice"). British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and the Northwest Territories do not, as yet, require this level of education, and still have diploma programs available (CNA, "Why is Nursing Education Changing?"), though Ontario passed legislation in 2000 requiring all entry level nurses to have the BScN/BN by the year 2005 (Registered Nurses Associa- tion of Ontario14, "Ask An RN"). The CNA warns nursing students in the remaining areas to be aware of ". . . the trend toward a university level of education" in nursing, and also that all of the profes-

14The RNAO is the professional association for nurses in Ontario, while the College of Nurses of Ontario is nursing's governing body. Both Web sites were sampled for information.

sional nursing associations in the nation have now adopted the CNA's 1982 position (ibid.). This strongly suggests that the nursing diploma is on its way out as an acceptable entry-level standard in Canada.

As noted before, the only U.S. state in our sample to discuss the bachelor degree as minimum entry standard was Texas. However, this was discussed as a general trend in the education system in Texas rather than as a legislated state requirement. According to the Texas Nurses Association, in the 1960s there was a proliferation of diploma nursing programs. However, only two such programs exist in that state today, and a clear shift toward bachelor degree programs is apparent (TNA, "Texas Nurses Association Facts: Nursing in Texas").

A number of associations presented arguments as to why raising the entry standard to the bachelor degree was absolutely necessary. Most common was an acknowledgment of the tremendous growth in the complexity of nursing practice, particularly in the last thirty years. The Canadian Nurses Association states:

Registered nurses are facing increasingly complex demands, which require a broad-based bachelor's degree preparation. This includes general arts and science courses and an introduction to other disciplines, as well as a major focus on nursing. . . . The Canalan Nurses Association believes that the competencies required by new registered nurses to meet client health needs are most effectively and economically achieved through baccalaureate education (CNA, "Why is Nursing Education Changing?").

In another example, President Donna Denney of the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia (CRNNS) responds in a CRNNS Press Release to local media calls to reintroduce the two-year nursing diploma as an acceptable entry-level standard to alleviate a nursing shortage:

"Nursing is not the same as it was 10 to 20 years ago, and the profession will only continue to evolve," says Ms. Denney. "Health conditions are changing . . . technology is changing . . . and, overall, health care will continue to become incredi- bly more diverse and complex . . . both within health care facilities and in the community. . . as more and more patients are lscharged early from hospital and receive technology- dependent care in their homes." Ms. Denney adds that many people may view nursing as a profession based primarily on skill and are not aware of how much the knowledge base of the profession has grown in the past two to three decades . . . and how much further it will have to expand to ensure that

nurses have the critical capabilities to meet the health care needs of future generations (CRNNS, "Nursing Shortage Calls for Long-Term Strategy, Not Short-Term Fix").

In this case, the professional association resists calls to lower educational entry standards based on the expanding knowledge base of the nursing profession. A final example of the argument to increase nursing education entry requirements comes from a draft letter (October 1999) written by the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, and intended as a template for its members to write to the Minister of Health to legislate the bachelor degree as a minimum standard:

Dear Minister: I am a registered nurse practicing in Ontario who is writing to you today to urge you to sign the regulation regarding future entry to practice for registered nurses. As you know Minister, this is an important issue for the profession of nursing as well as for the people of Ontario who receive care from registered nurses . . . a new century is imminent and so are several factors which mandate our profession to change the entry to practice requirements: (1) The acuity of patients both in hospital, in long-term care settings and in the community is increasing. The complexity of care for these patients is unprecedented in light of new technologies, pharmacology and increased understandng of pathophysiological processes. (2) As the nursing shortage grows in this province, there is a need to provide a clear message to prospective students about the educational preparation demanded of the nursing profession. Current trends in enrollment indcate that prospective students are unwilling to risk an investment in diploma preparation if the profession will soon move towards baccalaureate preparation. (3) Five other provinces have moved to baccalaureate to practice. If Ontario does not move immediately on this issue, Ontario registered nurses will eventually lose mobility in the national job market . . . (RNAO, "Action Alert: Advice to Minister of Health Related to BScN as Entry to Practice").

Once again, the argument is made that the complexity of the profession's knowledge base demands nothing less than a bachelor's degree. The RNAO claims it has been lobbying for this since the 1970s (RNAO, "Ask an RN").

The above excerpts also hint at the relationship between education and patient safety, in that education is the key to meeting new standards of competencies in caregiving. Patient safety was explicitly linked to a raised educational standard by the CRRNS, who state that "[blaccalaureate education in nursing will form the foundation

for nurses to provide safe, competent, ethical nursing care to clients in a variety of settings" (CRNNS, "Future Registration Security"). However, this was the only association to make this explicit connection. Overall, the Canadian data were replete with examples of arguments and strategies related to raising the minimum standard of education to enter the profession.

Concerns about raising the minimum standard for entry into nursing were addressed in the professional association Web sites. In particular, it was feared that raising educational standards would disqualify nurses already practicing and/or would prevent talented people from entering the profession because they would not be able to afford the cost of the bachelor education (ARNNL, "Position Statement: Career Mobility"; RNAO, "Ask an RN"). "Grandparent- ing" clauses were often discussed as a means of accommodating nurses already trained and practicing with a diploma level (or similar) education. For example, the Nurses Association of New Brunswick states that:

The Association guarantees through bylaws that a change in educational requirements for initial registration (1) shall not affect the eligibility for renewal of registration, (2) shall not restrict the right to practice, and (3) shall not restrict the eligibility for refresher programs, of any person who was at any time a nurse registered with the Association or in any other Canahan province or territory prior to any such change (NANB, "Entry to Practice").

The professional associations in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan have also established similar rules and positions guaranteeing that nurses who obtained the two-year nursing diploma before the new entry standard will not be disqualified from registration or affected for promotion (CRNNS, "Future Registration Secu- rity"; ARNNL, "Position Statement: Career Mobility"; SRNA, "Position Statement: Changes in Basic Nursing Education Require- ments and the Maintenance of Registration").

Continued EducationIContinued Competence Continued education programs for professional nurses, often

called "continued competence" (CE/CC) programs, were widely discussed in the Web sites. continued competence was portrayed as an integral, necessary part of professional nursing. Some jurisdictions in our sample, particularly New Brunswick, Alberta and Pennsylva- nia, presented continued competence as a largely informal, voluntary process that a good professional nurse engages in on her/his own initiative and professionalism (NANB, "Continuing Education";

Alberta Association of Registered Nurses, "News Releases: Confi- dentiality of Continuing Competence Documentation Not Yet Assured," Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, "The Position Statement of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association on Continu- ing Competence1'). In other jurisdictions, participation in continued education courses/workbooks/workshops was mandatory for registration or re-registration, as in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Mani- toba, and Michigan, or was going to become mandatory in the future, as in The Northwest Territories (CRNNS, "Continuing Competence Project"; Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia, "Con- tinuing Competence"; College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, "Continuing Competence for Registered Nurses in Manitoba: A Dis- cussion Paper"; Michigan Nurses Association, "Michigan Board of Nursing: Continuing Education Requirements"; Northwest Territo- ries Registered Nurses Association, "Continuing Competence"). CE/ CC was argued to be part of the professionalism of nursing in a number of ways. For example, it was argued that CE/CC was necessary to keep nurses abreast of changes in the knowledge base, as in

I this excerpt from the NANB Web site:

I It is, therefore, imperative that the quality of nursing practice, which is to a large extent a function of the competence of the nurse, be maintained and enhanced by updating and expanding nursing knowledge, skills, and attitudes in keeping with scientific and technological changes and the changing role of the nurse as a member of the health care team (NANB, "Continued Education").

The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association makes a similar claim:

Another issue at the heart of continuing education is the speed with which medlcal information becomes outdated. Various sources state that medical information is outdated within two years. Considering this statement, professionals in the medlcal fields must keep updating their knowledge and skills in order to function competently and safely. Nurses must make it a priority to keep current (Sara Courson, for PSNA, "Career Guidance for Today's Nurses").

The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba linked CE/CC to improved nursing practice: "Engaging in continuing competence activities contributes to the promotion of good nursing practice, prevention of undesirable practice and the quality and best possible outcomes of registered nursing practice" (CRNM, 'Continuing Com- petence for Registered Nurses in Manitoba: A Discussion Paper'). It was also asserted that CEICC contributed to professional claims of

accountability in the nursing profession, as in this excerpt from the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association:

As changes to health care occur with emerging trends and technologies, nurses further demonstrate accountability by continually updating their nursing knowledge, skills and judgement in order to remain competent practitioners (SRNA, "Position Statement: Professional Accountability of Regis- tered Nurses").

The PSNA also made this claim:

PSNA believes that continuing competence is a hallmark of professionalism and a means by which a profession is held accountable to society. Continuing competence is essential to promote quality health care, insure [sic] minimum standards of practice, protect the health and welfare of the health care consumer, support and promote professional practice standards and to promote professional growth and development (PSNA, "The Position Statement of The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association on Continuing Competence").

Overall, CE/CC was seen to be an important professional strategy for nursing, whether to keep on top of a rapidly changing knowledge base, to improve nursing practice, or to solidify claims to professionalism through accountability.

Accreditation Accreditation of nursing education programs also appeared in

the nursing Web site data, though not in great detail. Professional nursing associations that acted as regulatory bodies briefly mentioned their responsibility to accredit educational programs in post- secondary institutions. In our sample, these were limited to the Canadian context, and included Nova, British Columbia and Sas- katchewan (CRNNS, "Program Approval: Processes and StandardsUj RNABC "Nurse Practitioner Project Update"; SRNA, "Position Statement: Professional Accountability of Registered Nurses"). The CRNNS outlines its role as the regulatory body/professional association in accrediting post-secondary programs in Nova Scotia:

In accordance with the Registered Nurses Act (1996), CRNNS is required to establish standards for nursing education and approve nursing education programs. The purpose of the program approval process is to ensure that nursing education programs in Nova Scotia meet the CRNNS Standards for Nursing Education approved by the Council, and that graduates of such programs are: eligible to write the registered nurses' examination approved by the Council [,I prepared to

practice according to the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses adopted by the Council I,] prepared to practice according to the CRNNS Standards for Nursing Practice approved by the Council [,I able to meet the entry-level competency requirements for beginning practitioners as approved by the Council (CRNNS, "Program Approval: Processes and Standards").

Accreditation of schools thus ensures that minimum standards set by the regulatory body are met.

Alternatively, those professional associations that were not the regulatory body sought to become accredited providers of nursing education themselves, particularly continued education/continued competence programs. These were limited to U.S. states in our data, and included the Michigan Nurses Association, the Texas Nurses Association, and the Washington State Nurses Association. All of these have been accredited by the American Nurses Association's Credential Center (ANCC] Commission on Accreditation to provide CE/CC courses, or authorized to work with the ANCC to accredit courses offered by other educational bodies (MNA, "Michigan Board of Nursing Continuing Education Requirements"; TNA, "Benefits of TNA Membership"; Washington State Nurses Association, "What is CEARP?"). Accreditation was thus mentioned, but not widely touted, as part of the professional duty of regulatory bodies and professional associations.

Tensions with BureaucracyIEmployer This section examines the tensions experienced between nurses, as professionals, with bureaucratic employers. In particular, this section demonstrates how nurses struggle to practice their profession autonomously and ethically, in the best interests of the patient, in an environment more concerned with cutting costs or even making a profit. It will also show how nurses use their professional status to resist bureaucratic structures that threaten their practice.

Perhaps the biggest point of contention that the nursing profession has with their employing bureaucracies is the restriction of professional nursing staff as a result of cutbacks. One result of these cutbacks, as pointed out earlier, is an increase in the number of non- professional nursing staff (LPNs and unregulated health workers). This, in turn, brings the overall skill level of the workplace down and places extra pressure on professional nurses to look after more patients and to delegate responsibilities. As such, professional nursing staff may oversee the work of lesser-trained employees, leaving less time for them to provide care to patients themselves. Ironically, even when professional nurses do have an opportunity to administer

patient care directly, this increase in the patient-to-nurse ratio, as mentioned before, has safety implications.

Poor working conditions created by cutbacks have also been cited by numerous professional nursing Web sites as a main contributor to nurse shortages in particular areas (this point was mentioned specifically by the nursing associations in California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, British Columbia, the North- west Territories, and Saskatchewan). According to one national study, the Massachusetts Nursing Association claims that one in five nurses under the age of thirty will leave the profession in the next five years due to dangerously low nurse-to-patient ratios (MNA, "MNA Press Release: Health Care Industry Report Links RN Staffing & Shortage Issues To Increase in Patient Deaths and Serious Compli- cations in Hospitals"). Further, the MNA asserts that:

In the last decade, nurses' patient assignments have doubled and sometimes tripled. When nurses should be caring for no more than 4 or 5 patients, today they are often expected to care for 7, 8, 9 or even 12 patients. . . . What policymakers need to understand is that we don't have a shortage of nurses in Massachusetts. . . . What we have is a shortage of nurses willing to practice with the current staffing ratios. If we give nurses a safe number of patients to care for, nurses will stay, and more importantly, more nurses will come back to the bedside (ibid.).

Similarly, the California Nurses Association argues that:

Any proposals to reduce the [nursing] shortage must start with implementation of safe ratios. Safe ratios are the essential ingrelent, and only effective step to restoration of safe patient care standards that will persuade nurses that hospitals are a safe environment for themselves and their patients, and reestablish the image of nursing as an attractive career (CNA, "The Cure for the Nursing Shortage").

Professional nurses, unable to practice safe and ethical (i.e., professional) nursing to the best of their ability, would sooner leave the profession altogether than tolerate unsafe working conditions.

Employers further exacerbate the problem of a nursing shortage by pushing mandatory overtime on professional nurses. Mandatory overtime allows employers to stretch their professional nursing staff further, without having to hire more professional nurses. Mandatory overtime involves professional nurses working double shifts, or having very few hours in-between shifts assigned to them unexpectedly (Massachusetts Nursing Association, "MNA Lauds Introduction of Federal Bill to Ban Mandatory Overtime"). Often, the employing

bureaucracy resorts to "bullying" tactics, where nurses feel their jobs are threatened if they do not comply. A concrete example of bullying involves employers accusing nurses of abandonment of their patients if they failed to work extra shifts (which, of course, due to a shortage of staff, are not otherwise covered adequately). Abandon- ment of a patient by a nurse is a serious ethical offence, punishable by loss of license. Both the Minnesota Nurses Association and the Minnesota Board of nursing have fielded calls from nurses concerned about being accused of abandonment if they refuse to work overtime, and jointly, the two associations have clarified the real meaning of abandonment on the MNA Web site:

Nurses often contact the Board of Nursing to request clarifi- cation of what constitutes "patient abandonment." Callers have related that they have-been told by supervisors they must either work an overtime shift or be reported to the Board for patient abandonment, with the added threat that "I will take your (nursing) license away." Generally, the Board believes that patient abandonment results when a nurse has accepted responsibility for an assignment within the scheduled work shift, but the nurse does not either fulfill that responsibility or transfer it to another qualified person. Only the Board of Nursing may take disciplinary action on a nurse's license. A supervisor may not "take a license away." The decision to take disciplinary action is based on the facts of the inhvidual case and their application to grounds for disciplinary action in the Nurse Practice Act. The decision is not based on the recommendation of a supervisor (MNA, "MNA Responds Swiftly to Threats Made to Member Licenses").

These bodies have made it clear that the employer does not have any say in defining or punishing nurses for abandonment for refusing to work outside of their scheduled shift. The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba presents a nearly identical situation to that of Minnesota:

Periodically, registered nurses contact the College of Regis- tered Nurses of Manitoba (CRNM) to report that their employer/supervisor has told them that they must do an overtime shift and that if they don't, they will be charged with "abandonment" (CRNM, "Fact Sheet: Duty to CareJ').

For its part, the CRNM assures its membership that "[ilt would not be considered abandonment if the registered nurse chose not to accept overtime hours or reaches the level of fatigue that he or she is not able to accept overtime hours" (ibid.). Though employers

attempt to use nurses' own ethical standards against them, nursing associations and boards are quick to nullify employers' claims.

In addition to clarifying the definitions of patient abandonment versus a simple refusal to work overtime, the nursing profession has flexed its political muscles in other ways to resist these bureaucratic pressures. A number of nursing professional associations in the United States have been successful in passing protective legislation that limits or eliminates mandatory overtime. These include associations in Massachusetts, which limited the use of mandatory overtime through collective bargaining (MNA, "Collective Bargaining at the MNA"), and Michigan, where the Nurses Association and the Board of Nursing worked together to create a resolution stating that refusal to work overtime does not constitute abandonment (Michi- gan Nurses Association, "Recent Accomplishments"). The Minne- sota Nurses Association, while not responsible for The Mandatory Overtime Prevention Act (SF 2463/HF2993), nonetheless celebrated its passing (Minnesota Nurses Association, "Governor Venture Signs Ban on Mandatory Overtime Bill").15 It is particularly interesting that in two of the bills (Michigan and Minnesota's), responsibility is given to individual nurses to decide for themselves when they are too tired to accept overtime shifts, allowing them to use their professional judgement without fear of abandonment charges (Michi- gan Nurses Association, "Recent Accomplishments"; Minnesota Nurses Association, "Governor Ventura Signs Ban on Mandatory Overtime Bill"). A Minnesota Nurses Association Board member, commenting about SB 2463 in a press release, was happy that " [tlhis bill places authority to make judgments about our own professional practice in the rightful hands of nurses. . . (Minnesota Nurses Associ- ation, "Governor Ventura Signs Ban on Mandatory Overtime Bill"). Some jurisdictions have thus been fortunate in re-establishing nurse autonomy in being able to reject overtime.

Finally, some nursing associations are pressuring legislators to pass laws guaranteeing that a minimum level of professional nursing staff must be present in the workplace. One such initiative was The California Nurses Association's AB 394, which mandates a ratio of one nurse to a maximum of five patients (Massachusetts Nurses Association, "News: Improving the RN-to-Patient Ratio"). The Mas- sachusetts Nurses Association noted its desire to model legislation

I5The Minnesota Nurses Association does note, however, that it has had protection against mandatory overtime in its collective agreements since 1987. It notes that the new bill is for the benefit of nurses who are not unionized (Minnesota Nurses Association, "Governor Ventura Signs Ban on Mandatory Overtime Bill").

similar to California's (ibid.). The Pennsylvania State Nurses Associ- ation took a slightly different approach to nurse-to-patient ratios. They officially refused to support state-level legislation that would have been similar to California's, contending that "[wle must shift the nursing paradigm away from an industrial model to a professional model where we get away from the technical approach of measuring time and motion to one that examines myriad aspects of using knowledgeable workers to provide quality care" (PSNA, "Nurse Staff Ratio Bill Introduced, PSNA Does Not Support Legislation"). While professionalism is used by PSNA to promote better staffing levels, they did not offer a concrete solution to the problem of unsafe staff mixes.

No examples of legislation dealing either with mandatory overtime or minimum staffing levels were found in the Canadian data.

Another tension between nurses and employers evident in the Web site materials is the issue of whistle blowing (reporting unsafe practices or policies in health care settings by employers or other nurses). This issue reflects both autonomy and ethics as professional issues. Professional ethics of the nursing profession demand that any practices or conditions unsafe for the patient, ranging from incompetence of a colleague/charge to unsafe staffing levels, be reported and corrected immediately. Professional nursing associations assert that nurses are fearful of losing their jobs if they fulfill this ethical/professional duty. For example, the Minnesota Nurses Association states:

Often, nurses who identify unsafe health care are afraid to report unsafe circumstances to authorities or even to their employers for fear of retaliation. Fear of retaliation is a barrier to nurses fulfilling their ethical and moral obligations to their patients (Minnesota Nurses Association, '/When Nurses Blow the Whistle on Unsafe Patient Care").

The Canadian Nurses Association paints a similar picture of the complexity of the problem facing professional nurses working in bureaucratic settings:

Employees, especially nurses, may be the first to recognize unsafe practice or to identify actual or potential hazards. How- ever, a nurse may often be caught between the values and standards of the profession and the values and norms of the organization in which he or she works. . . . By accepting employment, nurses assume certain obligations to their employer and to their colleagues. Violation of these obligations is viewed as being disloyal (CNA, "I See and Am Silent / I See and Speak Out: The Ethical Dilemma of Whistle- Blowing").

Thus, nursing associations acknowledge that professional values clash with organizational values, and nurses are often caught in the middle.

To promote the ethical/professional practice of whistle-blowing, the profession provides clear guidelines on their sites for whistle- blowing and reiterates its importance as a professional obligation. The Canadian Nurses Association provides a couple of resources for nurses faced with ethical challenges:

The Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses . . . gives guidance for ethical decision-making for all nurses, whether they are engaged in clinical practice, education, administration, or research. Five values in the code are especially relevant to nurses in decidlng whether to blow the whistle: Health and well-being. . . Dignity. . . Confidentiality. . . Accountability . . . Practice environments that are conducive to safe, competent and ethical care. . . Another resource, Everyday Ethics: Putting the Code into Practice (CNA, 1998) is a practical guide for applying the code's values. This book outlines three methods of moral decision-making (ibid.).

The Minnesota Nurses Association has posted a Frequently Asked Questions page about procedures and nurses' rights for whistle-blowing permissible under the Whistle-Blowing Law (MN Statute 181.932). It notes that the law protects nurses who report unsafe conditions as part of their professional duty (Minnesota Nurses Asso- ciation, "When Nurses Blow the Whistle on Unsafe Patient Care").

In addition to clarifying whistle-blowing, nurses' associations in several jurisdictions in the United States have brought in protective legislation that in no uncertain terms tells employing institutions that nurse autonomy is to be upheld, in the name of safety, without penalty to the professional. As previously mentioned, the Minnesota Nurses Association successfully initiated legislation that was eventually passed (MN Status 181.932), which "[adds] protection for reporting a situation in which "the quality of health care services potentially place the public at risk of harm" using the standard of clinical and ethical standards commonly set by the professions (Minnesota Nurses Association, "When Nurses Blow the Whistle on Unsafe Patient Care"). The Massachusetts Nurses Association initiated whistle-blower legislation that was passed in November of 1999, ensuring that all health care workers, including nurses, can safely report ". . . conditions that threaten the safety and quality of patient care" without fear of retaliation from employers (Massachu- setts Nurses Association, "News: Whistle Blower Bill Signed by Governor"). Thus, professional associations have been instrumental

in helping nurses reestablish the professional autonomy over practice and ethical obligations vis-ii-vis their employers.

Issues Surrounding the Body of ynowledge

The Theory Base and Research The theme of nursing as a theoretically and scientifically based

profession is repeated often in the Web sites. The California Nurses Association argues that:

RNs practice in an independent and autonomous manner and are responsible for assessing and caring for patient's responses to illness associated with their actual or potential health or illness and prescribed treatment thereof that require a substantial amount of scientific knowledge or technical skill (California Nurses Association, "Letter to Kaiser RNs, June 7, 2002").

Furthermore, the California Nurses Association states that . . ."RNs must consistently demonstrate the ability to transfer scientific knowledge from social, biological and physical sciences in applying the nursing process, which is a problem-solving process" (California Nurses Association, "Position Statement on Staff Ratios"). The Canadian Nurses Association asserts that nursing practice is "theory-based and directed toward attaining individual client outcomes that can be measured. It is provided within the context of the nursing process of assessment, problem identification, planning, intervention and evaluation" (Canadian Nurses Association, "Ethi- cal Issues Related to Appropriate Staff Mixes"). These associations argue that nursing is not only based on science, but also more importantly, is the ability to apply scientific or theoretical knowledge to everyday practice.

Although claims to a solid knowledge base are fairly secure for the nursing profession, efforts to improve it were evident in the data. To promote the unique nature of the body of knowledge, nursing was cast as a multi-faceted body of knowledge. For example, the College of Nurses of Ontario claims that nursing:

. . . is both a "science" and an "art." The science is the application of nursing knowledge and the technical aspects of practice. The art is the establishment of a caring relationship through which the nurse applies nursing knowledge and uses judgment in a compassionate manner. Both focus on the whole person, not just a particular health problem (CNO, "What is Nursing?" Nursing and You, vol. 3: 2001)

The ability to view patient care holistically is, thus, another part of nursing knowledge. As part of its competencies document, the Nurses Association of New Brunswick asserts that nurses should be able to base their everyday practice on ". . . nursing science and on related content from other sciences and humanities" (NANB, "Standards For Nursing Practice"). Nursing knowledge is promoted as complex, drawing on other bodies of knowledge for effective practice.

Improving the breadth of the body of knowledge of nursing through research and strengthening the link between research and practice was seen as a key goal in the nursing Web sites. The Massa- chusetts Nurses Association links nursing research to improved practice: "[clonducting nursing research is essential to the profession. Use of research by professional nurses is an important component of nursing practice and contributes to the well-being of society" (MNA, Guidebook for Clinically-Based Nursing Research). The Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador (ARNNL) provides a very detailed explanation of how nursing research improves the knowledge base of nursing (and nursing as a whole), even using some concepts traditionally associated with the study of the professions:

Knowledge is the cornerstone to the provision of quahty nursing care. The utilization of knowledge generated through nursing research enables the nurse to fulfill this professional responsibility. . . . The goal of nursing is to effect positive client outcomes. Nursing research enables nursing to reach its goal by: (a) extending and refining nursing's unique body of knowledge; (b) providing guidance to nurses for the effec- t ive and efficient delivery of qual i ty nursing care; ( c ) establishing scientifically based nursing activities; (d) provihng direction for policy development at all levels; (e) strengthening nursing's professional status (ARNNL, "Position Statement: Nursing Research").

Research is thus constructed as necessary and integral to nursing practice, rather than as a side project of nursing.

Nursing associations provided practical information about how to improve research. For its part, the ARNNL, in the same document, outlines five roles it plays in fostering nursing research, including acting as an advocate for research-based nursing practice, supporting nurses and agencies in their efforts to establish environment conducive to research, supporting collaboration and communication among nurses doing research and promoting funding mechanisms for research (ARNNL, "Position Statement: Nursing Research"). In a position paper about nursing research, The Canadian Nurses Asso-

ciation makes several recommendations about how to strengthen nursing research in Canada. It outlines how individual nurses are responsible for generating researchable questions based on their practice experiences, how professional associations can lobby their government for funding for research, how nursing schools can promote their research and calls for more efficiency in communication of research results (CNA, "Position Statement: Evidence Based Deci- sion Making and Nursing Practice").16 In order to help nurses better utilize research findings, the Alberta Association of Registered Nur- ses held a research conference in May 2001, including a session entitled "Dispelling Myths: The Challenge of Connecting Research to Practice" (AARN, "News Releases: Connecting Research To Prac- tice and Raising The Voice of Nursing, Topics of Annual Meeting"). The presentation featured a keynote address by a professor from the Royal College of Nursing Institute (British body) specializing in ". . . clinical effectiveness, how to affect change, and puttingresearch into practice" (ibid.). Research, as it relates to the body of knowledge of nursing and the practice of nursing, and how to strengthen the link between theory and practice, are considered of great importance to the nursing profession.

Standardized Nursing Language Another strategy that would emphasize the unique body of

knowledge of nursing would be the implementation of a standardized nursing language system. A standardized system of nursing language was discussed in three of the Web sites sampled (Michigan Nurses Association, the Canadian Nurses Association and the ARNNL). It was argued that a standardized nursing language would allow for better communication of nursing data among the nursing profession. As part of its strategy to implement a national system of nursing research that would encompass all "practice settings, client types and dimensions of care" the Canadian Nurses Association would like to try out the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) classification system (CNA, "Collecting Data to Reflect The Impact of Nursing Practice: CNA Position"). A standardized nursing language would help nurses consistently classify patient outcomes, make it easier to aggregate results and compare data across time and space, and ease comparison of data from studies in other areas of health care (ibid.). The ARNNL reviewed CNA's paper regarding standardized language and, based on input from nursing leaders and

16The material from the Canadian Nurses Association also appears in Zwerman et al. 2003.

about twenty-five other nurses who participated in a teleconference hosted by ARNNL, decided that they endorsed the principal of a standardized nursing language, though some concerns were raisedi7

(ARNNL, "Nursing Administration Update: ARNNL approves the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Proposal to Adopt the Intema- tional Classification for Nursing Practice"). This initiative is still in its infancy in the Canadian context.

Standardized nursing language (SNL) was discussed in only one US.-based association's Web site, namely the one for Michigan. As in the Canadian data, the Michigan Nurses Association extolled the benefits of a standard system, especially the consistency in describing ". . . nursing problems, treatments and outcomes," reducing errors in communication between nurses or in interpreting nursing research (Gail Keenan, for MNA, "Use of Standardized Nursing Lan- guage will make Nursing Visible"). The MNA has been particularly assertive in attempting to implement SNL. It conducted a study to ascertain what barriers (political and material) would prevent Michigan nurses from adopting the system, and ". . . was successful in leading passage of the Standardized Nursing Language Implemen- tation Initiative at the 1999 ANA House of Delegates (Julia Stocker, for MNA, "Forces Surrounding the Use of Standardized Nursing Language"). While apparently still in the beginning stages, the push for SNL would contribute further to the promotion of the nursing body of knowledge as specialized, esoteric and unique. Overall, nursing's efforts to improve an already well-established body of knowledge suggests there is always room for growth.

Professional Associations: Innovation in Structures As previously delineated, the data are rich with examples of professional association activities and initiatives to promote the professional status of nursing, including introducing helpful legislation into governmental bodies, fighting damaging legislation, and initiating various programs to help their members (e.g., grandparenting clauses for licensure and continued education initiatives). In addition to these, the nursing Web site data also reveal that changes in professional association structure are used to enhance professional status.

"These concerns included malung sure INCP could be cross mapped with existing classification systems, avoiding duplication of effort for nurses in data entry and recording, and that human resources and funding would be made available to implement the system (ARNNL, "Nursing Administration Update: ARNNL approves the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Proposal to Adopt the International Classifica- tion for Nursing Practice").

The Switch to a College Model Two nursing associations in Canada (Manitoba and Nova Scotia)

have recently changed their regulatory professional association to a "college" model18. In August 2001, the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses became the College of Registered Nurses of Mani- toba (CRNM, "News Releases: August 15,2001, The New Registered Nurses Act Addresses the Needs of the Public and the Profession"). The change was wrought by the passing of the New Registered Nur- ses Act, which serves to promote accountability and transparency in the nursing profession in Manitoba, by highlighting the following six principles:

Accessible health care calls for flexible scopes of practice Health care providers functioning within their demonstrated competencies Improved accountability through increased public representation and disclosure of specific information about members, so consumers can make informed choices about their care Effective continuing competence assessments and professional discipline processes, and an ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of these processes in protecting the public Facilitation of professional and geographic mobility of competent health care providers Encouragement of a flexible, rational and cost-effective system that allows effective working relationships among health care providers.

Even the name change was touted by then-president Betty Frost as having a tremendous impact on the professional image of nursing in Manitoba, stating that the change "from 'MARN' to 'the College' will make it easier for people to understand our role in protecting the public" (ibid.). Thus, an overhaul in some of the association's mandate and image is hoped to increase the professional status of nursing in Manitoba.

The Registered Nurses Association of Nova Scotia underwent its transition into the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia in January 2002, with the passing of the new Registered Nurses Act19 (CRNNS, "Press Release: New Act Officially Changes 92-year History of Nursing Association"). This act mandates some new

IsOntario also has a college of nursing (College of Nurses of Ontario), but this is a regulatory body separate from the professional association, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. Nova Scotia and Manitoba are examined here for their unique transition from professional association to college. I9Identical title to the act passed in Manitoba.

professional roles for the College, including overseeing ". . . licensing processes, the establishment of standards, and competency and professional conduct services and programs" as well as establishing standards and regulating nurse practitioners. More importantly, the new college model was touted as an improvement in its ability to promote its mandate of protecting the public interest. According to then-President Donna Denney:

. . . over the past decade, we have made a concerted effort to focus our operations . . . ensuring that they align with our mandate to regulate the nursing profession in the public interest, and that we are responsive to public expectations and regulatory policy priorities. A college regulatory model more clearly and accurately reflects that mandate and will only enhance our ability to excel at meeting it (ibid.).

She further claims that the act and the switchover to the college model ". . . clearly underscores the importance of public accountability within the nursing profession and our commitment, as a regulatory body, to advance and promote effective nursing practice." Finally, the press release states that:

Now, as a separate and dlstinct organization from an association, the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia will officially be identified with other professional regulatory bodies in the province such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the College of Occupational Therapists, and the College of Physiotherapists (ibid).

Overall, the data above suggest the changeover to a college model by Manitoba and Nova Scotia professional associations reflect just as much excitement about the name and image change as the actual changes in mandate that help them to better regulate the profession.

Disaffiliation from National Association Structural changes by associations in our U.S. sample also

appeared (Massachu~et ts~~ and California) in an effort to enhance professional status. However, in these cases, the move was to disaffiliate from the national organization (the American Nurses Asso- ciation) in order to form state-based associations geared toward grassroots nursing action. In March 2001, the MNA membership voted

20Please note that all information in this section regarding abandonment of California and Massachusetts comes from the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which recently went through the process and documents their disaffiliation, as well as Cali- fornia's.

82% in favor of disaffiliating from the ANA (MNA, "History"). The MNA cited various concerns with ANA, mainly a lack of willingness to fight for or against certain issues:

Those calling for disaffiliation from ANA raised concerns about the ANA as being to [sic] slow to respond to a growing crisis in nursing, incluQng the impact of managed care, health care corporatization, short staffing, mandatory overtime and other issues causing turmoil for nurses at the bedside. For example, while the MNA is pushing for legislation to regulate nurse-to-patient ratios, the ANA has proposed weak regulations that call upon the industry to develop a patient classification system, with no requirement that the industry adhere to that system. They have also promoted legislation granting the industry the ability to experiment with staffing models that replace nurses with unlicensed personnel, something the nursing community has opposed for years (MNA, "News: MNA Completes Vote to Disaffiliate from the American Nur- ses Association").

The MNA also notes that the Maine Nurses Association had also, within the same week, voted to disaffiliate from the ANA, for similar reasons. The California Nurses Association had also disaffiliated from the ANA in 1995 for ANA1s failure to help the CNA deal with blows felt from managed care systems (ibid.). These associations have since pursued various initiatives in the name of professional nursing. The California Nurses Association has, as an independent body, secured legislation that lowered the nurse-to-patient ratios; the Massachusetts Nurses Association will also pursue this goal. The above-mentioned groups that have disaffiliated from the ANA have further started to plan for the creation of a new national level association, the American Association of Registered Nurses, whose mandate will be to provide ". . . a voice for those fighting on the front lines, a voice that is not afraid to take on the health care industry as it continues to promote policies and practices that endanger patients and harm nurses" (MNA, "New National Nurses Organi- zation Takes Shape"). In sum, professional associations have proven themselves to be creative in changing their structures and mandates to promote the nursing profession.

Implications for Project Management from Nursing's Professionalization Journey Nursing has truly attained many, but not all, of the characteristics of a traditional profession. In summary, Table 4.1 reviews nursing's progress in attaining the characteristics of a profession.

(continued next page)

body of knowledge

associations to ensure Nursing programs

available at many minimum standards

universities-indicates

national association

Code of ethics

necessary educational level

Recognition of need for continuous upgrading of education

In place in most jurisdictions

Some conflict between nursing ethics and organizational policies and budget cuts

minimum entry standard

Provincial associations pushing for legislation to realize BScNlBN as minimum

Establish quality continuing education1 professional development programs

Make continuing education/professional development mandatory

Appeal to professional ethical standards to resist bureaucratic cuts that endanger patienti nurse safety

Table 4.1 Nursing Progress-Characteristics o f a Profession

within organizations where standards of care are set

entering such a field reinforce that the professional nurse always acts in the best interests of the patient

Specific titles are and expansion of the

controlled but many title. Some jurisdictions (e.g., Nova Scotia) successful in protecting

After a fairly lengthy struggle (more than 30 years in North America), it is clear that nursing has a fairly strong grip on over half the necessary characteristics to be called a "profession" in the traditional sense. We can see that in those areas where nursing

Authority over clients

Recognition

Not firm

Doctors do have it, but only nurse practitioners come close in the nursing profession

Fairly firm

"nursing"

Development of new levels of certification that grant nurses greater authority, NP and ARNP

Most jurisdictions require nurses t o be licensed or registered

participants have control, such as the development of nursing education programs and a code of ethics, strong gains have been made. Even in some of the areas where nurses must influence the public or the government, such as licensing requirements, nurses have attained these characteristics. The toughest areas in need of reform involve nurses' autonomy to practice both within the bureaucratic setting and in the client setting. Such reform will be particularly challenging because nurses must struggle against the public perception based on their historical role as assistants to doctors, as well as doctors' natural resentment of another occupation trying to take control over a portion of their practice.

In the past years, nurses have used a number of strategies to pursue their quest. One of the strongest has been the active lobbying for licensing and regulation. Attaining control over titling and educational requirements has put nursing associations in a position to be a player in the medical setting. Another strategy has been to aggressively contest the introduction of semi-professionals or reduced training requirements. Still another tactic has been to introduce higher educational requirements for entry to their profession, and to support the introduction of higher levels of licensing for higher levels of education/specialization. This has a number of beneficial effects. At a minimum, it increases the public's perception that special training is required. Second, it provides the associations with a well-educated public positioned to take action on initiatives. These activities have been undertaken at the local levels through union negotiations in the organizational setting, and at the regional level through active and vocal lobbying of the relevant government bodies by the nursing associations. It appears that nursing associations are typically very political in pursuit of their objectives, in everything from the pursuit of registration to the initiation of legislated whistle- blowing protection for nurses and the negotiation of their role in the health care system on an ongoing basis.

There are many important lessons to be learned from the professional journey of nursing. One key theme is the important role played by the professional association in promoting and lobbying for the interests of the membership. Licensure, in particular, seems to be the first goal of the local nursing associations. Once licensure is obtained, associations work very hard at protecting what they have won. A second theme is in the promotion of higher educational standards, as necessary, to promote nursing to professional standards. Not only is a professional degree considered necessary, but there is also strong promotion of fairly rigorous professional development requirements ranging from fifteen to forty-five hours a year, depending on the level of licensure. Many associations are adding higher-

level licenses for those with more and specialized education (e.g., the Nurse Practitioner requiring a Master's degree). A third theme is the importance of the tie between research, developing a strong body of knowledge and improving practice. Research is something to be highly valued and promoted, not only within the traditional learning institutions, but also within the organizations within which nurses work.

However, four key differences between project management and nursing must also be recognized. First, the nursing professional association often also plays the role of union. This means that nursing has a group voice in organizational and government operations. Second, nurses usually work in large organizations where there are many other nurses around to collaborate with on a day-to-day basis. In some ways, this makes the separation between organization and profession easier in the nursing context. Both of these characteristics may indicate that nurses have more organizational and assembly power than many project managers who tend to be small in number within their organizations. However, in the case of highly projectized organizations like consulting companies, project managers would work in a similar situation. A third is that nursing is closer to a "calling" than is project management. Once they become a nurse, most people remain a nurse. Project management, on the other hand, tends to be a phase in one's work life that often precedes another career. Fourth, nursing tends to be regulated by the local state or provincial government. Each local nursing association must fight for and win licensing arrangements, and they vary greatly across the states and provinces reviewed here. Project management tends to have national or supranational associations. Local project management chapters are usually much smaller, and play a far less active role in the direction of the profession.

Findings From Social Work Web Site Survey

S ocial work provides a different view of the professionalization process. Its lessons are much more recent, occurring over the

last 15-20 years, as opposed to nursing's decades. In addition, there are some ways that social work is more similar to project management than nursing. First, social work, while also largely an employee- based profession, is practiced in a wider variety of settings than nursing. This means that social work is more similar to project management in that social workers, like project managers, are likely to find themselves in culturally diverse organizations and facing significantly different tasks. Second, social work is also very comparable to project management in that its body of knowledge is based more on processual concepts related to dealing with people within a context than with a specific topic or subject area. Like project management, social work synthesizes and borrows knowledge areas from a wide range of base disciplines including sociology, psychology and management. This means that the struggle to defend the idea of an esoteric body of knowledge will likely be similar for project management. Third, the importance of social and relational aspects, while definitely a part of nursing, is more explicitly dealt with in the social work environment. At least some practitioners recognize that an analysis of nursing's social context may never contribute to i t s development as a science; however, nursing tends to pursue a more scientific orientation for its body of knowledge. Finally, the entrance into social work, as in project management, has traditionally been far more varied than for nursing. This means that there is much less opportunity for a "social work" culture to

be ingrained through an education process. Thus, the occupation is likely going to need to deal with the conflicts of cultures and ideas that arise from practitioners coming from significantly different practice environments.

Web site material on professionalization of social work should provide both historical and current insights into the nature of the journey and various "wrinkles" wrought by the idiosyncrasies of social work. Given that project management shares many of these idiosyncrasies, project managers should be able to learn from social work's experience of professionalization efforts. This chapter explores social work's efforts to deal with scope of practice, licensing, monopoly over title, education/accreditation, and body of knowledge issues. We again conclude the chapter by evaluating social work's progress toward capturing the characteristics of a profession and highlighting some of the key themes evident across the social work association Web sites. Final comments on the implications of these themes, with respect to the professionalization of project management, provide fodder for the discussion of options for project management professionalization in the concluding chapter.

Scope of Practice Issues Scope of practice issues were less pronounced in the social work data than the nursing data. For example, the struggle to define the scope of practice to protect such practice, both from above (the medical community) and below (health care paraprofessionals), was very evident in the nursing data. However, this particular kind of struggle (between various occupations) around scope of practice issues in the social work professional association Web sites was not evident. Very little, if any, mention of the struggle against paraprofessional workers or clashes with the psychiatric/psychological/medical community was made in the data analyzed.

Instead, our data suggests that scope of practice issues for social work center around simply establishing an accepted definition of social work practice. The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) only recently (2000) released their position paper outlining a suggested scope of practice for social work in Canada (entitled "National Scope of Practice Statement"). Because the definition of such activities legally rests in the hands of provincial legslators, this particular document serves as a guideline only for ". . . social workers, CASW member associations, students in social work, those served by social workers and the community at large" (CASW, "National Scope of Practice Statement"). In an appendix, a broad scope of practice is presented:

Social work is the application of social work knowledge, values, focus and practice methods in a person-in-environment context to improve social well-being structures in society and enhance individual, family and community social functioning at local, national and international levels.

Social work is the application of social work knowledge, values, focus and practice methods in a person-in-environment context to accomplish the core functions of social work:

Helping people obtain basic human need services Counselling and psychotherapy with inQviduals, families and groups Helping communities/groups provide or improve social and health services Participating in relevant legislative and social policy processes [ibid.).

This statement, while restricted to generalities, does demonstrate the concern of the national association with providing a concrete definition of scope of practice for social work in Canada.

Various social work associations and regulatory bodies at the provincial level have attempted to establish scopes of practice, as is their mandate. These are more commonly referred to as "restricted activities," and serve to delineate particular activities as being limited to the social work profession. Social workers in Quebec are struggling to have their proposed scope of practice recognized as official by the Office des Professions du QuCbec, (the government ministry that oversees all of the professions in that province] (Ordre Professionnel des Travailleurs Sociaux du Quebec, "Mot du Presi- dent"21]. The Ordre has also posted materials online to assure that Bill 90, the formal legislation defining the competencies and scopes of practices of the health professions in Quebec, does not interfere with the "restricted acts" of social work (as they have defined them] (ibid.Iz2. Similarly, the social work profession in Alberta will have to formally define the restricted activities in that province with the passing of the Health Professions Act, which will make social work a self-regulating profession (Adachi 2002].23 Although information about the "restricted activities" were not available on these Web sites, the CASW National Scope of Practice Statement page does

%'The President's message was available in English on this Web site. "This material also appears in Zwennan et al. 2003. 23Adachi, Rod. "Preparing for the Health Professions Act." The Advocate, 27(3), Fall 2002: 8 . The Advocate is the professional magazine of the Alberta College of Social Workers.

suggest that ". . . clinical social work, psychotherapy, child welfare and protection services, and family mediation services" are the most likely to be listed as activities restricted to the profession of social work, though these will vary from province to province (CASW Web site, "National Scope of Practice Statement").

The only example of the struggle to set a scope of practice from our U.S. data is from Michigan, where it is argued by the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) that the establishment of a scope of practice through legislation would "help establish competencies" and overall, boost the credibility of the profession in that state (Michigan Chapter of NASW, "Reasons for Licensure").

Though definitions of scope of practice for social work are still in the early stages, there is already expansion of social work roles into a broader territory with the introduction of what is typically known as the licensed clinical social worker (this designation varies between jurisdictions). In general, this designation reflects extra educational and/or experiential qualifications that allow for the practice of particular types of activities. According to 2002 information from the Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work (posted on the Washington NASW Chapter Web site), several states have allowed Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) to serve as providers of services to Worker's Compensation clients because of their expanded scopes of practice as social workers, which include ". . . psychotherapy and counseling [sic], to [those] who have a diagnosis found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-TV)" (NASW Washington Chapter, "Position Paper S.B. 6724: Inclusion of Clinical Social Workers as Mental Health Providers for Injured Workers"). These states include (format presented exactly as shown on the site):

Colorado-Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) since 1997 Florida-Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) since 1995 Maryland-Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical (LCSW- C) since 1996 Massachusetts-Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) since 1994 New Jersey-Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) since 1994 Oregon-Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) since 1995 (ibid.).

At the time of data collection for this project, Washington was still struggling to have licensed clinical social workers included in the list of professionals approved to provide services as outlined previously in Worker's Compensation programs. It is worth noting

that LCSWs in Washington are already mandated to provide these services to people referred to the Crime Victims Compensation Pro- grams, which suggests that the struggle to expand scopes of practice is a dynamic and ongoing process.

The advanced practice of social work (manifested as the licensed clinical social worker) was discussed in detail only in the U.S. professional association Web sites. In the Canadian data, qualifications for clinical social workers (referred to as "Private Practice Clinical Social Workers") were briefly mentioned in the national association Web site (the Canadian Association of Social Workers), but not elsewhere in detail. The minimum educational requirement of the clinical social worker, in order to be registered with the CASW, is a Master of Social Work degree (MSW) (CASW, "National Registry of Clinical and Non-Clinical Social Workers in Private Practice"). Although scopes of practice for the social work profession are not as firmly established as those in nursing, they are, nonetheless, a significant topic and reflect a significant amount of social work's efforts at professionalization.

Licensing and Certification Issues Issues surrounding licensing and certification were some of the most commonly discussed in the social work Web site materials sampled for this project.

National Certification The data gathered from the U.S. social work Web sites makes

reference to voluntary certification (called the Academy of Certified Social Workers) that may be obtained from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). This credential requires a minimum of an MSW and 3000 hours of post-graduate work under the supervision of a master's level-trained supervisor (NASW, "Academy of Certified Social Workers"). Although the requirements for this form of certification are stringent, it appears that obtaining national-level certification does not guarantee one will be seen as qualified in a given jurisdiction, as seen in this quote from a question and answer page from the Washington Chapter Web site:

The ACSW (Academy of Licensed Social Workers) is an excellent professional credential, but it is not a Licensure [sic], nor will it have a bearing on whether you can get a Licensure. The social work Licensure comes from your state govem- ment. The ACSW credential is issued by NASW. These are two separate entities (NASW Washington Chapter Web site).

Thus, obtaining the national certification is, at best, seen as a supplement, in addition to meeting the state's requirements for licensure.

However, the ACSW is still very influential in other respects. In some states, examinations given by the ACSW are part of state requirements for obtaining licensure. For example, in Pennsylvania, to obtain either form of licensure (the Licensed Social Worker or the Licensed Clinical Social Worker), one must pass exams administered by the Academy of Licensed Social Workers (NASW, Pennsylvania Chapter, "Questions & Answers About Pennsylvania's Social Work Licensing"). Likewise, to become a Licensed Advanced Social Worker or a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker requires passing the ACSW1s Advanced Examination and Clinical Examination, respectively (NASW, Washington Chapter, "Questions and Answers on Washington Social Work Licensure"). These exams must be passed in addition to meeting the basic requirements for state licensure.

Licensure and Registration As evidenced in our sample, the most fundamental struggle in some jurisdictions is to obtain any form of licensure for social work. In the U.S. data, it was noted that Michigan, along with two other states (not listed), do not have any form of licensure (NASW Michi- gan Chapter, "Reasons for Licensure"). The lack of licensure in Mich- igan is obviously of concern to the NASW Michigan Chapter, which has posted a position statement on their site arguing the acute need for licensure. Most of these arguments center around key professional concepts, listed on their Web site under specific headings entitled "1) Public Protection/Accountability/Regulatory" reasons for licensure and "2) Professionalism/Credibility/Advocacy Power" reasons for licensure (NASW Michigan Chapter, "Reasons for Licen- sure"). A more detailed argument from the same document reads:

[Tlhe best means of ensuring quality in the delivery of social services is to enact laws that require persons engaging in, and responsible for, providing services that critically affect the lives and social functioning of others to be professionally trained and fully accountable to the client. . . . Accountability and effective standards for a profession that is practiced as widely and in so many different settings as social work can be successfully carried out only through a basic licensure law that covers all settings and that requires mandatory participation of all practitioners and the public (ibid).

In September 2002, the Michigan Chapter introduced two bills (one into the House and one into the Senate) that would amend

the ". . . Michigan Public Health Code to provide for social work licensure for both bachelor's and master's level social workers (NASW Michigan Chapter, "Social Work Licensure Bills Intro- duced"). The Chapter does not have much hope for these bills to succeed, given that "Governor Engler has made it clear that he does not support increased professional regulation for any occupation" (ibid.). However, the effort was made in hopes that future state leaders would see the value of licensure for the social work profession (ibid.1.

Most of the other U.S. states in our sample have some form of licensing. In some states (Florida and California) the licensing structure was simpler and limited to Licensed Clinical Social Work- ers (LCSWs), which requires a minimum of a master's degree. Other states (such as Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Washington) have more complex licensing systems. Massachusetts has a multiple-level licensing system, including two levels not requiring a professional degree. One such form of licensure requires a minimum of a high school diploma and experience with social work supervision, or a BSW or baccalaureate degree (called Licensed Social Worker or LSWs), while the other requires an associate degree or baccalaureate degree in a human services field (Licensed Social Work Associate or LSWA). At the higher level of licensing, two types of licensure require a minimum of a master's degree, these being the Licensed Certified Social Worker, and the Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) (NASW, Massachusetts Chapter, "Change the Social Work Licensing Law"). Pennsylvania has two forms of licensure, the Licensed Social Worker and the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), both of which require an MSW. Washington has two forms of licensure also requiring the MSW-the Licensed Advanced Social Worker (LASW) and the Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) (NASW, Washington Chapter, "Questions and Answers on Washington Social Work Licensure").

Some jurisdictions with the simpler licensing system (LCSWs only) are attempting to lobby for more comprehensive licensing systems that would encompass all social workers. In its "Legislative Priorities" Web page, the Florida Chapter of NASW presents an argument for statewide licensure of all social workers, including non-clinical practitioners and those trained at the bachelor's degree level [as it appears on the Web site]:

BSW/Non-Clinical MSW Licensure or Certification NASW-FL believes that consumers are protected when "social workers" are easily identified as professional employees with a degree in social work

Certification and/or licensure for all social workers [sic] would ensure the public of appropriate, professional service and educational qualifications . NASW-FL supports certification or licensure of all professional social workers. (NASW, Florida Chapter, "2002-2003 NASW- FL Legislative Priorities").

There is tremendous variation between U.S. jurisdictions in our sample regarding the acquisition of licensure. Some states obtained licensure early, such as Massachusetts (1977) and Pennsylvania (1987), while others have had prolonged struggles and received this professional trait only recently, such as Washington state, which obtained licensure in 2001, after twenty-two years of lobbying.

The U.S. data refers to licensure quite consistently as "licensure" and, depending on the jurisdiction, as seen above, licensure may apply only to advanced social workers, or to social workers at the BSW level. In the Canadian data, designations were not as simple, and multiple terms are in use to denote those who can and cannot practice social work. The CASW notes that:

Canada is a Federation of provinces and territories. Legislative authority is thus divided between the Federal government and the provincial/territorial governments. Social work legislation in Canada is assigned to the provinces. Each province has enacted legislation and established social work regulatory bodies to govern the profession in accordance with the legislation. Provincial social work legislation varies from province to province. Individual social workers become registeredlcer- tifiedllicensed by becoming a member of a provincial/territorial social work professional and/or regulatory body (CASW, "FAQs, Registration and Licensure and Accrehtation").

For the most part, provincial associations referred most often to the requirement of being "registered" with the provincial association, which was, in turn, responsible for assuring that applicants met the minimum educational requirements. CASW notes that as of January 2003, three provinces (British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario) have bodies outside of the provincial professional associations that are responsible for registering social workers (CASW, "Regulation of Social Work in Canada"). It appears that all jurisdictions in Canada require social workers to be registered with the provincial/territorial professional association (or regulatory body where applicable) in order to practice.

Voluntary licensure/certification/registration schemes for social work practice were mentioned in a few of the U.S. Web sites. The Pennsylvania chapter of the NASW notes that licensure is not

required to practice social work in that state.24 (Recall that in Penn- sylvania social workers may be licensed at the bachelor degree level.) Rather, licensure remains voluntary, and helps to protect the public by giving them a visible cue for ensuring practitioners are competent, and provides a formal mechanism for filing complaints (NASW Penn- sylvania Chapter, "Questions and Answers about Pennsylvania's Social Work Licensing"). Other jurisdictions point to the need for mandatory licensing/certification/registration. This quote from the "history" section of the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW) explains that voluntary registration did little to help the public recognize and distinguish truly competent social workers:

The Social Workers Act (1969) gave control of the title "Regis- tered Social Worker" and registration was entirely voluntary. By 1991, a total of 1500 social workers were registered by the Association. Members of the Association continued to pursue recognition for the profession of social work. The goals included mandatoryregistration (a requirement that all social workers be registered social workers) and control of the title "social worker" (meaning only those people registered with the ACSW would be called social workers]. The public perception of social workers as limited only to people involved with social assistance and child welfare was hard to respond to as long as anyone could refer to themself [sic] as a "social worker." In addtion, the Association had no legal mandate to address concerns about "social workers" who were not registered (ACSW Web site).

Similarly, the Michigan Chapter of the NASW also presents the case for mandatory licensure at all levels of social work:

[Tlhe criteria for obtaining a license are more stringent than those for obtaining certification. Further, the process for reinstatement of a suspended or revoked license is more rigorous than for reinstatement of certification. With such standards set by a state licensing act, clients and potential clients of social workers would have a better understandng of the qualifications of those persons presenting themselves as "social workers." Moreover, there would be a stronger, more defini- tive basis for effective malpractice litigation [NASW (Michi- gan Chapter), "Reasons for Licensure"].

"However, you must actually be licensed and meet all required educational/experiential criteria to use the title "licensed social worker" or "licensed clinical social worker" in that state. "Social work" and "social worker" continue to be unpro- tected terms.

Thus, while it is evident that licensure/registration/certification structures vary tremendously between jurisdictions in our sample, the fundamental message is the same-the profession needs a system of describing who is, and who is not, allowed to practice. Generally, mandatory registration/licensure is favored over the voluntary form.

Monopoly over Use of Title Our data suggests the social work profession is quite active in its efforts to control the use of the title "social worker." This activity was discussed most frequently in the Canadian sample, though some American sites discussed it as well. In the "History" section of their Web site, the Alberta College of Social Workers notes that legislation passed in 1991 protects the name "registered social worker" but does not protect the term "social worker" or "social work," and they are still lobbying for protection of these other titles (ACSW, "History"). Other provinces have succeeded in extending protection of title to the general terms "social worker" and "social work" within the last fifteen years. For example, The Act to Incorporate the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers, passed in 1988, limits the use of the term "social worker" to only those registered with the New Brunswick Association of Social Work (NBASW, "Who We Are, What We Do, How We Operate"). In Newfoundland, The Social Workers Association Act, passed in 1993, provides that one must be registered with the Association to call oneself a "social worker" or "registered social worker" (Newfoundland and Labrador Associa- tion of Social Workers [NLASW], "Registration"). In Ontario, legislation passed in 1998 (The Social Work and Social Service Work Act), which limits the use of the terms "registered social worker" and "social worker" to those registered with the regulatory body, the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (Ontario Association of Social Workers, "The Professional Member- ship Association and The Regulatory Body: We Need Them Both"). Protection of title is an important strategy to improve the professional status of social workers in Canada.

Name protection as a strategy in the United States sample was less pronounced in the Web sites visited, with only one overt example of legislation mentioned. Legislation that passed in 1987 in Penn- sylvania (the Social Workers' Practice Act) protects the title of "licensed social worker," but not the term "social worker." Nonethe- less, the legislation is promoted by the Web site as ". . . a mechanism for accountability," as complaints may be filed against licensed social workers by the state board (NASW, Pennsylvania Chapter,

"Questions and Answers about Pennsylvania's Social Work Licensing").

Education and Accreditation Strategies

Minimum Education for EntryIPractice The data gathered for this project are rich with examples of

how social work uses strategies concerning educational standards to better the professional status of social work. A very basic strategy is to raise the minimum educational requirement to enter the profession. For example, the Ordre Professionnel des Travailleurs Sociaux du Quebec is considering raising the minimum educational standard for entry into the profession from a BSW to an MSW. Quebec's strategy was discussed in the Spring 2002 edition of The Advocate, the professional magazine of the Alberta College of Social Workers (found online on the ACSW Web site). In this piece, written by Jake Kuiken (then-president of the ACSW), the raising of the educational minimum to a professional degree is argued to be the most fundamental move toward the professionalization of social work in Canada, because it will boost the minimum level of rigor in practice that consumers and the public can expect from social work:

Our colleagues in Quebec have made a decision to begin a movement in the direction of setting the entry standard for the practice of social work at the Masters in Social Work (MSW) level. While there is a great deal of work yet to be done, particularly with the schools of social work in that province, I believe it signals a direction that other provinces will begin to pursue as well. The demands on the profession to provide a substantially higher and better standard of service to the public is becoming increasingly clear in Canada as well as in the US [United States]. In both instances, media reports of "failures" by social workers are all too frequent, and while perceptions and reality may vary, the best way to change both is through substantial increases in academic and practice rigour (Kuiken 2002)25.

Strategies centered on minimum educational requirements exist also in the United States. Massachusetts is lobbying to have all forms of social work licensure in that state (recall that Massachusetts has four types of licensure) to require a minimum of a professional (MSW) degree. Currently, two forms of licensure available in that state, the

25Kuiken, Jake. "Quebec-A New Entry Standard-The Way of the Future." The Advocate, 27(2), Spring 2002: 13.

LSW (Licensed Social Worker) and the LSWA (Licensed Social Work Associate), do not require an MSW. The Massachusetts Chapter of NASW believes that it is time to change the law to require that all licensed social workers have an MSW, or at the very least, a BSW (as opposed to any baccalaureate degree or related social work experience):

Changing the licensing law to require social work training will improve the public's understanding of professional social work credentials and standards. It will help to create a clearer public image that accurately reflects professional social work practice. It will strengthen the profession so that we are no longer the only profession that allows licensure without a professional degree. Tightening of the law will enhance the influence of the profession in the workplace and other areas. . . The four levels of licensure resulted from compro- mises made in 1977 when Massachusetts was among the first states to license social workers. Almost all states have subsequently passed laws with only the three higher levels of licensure, all requiring professional social work training (BSW for the LSW level) (NASW, Massachusetts Chapter, "Change the Social Work Licensing Law").

Thus, while social work in Massachusetts made early inroads into professional status, with licensure as early as the 1970s, the profession still seeks to keep up with changes happening elsewhere in terms of minimum educational standards. The Massachusetts Chapter reminds its membership that "[slocial workers in Massachu- setts have generally been on the forefront of professional issues, and it is time for us to update this law to reflect current professional standards" (ibid.). This case nicely illustrates that professionalization is a continuous process, and there is always room for upgrading.

Surprisingly, and in complete opposition to the above examples, there is also evidence in the data showing opposition from within the occupation of social work to raising the minimum education standards for entry or practice. While this may at first seem counter- intuitive, and a marked step away from professionalization, such opposition is actually a form of strategy for professionalization in social work-a strategy not from an education perspective, but, rather, from a body of knowledge perspective that is unique to the occupation of social work. In response to Jake Kuiken's (President of the Alberta College of Social Workers) recommendation to follow Quebec's lead to lobby for the MSW as the minimum education requirement to enter the profession, registered social worker Timo- thy Wild argues:

A move to further sanctify the MSW will not necessarily lead to more competent, ethical and effective social work practice any more than the current situation; additionally, using a graduate social work degree as the entry point could serve to strain our ties with marginalized communities by the extension and further concretization of the professional-client &s- tance. Finally, the use of the MSW as the entry standard would undoubtedly serve to create a hierarchy based along lines of class, race and gender within the profession itself. Basically, I would argue-in line with Jane Addams and many others- that the insistence on credentialism and hierarchy is antithetical to the very foundations of our occupation, particularly for those of us in non-llclinical" social work (Wild 2002).26

It is not surprising that this strategy (from a body of knowledge perspective) is not apparent in nursing and teaching, whose respective bodies of knowledge do not focus solely on social justice issues. This tension between raising minimum standards and keeping the body of knowledge focused on a true understanding (and practice) of social equality has been addressed. Timothy Wild suggests that criteria other than minimum education requirements may be used to maintain accountability in the profession, while maintaining the integrity of the specialized body of knowledge focusing on social equality (continued directly from the previous quote):

That is not to sav that there is no need for standards or accountability in social work. President Kuiken is correct when he argues the need to enforce practice rigor and provide "a better standard of service to the public." In fact, all those who choose to enter the occupation of social work should be held to very high and exacting standards of conduct and practice regardless of the educational route taken into the field. Rather, it is to suggest that social work must become less concerned with academic credentials and more concerned with the demonstration of core competencies, an open and enduring commitment to the well-researched and developed values, assumptions and ethics of social work practice and a willingness to pursue a course of continuing professional education (Wild 2002).

Thus, according to Wild, a solid commitment to knowing and respecting research done in the field, an adherence to ethical principles, and a willingness to pursue professional development throughout the career can be substituted for increased minimum entry standards. This ensures quality of practice while not compromising the ideal of diversity within the profession, and minimizes exclusion to entering the field based on financial inability to complete the

extended period of education. (As champions of the impoverished within society, the ideal of equality of entry into the profession must also be honored.) Social work thus faces a dilemma in its professionalization project related to its pursuit to raise minimum entry requirements while fully honoring its body of specialized knowledge.

Continued EducationIContinued Competence Like nursing, social work also uses continued education pro-

grams as a means of improving professional status. It is argued that continued education ensures that practitioners constantly upgrade their knowledge and this, in turn, ensures the protection of the client. Such an argument is presented by the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers:

Continuing Professional Education [CPE) is the lifelong process of engaging in activities to learn new knowledge and skills and deepen professional competency. . . . The NBASW recognizes the importance of mandatory continuing professional education (CPE) as an ethical responsibility of each social worker. The Canadan Association of Social Workers Social Work Code of Ethics (1994) states: "A social worker shall have and maintain competence in the provision of a social work service to a client" (CASW, Section 3.0, 1994) (New Brunswick Association of Social Workers, "Continuing Professional Education Policy").

The Pennsylvania Chapter of NASW states that continuing education courses are meant for:

. . . the enhancement of the social worker's knowledge and practice skills related to helping people achieve adequate and productive personal, interpersonal and social adjustments in their individual lives, in their families and community (NASW, Pennsylvania Chapter, "Questions & Answers Regarding Continuing Education Credit Requirements For PA LSWs."

Updating knowledge is thus seen to be a vital part of professionalism for social work.

Many of the jurisdictions we studied had made continued education mandatory for either basic practice or for licensure. In the Cana- dian data, the Web sites for New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia all stated that continued education programs were mandatory for membership in their professional association (and thus a requirement for practice). In all three of these provinces, a minimum

of forty credits per year was req~ired.~' Mandatory continued education requirements were also very common in the U.S. social work data, with Massachusetts, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Washington all having such requirements. California had the most stringent requirement with thirty-six hours of yearly training to renew licensure, while Pennsylvania and Florida required thirty hours for this purpose. Licensed social workers i n Washington require thirty-six hours of continued education, but have two years to complete this requirement (NASW, Washington Chapter, "Ques- tions and Answers on Washington Social Work Licensure"). Massa- chusetts had a graded system of continued education requirements that varied by level of licensure, such that the higher levels of licensure had higher requirements. The Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, at the top of the hierarchy, requires a minimum of thirty hours of continued education, the Licensed Certified Social Worker requires twenty hours, the Licensed Social Worker ten and finally the Licensed Social Work Associate (the lowest level) requires only five hours (NASW, Massachusetts Chapter, "Licensing Questions").

In addition to a minimum time requirement, some of the continued education programs in jurisdictions reviewed for this project had other mandatory requirements. The Canadian data referred to program types, and gives a helpful overview of how a continued professional education program may be constructed to allow for flexible learning. The New Brunswick Association of Social Workers (NBASW) has designed a system that incorporates both "traditional" and "non-traditional" elements of learning into their continued professional education (CPE) program. Traditional elements of CPE (which comprise a minimum of thirty of the forty required hours) include university courses, conferences, workshops, seminars and certificate programs (NBASW, "Continuing Professional Education Policy"). Non-traditional means of obtaining CPE credits (up to ten of the required forty hours) include self-directed learning initiatives (e.g., journal reading, the use of formalized learning materials such as videos, and internet searches), research, writing and other preparation for an article or presentation, mentoring, committee work, edu-

27Some associations, such as the one in Nova Scotia, report continuing education requirements in term of hours, while Newfoundland and New Brunswick call these "credits." According to the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers, one CPE credit is equal to one hour of a continuing education activity (NBASW, "Continuing Professional Education Policy"). The NASW Washington Chapter states that one Continuing Education Unit = one hour (NASW, Washington Chapter, "Ethics, Stan- dards and Licensure").

cating others about the social work profession (e.g., at career fairs or other special presentations), completing training offered in one's own workplace, supervising social work students, and volunteering in a professional capacity for an organization providing social services (ibid.). The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers (NLASW) presents a very similar program, the only difference being that the activities described as "traditional" by NBASW are called "required" by NLASW, and "non-traditional" activities as described by NBASW are called "electives" by NLASW, and twenty of the required CPE credits may come from the elective category (NLASW, "CPE Policy Statement").

Where the Canadian data gives a broad overview of the CPE system, American jurisdictions do not discuss their overall systems. Rather, their Web sites stress particular courses as mandatory within their systems. For example, the Washington Chapter of the NASW notes that for the LICSW and LASW categories, a minimum of six of the required thirty-six total hours of continued education (CE) must be in ethics training. Similarly, after January 2004, California will require six of the required thirty-six CE credits to be in law and ethics (NASW, California Chapter, "Changes in CE Requirements for LCSWs"). In Florida, of the thirty required hours of CE, one hour must be from training about domestic abuse, and two hours must be in education about the prevention of medical errors. All in all, these required courses appear to be focused on core professional values/proficiencies of social work, these being ethics, proficiency in understanding the legal system as it relates to social work practice, and proficiency in medical matters as they relate specifically to the practice of social work.

The data from the U.S. social work professional association Web sites briefly discusses the role of national association (NASW) courses in continuing education programs in each state. Some associations, such as the Pennsylvania Chapter of NASW, noted that NASW courses were always part of the list of approved courses as determined by the Pennsylvania Board of Social Work (NASW, Pennsylvania Chapter, "Questions and Answers Regarding Continu- ing Education Credit Requirements for PA LSWs"). The Pennsylva- nia Chapter of NASW is quick to point out that it does not have any say in determining who is an approved provider of courses (this is a state board of social work responsibility), it is merely an approved provider (ibid.). The Florida Chapter of NASW also notes that NASW courses are approved by the Florida Board of Social Work as CE providers, however, members are cautioned to always check with the Board first to ensure that any courses they take will be accepted

(NASW, Florida Chapter, "FAQ: Continuing Education Require- ments").

Accreditation Strategies Accreditation of educational programs does not appear to be a

strategy widely utilized by social work associations, in contrast to the nursing data in our study. The only reference to accreditation in the Canadian data is from the Canadian Association of Social Workers, (CASW), which notes that control over accreditation belongs not to the professional associations, but to another national body: "The Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work has the responsibility for accrediting university-based social work programs" (CASW, "CASW Presents the Social Work Profession"). In the U.S. data, the only references to accreditation are for professional associations being approved providers of continued education courses, such as the NASW and its state affiliates (NASW, Florida Chapter, "FAQ: Continuing Education Requirements"; NASW, Pennsylvania Chapter, "Questions and Answers Regarding Continu- ing Education Credit Requirements for PA LSWs"). Otherwise, it appears that state boards control accreditation, not professional associations. The following question and answer section from the Penn- sylvania Chapter of the NASW clearly shows that the power to accredit the mere continuing education courses rests firmly with the state board:

Q. How can I insure that a workshop I attend will count towards my social work license requirements?

A. If the workshop is being sponsored or co-sponsored (provided) by one of the six pre-approved providers, it should count. . . . If the course is being sponsored/co-sponsored (provided) by a group other than these six, contact the provider to verify that they have submitted materials to the Board or contact the PA State Board at [address and phone number] and ask them. Courses APPROVED by other entities like other social work boards or schools of social work or NASW will NOT count for credit in Pennsylvania. The course must actually be sponsored/co-sponsored/provided by the pre- approved provider (ibid.).

This structure of accreditation matches the Canadian data. Based on our data, accreditation is not a useful strategy for social work professional associations, which have yet to gain the privilege of accreditation. However, accreditation is nonetheless done by the state, improving the overall credibility of the profession.

Issues Surrounding the Body of Knowledge Unlike some of the more established professions (especially those with a scientific base), social work is beleaguered by accusations that its knowledge base is not truly unique or complex, making it vulnerable to the assumption that anyone with minimal training can effectively practice social work. The occupation of social work recognizes this and has adopted a number of strategies and measures to address these weaknesses. The overarching strategy found in our data is to convince others of the esoteric nature of the knowledge base of social work.

One avenue within this strategy is promoting the unique knowledge of the social world by social workers. In particular, social work touts its ability to cope with increasing diversity within local populations, a condition believed by some to cause tension in the population (as will be demonstrated shortly). This excerpt from a summary of a state hearing on the social work shortage in California, posted on the California chapter Web site of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) demonstrates efforts by the profession to promote the unique knowledge of social work:

Wong's [Executive Director of NASW California Chapter] remarks centered on the diversity of California's population and the complexity of their problems. He noted social work's systems approach as the most appropriate and able to solve these problems. Harbert [Dean of San Diego State University School of Social Work] outlined the educational foundation of professional social workers that makes them best suited for California's human services (NASW, California Chapter, "Hearing on State Social Worker Shortage Held").28

The executive director does not mince words in his speech; the social work profession's body of knowledge and its philosophies are the best suited to solving social problems.

Much along the same line, some associations promote the ability of social work's knowledge base to deal with social change. The Canadian Association of Social Workers promotes the expertise of the social worker in a rapidly changing social context: "In a socio- political-economic context which increasingly generates insecurity and social tensions, social workers play an important and essential role (CASW, "CASW Presents the Social Work Profession"). Further, the CASW asserts that social workers must be aware of their own place in the social context:

28This excerpt also appears in Zwerman et al. 2003.

Social workers are expected to have a comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of their own person-in-environment systems. They are prepared to rise above personal biases and preferences to advance the social well-being of others through their practice of social work (CASW, "National Scope of Practice Statement").

Similarly, in its mission statement, the Washington chapter of the NASW makes it a goal to

[ildentify the critical practice skills that social workers need in a changing environment, which encompasses such new roles and settings for social workers as hsaster relief, to assure their effectiveness, cultural competence, [and] adherence to professional values and ethics . . . [NASW, Washington Chap- ter, "About NASW (WA)"].

In vowing to keep up with whatever changes the current social context provides, and the commitment to putting aside personal biases to help others suggests a commitment to both linking social work knowledge and everyday practice, while maintaining a certain amount of professional distancez9.

Social work's ability to deal with such change rests on its philosophical views of the social world. In particular, its unique understanding of "the individual within context" is the basis of i ts expertise. The Massachusetts Chapter of the NASW asserts that "[mlost professional social workers agree that clinical social work practice includes emphasis on the person-in-environment perspective (NASW, Massachusetts Chapter, "Clinical Issues"). In the following excerpt, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers describes this philosophy and the knowledge base in detail:

The profession of social work draws its knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines within the social sciences and humanities. The focus of social work is based on the concept of "people within their environment." Major aspects of social work knowledge include: human growth and development, family dynamics, communication, organization and empow-

=However, as seen elsewhere in this chapter, there is disagreement about the desirabil- ity of professional distance in the social work profession. As social work is based in social justice issues, it is believed by some in the occupation that professional distance is antithetical to the goals of social work to promote a particula kind of societal and political change that more evenly distributes power and resources. This further shows the complexity and sometimes-contradictory nature of the professionalization process.

erment theory, psychosocial assessment and treatment, psychosocial research techniques and social policy development and analysis (NLASW, "Profession of Social Work"].

The Canadian Association of Social Workers also describes this knowledge base in detail, citing the authors of a study conducted about multi-skilling in the social work profession:

One of the unique contributions of the social work profession i s t h e commi tmen t t o working w i t h t h e person i n environment. . . . This orientation to intervention promotes a respectful and comprehensive approach to intervention and creates an awareness of the need for a wide variety of knowledge and skills (CASW, "CASW Statement on Multi-skilling").

Essentially, only the social worker has the knowledge and skills to best help the disadvantaged or troubled to use the social system to help oneself.

In addition to claiming special knowledge about how to deal with social diversity, social change, and helping others to navigate the social system, the occupation of social work has also laid claim to a professional responsibility to change the social system based on their knowledge base. Given that social workers see firsthand the effects of the current system on disadvantaged individuals, and their understandings of the exact ways in which the system oppresses such individuals, it is not surprising that their specialized body of knowledge, in combination with the professional value of altruism, would create this professional goal. The Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers states:

. . . the Association takes an active role in advocacy and social action by submitting briefs to Commissions, Task Forces, and to provincial and federal government departments on a wide range of social and health issues. Members see first hand how the lives of individuals and families are impacted by social factors and the Association believes it has a responsibility to make a contribution in the development of social policy (NSASW, "NSASW Background").

The CASW also outlines how social workers' specialized knowledge lends itself particularly well to creating social change:

Social work includes generalist and specialist prepared practitioners who are well grounded in the knowledge, skills and ethical foundations of social work. Social workers are equally committed to the use of knowledge from the humanities and sciences to advance the development of common human

rights, equitable social justice, and sufficient structural supports for individual, family and community social well-being in all human societies. To this end, social workers are expected to be sensitive to the value of cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice (CASW, "National Scope of Practice Statement").

A special understanding of oppressive social systems is thus another component of social work's esoteric body of knowledge.

Another approach within the general strategy of promoting the esoteric body of knowledge of social work is to promote its scientific bent. Here, the Canadian Association of Social Workers describes various philosophical influences on the practice of social, including science:

Social work's original scope of practice was broadly defined by its pioneering and value-based person-in-environment perspective, which shifted to a narrower scope defined by practice methods and the influence of scientific methods of intervention. As the profession moves into the 21st century social work's practice will continue to be influenced by the scientific method but the sphere of influence is broadening again to include new advances being made in the humanities and sciences (CASW, "National Scope of Practice Statement").

This statement nicely summarizes social work's struggle to define a body of knowledge that is at once uniquely social and yet also scientific in its approach. Science is strategically used to add credibility to the profession, and yet social work will not (and cannot) make any claim to a strictly scientific knowledge base, simply because it deals with the social, which is, in the age of post-modern theory, increasingly difficult to label as an entity that can be studied objec- tively. Though this argument appeared sparsely in our data, the strategic claim to scientific influence is nonetheless present in social work's discourse about its knowledge base.

In particular, social work makes efforts to use scientific methods to conduct research to broaden and improve the knowledge base. A number of examples of stated commitments to research and evidence-based practice (linking theory to everyday practice) were made in the social work data. Both the Minnesota and Texas Chapters of the NASW have posted on their Web sites the following commitment to research: "Expand the organization's research and dissemination capacity in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of social work practice standards and cultural competence and their contribution to quality outcomes (NASW, Minnesota Chapter, "2000 Delegate

Assembly: Program Priority Goals 2000-2003; NASW, Texas Chap- ter, "2000 Delegate Assembly: Program Priority Goals 2000-2003"). A stated objective of the CASW is to "to encourage specialized studies in social work among its members and to provide assistance and facilities for special studies and research" (CASW, "Annual Report June 2002"). A recommendation from a study conducted by the University of California-Berkeley School of Social Welfare (UCB- SSW), as reported at a hearing (the third in a series) sponsored in part by the California Chapter of the NASW on the shortage of social workers in that state, is to increase state funded research on social issues, so that ". . . social work Ph.D. students conduct [research] more relevant to public social service practice issues . . ." (NASW, California Chapter, "Social Work Education and the Social Worker Shortage"), showing a desire to establish a stronger link between research and practice.

The social work profession has, thus, made considerable efforts to shore up its claims to a professional body of knowledge. Informa- tion from our sample of social work professional associations has emphasized social work's unique knowledge of the social system, its understanding of social diversity, change, and structure, and has drawn as well on the traditional view of professional knowledge, as based on scientific principles and research.

Implications for Project Management from Social Work's Professionalization Journey Social work is well on the way to attaining profession status in many jurisdictions. However, in others it still has a long way to go. As evidenced in the preceding discussion, the fight for formal recognition has been lengthy, but many jurisdictions are now in favor of licensing social workers. Conflicts around the nature of the body of knowledge and restricting entry based on education still exist. Table 5.1 reviews social work's progress in attaining the characteristics of a profession.

Although social work is much further along the professionalization path than project management, it is clear from the previous discussion that it continues to struggle with many of the same issues facing project management today. The biggest issues involve defining the scope of practice and the esoteric body of knowledge that all social workers must master to be a part of the profession. It seems clear that these issues are paramount since the occupation preceded the body of knowledge. In effect, a group of individuals recognized that they were doing a similar activity and then tried to come together to define what that activity was. Nursing, on the other hand, evolved in relation to a pre-existing and recognized body of

Exclusive control St i l l hotly contested Significant ongoing and command

Difficult because of lobbying in all of an esoteric diffuse, processual and jurisdictions around and systematic holistic approach to defining scope of body of

scope of practice practice knowledge

Education and Not firm Lobbying to raise research Social work programs minimum educational

available at many requirement and

universities-indicates restrict entry to those

recognition of social with social work

work as a topic worthy degrees

of researching as well Conflict over this as teaching strategy with respect

Degree becoming to elitism and

recognized as excluding the very

necessary educational people that began the

level, but not profession by working

necessarily a social with the disadvantaged

work degree of society

Recognition of need for Fairly high requirements in many jurisdictions- 'pgrading 30-40 credit hours per of education year

Master of Social Work (MSW) becoming a Usually some component

popular higher level of required

education with coursework and

associated higher level usually focused on

certification standards ethics, law or medical issues directly related to social work practice

Code of ethics In place in most Lobbying in some jurisdictions jurisdictions for the

right to monitor and discipline social workers

Some associations that are the regulatory arm have formed discipline committees (e.g., New Brunswick and Saskatchewan)


Pursued

Many have significant

Most work within organizational policies that constrain their

Reinforced in training, the best interests of

parity), they would attempt to empower

advocating for social justice


knowledge. In a sense, nursing simply had to carve out a piece of that rather large knowledge set and add to it to have a fairly recognizable body of knowledge. Like project management, social work has a wide variety of practitioners operating in disparate contexts with

- Recognition 1 varies by jurisdiction

Some have had it since 1977; others recently received it after 20 + years of lobbying

Many jurisdictions in Canada require social workers t o be licensed or registered

U.S. associations are lobbying for this t o "help establish

51 I - Arguing for public

protection1 accountability and regulatory reasons for licensure t o the outside stakeholders (regulators)

Promoting benefits of increased professionalism1 credibility and advocacy power to the inside stakeholders

similar, but not identical, tools and techniques. This variety in practice and worksite inherently breeds variety in motivation and needs in the practitioners. Resolving and working with these differences will be the biggest challenge to justifying profession status for both occupations. In some jurisdictions, social work has tackled this issue by defining a tiered licensing process, so that all the varied practitioners can find a home in the profession. This appears to be a reasonable path for project management to take as well. In fact, some associations have developed just such a path.

Regarding the scope of practice issue, it appears that the site of much of this negotiation is the union contracts between social work unions (often the association, but sometimes simply a public sector union with social workers keenly involved) and the large public sector employers. Many social workers are employed in the public sector and many of the standards of practice come out of that sector. Although this is not terribly dissimilar to the project management

competencies" and "boost the credibility of the profession"

Many states had voluntary certification for some time before being legislated

Voluntary national certification at Master's level emerging

(social workers themselves)

Arguing to raise minimum education standard to obtain the above

Table 5.1 Social Work Progress-Characteristics of the Profession

situation of some years back, the increasing level of outsourcing of project work in government and the growth of specialized project organizations make this a less likely approach for project management. In project management, there are strong trends toward setting organizational standards. This is likely to cause problems in agreeing on an overall scope of practice. A second issue for project management is that the social work associations have typically started with small groups in local settings that could negotiate shared understandings and then share them as the occupations/association grew into state-based regional organizations. From there, national organizations evolved. Project management, as already noted, has tended to jump directly to the national (or supranational) level, and growth has been almost exponential over the last decade. This complicates the necessary negotiation of common understandings.

A prominent tactic in the professionalization of social work has been working for increased educational standards for entry into the profession. This has resulted in two outcomes. The first is an increased understanding and agreement by practitioners of what constitutes social work. The second is an increased public and government perception of the complexity and credibility of the occupation. This seems to be an important starting point for building a lobby for licensing/registration arguments.

As previously noted, this tactic has not been without its opposition, as some of the practitioners recognize that this makes a substantial change in the nature of the occupation. In social work, with its egalitarian and social conscience foundations, this has been a particularly strong problem. The elitism inherent in the professions does not fit well with the origins and social rehabilitation goals of some social workers. In addition, there is likely a subset of practitioners that would see their status within the occupation diminished by the increased educational requirements. Even if they, themselves, are grandfathered in the introduction of this requirement, others working in their types of organizations may find that their particular brand of social work is not ranked as highly as others. There are those who see that there are always winners and losers in adopting this type of strategy. For instance, educational institutions gain influence in the profession, while training institutes may lose ground. In fact, in this strategy universities play a key role in promoting and influencing this action. This stratification and struggle is likely to be seen in the project management realm as well.

However, as in nursing, some key differences between project management and social work must also be recognized. Social workers, like nurses, usually work in large organizations where there are many other social workers with which to collaborate on a daily

basis. In some ways, this makes the separation between organization and profession easier in the social work context. Because of this, like nurses, social workers may have more organizational and assembly power than many project managers, who tend to be smaller in number within their organizations. However, in the case of highlyproject- icized organizations, such as consulting companies, project managers would work in a similar situation. Social work, like nursing, is closer to a calling than project management. Also, like nursing, social work tends to be regulated by the local state or provincial government, in contrast to project management, which, as mentioned before, tends to have national or supranational associations. Local chapters are usually much smaller, with a much less active role in the direction of the profession.

Findings fiom Teaching Web Site Survey

T eaching provides yet another interesting comparison case for project management. Unlike project management, teaching is

almost always performed in organizations where most of the other employees are teachers. This provides a nurturing environment for collaborative work and mentoring, and a relatively safe place where teachers can exercise autonomy within their own classrooms. Such environments encourage a strong professional culture, where teachers tend to develop relationships with other teachers. This provides an atmosphere ripe for the development of a traditional profession. At the same time, in today's highly educated western society, teaching, like project management, is often seen as a relatively widespread activity that "anyone can do" if they know the content. Because of this, it is open to criticism from all sides. Like project management, the true complexity of the education process is not evident from "standing outside the fire," as one country and western song puts it. While one can understand the theory of teaching, most experienced teachers will assert that one doesn't know how to teach unless one has done it for a while. This statement foreshadows the difficulty teachers have in common with project managers in defining exactly what the teaching body of knowledge includes, and how the scope of teaching should be defined.

Teaching is also an interesting case, in that there seems to have been some negative impact of its "professionalization" over the cen- turies. Originally, teaching was considered a highly regarded profession that was limited to the very educated with a true service orientation (monks, etc). It evolved into a secular occupation still

occupied by educated men who had free reign over how and what was taught. Such decision-making was at the discretion of the local school board, which paid the teachers. However, as populations increased and more knowledge occupations evolved, schools increasingly became large institutions governed by even larger institutions. Rules, policies and standards became necessary to ensure a common level of quality, and regulation of teaching became common. In the process, the demographics of teachers changed to being predominantly female, and the autonomy and prestige of the teacher was eroded. Large teacher's associations/unions evolved to fight for the teachers' autonomy in the classroom. Today, teachers have autonomy in their own classrooms with students, but are largely regulated in other domains. As a result, curriculum choices are few. Today, the teacher's associations fight to maintain the educational standards and levels of control that they have against pressure in some jurisdictions for further de-skilling. Thus, the case of teachers may foreshadow some of the negative side of the "professionalization" process, whereby it has changed from an elite occupation serving the needs of society, but only benefitting a few, to a largely ubiqui- tous and regulated occupation that benefits society, but limits the practice of its participants in many ways and results in their de- skilling.

Teachers Association Web sites provide critical insights into the activities of a large occupational group recognized as crucial to society, but not necessarily garnering the benefit of that recognition in ways we might expect. It should be noted that in adQtion to the professional association Web sites, data from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is also included in this chapter, mainly for (but not limited to) clarifying concepts surrounding its system of voluntary certification. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Web page was also consulted for information about Title I, an act that impacts the professional status of teachers, examined later in this chapter.

This chapter explores teacher's efforts to deal with scope of practice, licensing, monopoly over title, education, accreditation, and body of knowledge issues. We again conclude the chapter by evaluating teachers' progress toward retaining the characteristics of a profession they have captured, and highlighting some of the key themes evident across the social association Web sites. Final comments on the implications of these themes, with respect to the professionalization of project management, provide a basis for the discussion of

options for project management professionalization in the concluding chapter.

Scope of Practice Issues

Scope of Practice and Paraprofessionals In stark contrast to the nursing and social work qualitative data

reviewed for this project, data from professional associations for teachers are virtually silent about establishing clear scopes of practice for the teaching profession.

There is, however, a considerable amount of attention paid in the teaching data to demarcating professional territory vis-a-vis paraprofessionals. The data from our teaching sample reveals two oppos- ing trends when dealing with the question of paraprofessionals. In some instances, particularly in the Canadian data30, the power differential between the teacher (as the professional) and the paraprofessional is strongly emphasized. In particular, some of the sites were very clear about activities restricted to teachers in relation to paraprofessionals. For example, the Code of Conduct of the Alberta Teachers' Association clearly spells out the professional duties of teachers and how semi-professionals are to be "used" by the professional teacher:

The teacher is responsible for diagnosing educational needs, prescribing and implementing instructional programs and evaluating progress of pupils The teacher may not delegate these responsibilities to any person who is not a teacher The teacher may delegate specific and limited aspects of instructional activity to non-certificated personnel, provided that the teacher supervises and directs such activity (Alberta Teachers' Association, "Code of Professional Conduct").

The Manitoba Teachers' Society (MTS) is even clearer in its differentiation between professional teachers and paraprofessionals, outlining in no uncertain terms the place of paraprofessionals in the education system vis-a-vis teachers:

The Manitoba Teachers' Society believes teachers, with their specialized training, experience and knowledge of children, are best qualified to teach public school students and instill

'ODue to the limited number of U.S. states sampled for this project, one should not conclude that this trend is present only in the Canadian context. Education Minnesota was the one U.S. jurisdiction that expressed opinions regarding the paraprofessional/ teacher distinction similar to Alberta and Manitoba.

in them a love for learning. . . . Paraprofessionals-with guidance and supervision from teachers-can play a key role in bringing the wealth of experiences of life beyond school into the classroom to enrich the lives of students (MTS, "Parapro- fessional Handbook").

Clearly, the place of the paraprofessional is under the supervision of the professional (trained) teacher. Further, the MTS outlines a list of "restricted activities" for teachers that specifically excludes instruction by paraprofessionals:

While paraprofessionals can be a great help to teachers and principals, it's important to know the limits of their activities. Legally, paraprofessionals are forbidden to carry out many activities. Specifically, these are:

1. Planning and initiating learning activities 2. Subjective evaluation of students or their work 3. Substitute teaching during the hours employed as para-

professional 4. Developing specific lesson plans 5. Designing learning centres 6 . Choosing or designating learning activities 7. Evaluating and selecting learning materials 8. Evaluating the professional and non-professional staff 9. Evaluating school programs

10. Reporting to parents. (ibid.)

In Manitoba, both the supervision of paraprofessionals by teachers and the list of restricted activities are legislated by Manitoba Regulation 464/88R of the Public Schools Act (ibid.).

In addition to clearly outlining restricted activities, the Manitoba Teachers' Society also encourages the active policing by teachers of semi-professionals' activities, to ensure that scopes of practice are not violated:

If you become aware of another teacher engaging paraprofessionals in prohibited activities, take action.

1. Meet with the teacher to suggest the situation be corrected. 2. Failing a satisfactory resolution, get advice and assistance

from your principal-but only after telling the teacher you intend to do so.

3. If still convinced that prohibited activity persists, talk to your local association executive and/or an MTS staff officer (Manitoba Teachers' Society, "Paraprofessional Hand- book").

The teaching data from some jurisdictions in our sample, although silent on establishing scopes of practice, was, on the other hand, quite vocal in defending them.

In contrast, some of the teaching Web sites appear very supportive of paraprofessionals, and lack the differentiated approach previously. The professional teaching associations in California, Michi- gan, Texas, Massachusetts and Washington were less apt to stress the power differential between education paraprofessionals and teachers, more often stressing the need for highly trained paraprofessionals. The Washington Education Association (WEA) argues that:

The role of paraeducators has expanded significantly over the last several years. Paraeducators are frequently given responsibilities for which they are not adequately trained. Credential- ing would guarantee the level of quality services provided by paraeducators and give recognition to the importance of the role of paraeducators in the instructional process (WEA, "WEA Position Statement on Credentialing for Paraeduca- tors").

Moreover, some of the professional teaching associations were willing to provide assistance for paraprofessionals to improve their training. For example, the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers introduced House Bill 983 (The Para Incentive Program) in 2002 to provide tuition aid for education paraprofessionals enrolled in degree education programs (Massachusetts Federation of Teachers, "Legis- lation"). The WEA and California Federation of Teachers have formally declared in their policies their endorsement of programs that support paraprofessional development, and the Texas Federation of Teachers has established a Task Force on Paraprofessional Certifica- tion (WEA, "Continuing resolution^^^; CFT, "CFT Policies and Positions"; TFT, "New Federal Law Brings Changes for Title I Para- professionals"). Thus, in some of the teaching data, paraprofessionals were not construed as a threat to professional teaching practice, and were even encouraged in their own professionalization projects.

Role Expansion of Teachers The data made some limited references to role expansion for

teachers as a means of promoting professional status, focusing mainly on the increased status of "master teachers," teachers who had obtained national level certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards31. With the expanded profes-

31National level certification is discussed in much more detail later in this chapter.

sional knowledge associated with master teacher status, nationally certified teachers could become education consultants:

As National Board Certification signals that the teaching force is populated by many practitioners entitled to full professional standing, state and local authorities should findit easier to back away from instructional edicts that limit flexibility and stifle creativity at the school site. ProviQng more Qscre- tion so that those closest to the point of service delivery may use their distinctive knowledge of the client's needs should produce better results for students and yield a more stimulat- ing and professionally rewarding work environment for teachers. Thus, National Board Certification can help to shape new roles for teachers in both instructional policy and staff development. Working in concert with principals, teachers could be given the flexibility to assemble and reassemble school resources in response to their students' shifting educational needs (NBPTS, "The Promise of National Board Certi- fication").

Opportunities for role expansion into master teachers are thus possible with the advent of National Board Certification. However, discussion of this by the professional associations was not pronounced. As previusly seen, the bulk of the discussion regarding scope of practice issues focused, instead, on defining and defending teaching territory in relation to paraeducators.

Licensing and Certification Issues

General Observations about Licensinglcertification Considerable attention was devoted in the teaching professional

association Web sites to topics regarding licensing and/or certification, and the impact of these on the professional status of teaching. Licensing/certification was often constructed as a key feature of the professional status of teaching. Like other professions, restricting teaching practice to trained professionals was argued to be for the protection of the public, and in particular, of children. David Gondak, a member of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, presents this argument about the importance of licensure:

My certificate is more than a piece of paper. It is the state's guarantee that I can be safely entrusted with the education of the children of Pennsylvania. This license tells the people of Pennsylvania that I have knowledge of my subject and of the psychology of learning; that I can utilize Qfferent teaching strategies; and that I can make adaptations for diverse learning styles and administer student assessments (Gondak, for PSEA, "Keep Standards High for Teachers").

Some associations made clear their support for the restriction of teaching practice to licensed or certified individuals. Education Minnesota lists "[rlequiring that all preschool, elementary, secondary and vocational students be taught by state licensed instructors" as part of its strategies to improve teacher competence (Education Minnesota, "Investing in Professional Educators"). The PSEA presents a similar argument:

The Association believes that the professional certification of all educators, as agreed to by the profession, must be the minimum basis required of all professional employees. The Association believes that only persons with legal certificates should be employed in professional education positions or be employed as daily and/or long-term substitutes (PSEA, "PSEA Resolutions").

Another example of a firm stance against unqualified educators comes from the Canadian data. When it found that the private, for- profit Spell Read Canada Program was using uncertified teachers to teach the program to elementary school students in some Canadian jurisdictions, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association asserted that:

. . . instructors in Spell Read Canada receive only a 12-week training course in a very narrow area. Proficiency in diagnosing readng dfficulties and employing strategies to meet these difficulties requires extensive course work at a university level in the fundamentals of reading and language. Programs and curricula promoted by a school or district should be taught only by certified, qualified teachers who have been hired by school dstricts in accordance with certification regulations and proper hiring practices in the province (NLTA, "March 2000 News from NLTA President Fred Andrews").

Teacher associations have made clear their views on the use of unqualified personnel, and assert that teaching of vulnerable populations requires professional skill that can only be acquired via extended training.

Although the views of teacher associations regarding the use of unqualified personnel were made well known in our data, less was found about what associations believed the public's opinion to be. However, according to a Public Mind survey conducted at Mansfield University and posted on the Pennsylvania State Education Associa- tion Web site, 81% of Pennsylvanians believe that schools should not hire teachers who do not hold a state license (Gondak, for PSEA, "Keep Standards High for Teachers").

In addition to arguments that limit teaching practice to licensed/ certified individuals, Education Minnesota and the PSEA recom- mended the active "policing" of local teachers to ensure that only certified individuals held teaching positions. Education Minnesota listed "[rlequiring districts to notify students and their parents when instruction is being provided by persons other than fully and appro- priately licensed staff" as part of its strategy (Education Minnesota, "Investing in Professional Educators"), while the PSEA suggested that "[llocal associations should maintain a certification data file of their members (PSEA, "PSEA Resolutions"). The Alberta Teachers' Association actively polices licensing, stating that "The Alberta Teachers' Association attempts to ensure that no person be permit- ted to commence teaching in a school of this province until issued an Alberta teaching certificate (ATA, "Teacher Education and Certi- fication"). The association is able to do this, since it is responsible

I for distributing certificates issued by the Ministry of Learning (ATA, "Certification").

The teaching profession faces some challenges in maintaining high standards for licensure, particularly in the United States3I. The WEA, PSEA, and Texas State Teachers' Association (TSTA) outlined the problem of state governments attempting to "fast t r a c k alternate teacher certification programs, whose certification can be used to obtain licensure. The WEA and TSTA posted information from the National Education Association that blamed federal legislation33 for allowing acceptance of graduates of "alternate" certification programs as "highly qualified" (WEA, "Sanctions: Helping Students, Teachers and Schools"; TSTA, "Sanctions: Helping Students, Teach- ers and Schools"). These "alternate" certification programs are shorter in duration (some as short as ten days) and require only that one exam be passed in order to obtain teaching certification (Gondak, for PSEA, "Keep Standards High for Teachers"). It is not hard to imagine the teaching profession balking at such an initiative, given that it is already burdened by the public perception that "anyone can teach." Following is the reaction from David Gondak, PSEA member, on this matter:

The reforms such as the new alternative certification proposal, which the Ridge Administration has touted as "cutting edge," contain little substance. . . . The Governor and his policy advisors continue to ignore the identification of specific

azNo comparable data regarding this topic were found in the Canadian data. a3Specifically, this legislation was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, explained in detail in the section "Education and Accreditation Strategies."

skills and knowledge educators need to have to teach children and run schools. They have yet to get to the heart of the matter: the establishment of standards of performance that teacher candidates should demonstrate to receive certification. . . . The apparent belief that those skills can be taught in a two-week course shows how greatly the Adminis- tration misunderstands the work performed by teachers. . . . It represents nothing less than a dumbing-down of teaching, which can only lead to a negative impact on the quality of learning in our public schools (Gondak, for PSEA, "Keep Stan- dards High for Teachers").

It is clear that, as a professional teacher, Gondak gives little credence to "fast track" certification programs, and favors, instead, the more established professional route of extended education. The threat to high teaching standards established by minimum education requirements by various state governments in the U.S. is very real. As previously seen, it was evident that the professional associations have spoken out against these practices, but nothing was found in terms of action against alternate licensing programs.

Some of the teaching associations in our sample stressed the need for teachers to take greater control over licensing and certification, another instance of asserting the need for professional autonomy. For example, the PSEA asserts in its Resolutions that:

The Association believes that a legally constituted Profes- sional Standards and Practices Commission should be autonomous and have a majority membership of practicing teachers. Standards and practices of the teaching profession should be established by the Commission. . . . This Commission, in the name of the State, should issue certificates to those who meet the standards set and revoke the certificates of those who do not maintain standards (PSEA, "PSEA Resolutions").

The WEA provides a very similar argument:

The Washington Education Association believes that a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the members of each teacher Professional Education Advisory Board and any other board or council that governs and recommends standards for preparation and certification should be practicing teachers and WEA members. The Association opposes any revisions of certification standards that do not provide for a minimum of fifty percent (50%) involvement of practicing professionals in decision-making (WEA, "Continuing Resolutions").

Professional autonomy over the determination of standards for certification/licensure is also argued to be necessary to ensure the best function of the profession.

Voluntary Certification: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards National level certification was discussed at great length in the

U.S. teaching sample, due to the presence of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), founded in 1987 as a non- profit, non-partisan body devoted to "upholding high standards for professional performance" for teachers (NBPTS, "About NBPTS"). An important feature of this body is that its board of directors (sixty- three members) consists primarily of classroom teachers, though school administrators, union leaders, governors, legislators, higher education officials, and business leaders are also part of the board (ibid.; Texas State Teachers Association, "Tip: Did you know. . .?"34).

An equivalent body or certification structure was not evident in the Canadian teaching data.

The primary goal of the NBPTS is to "strengthen teaching" (ibid.). It claims it will do this by setting and maintaining rigorous standards for teaching, providing a system of voluntary certification for teachers willing to adhere to those standards, and advocating educational reform programs that will utilize the expertise of NBPTS-certified teachers (ibid.). It appears that standards for certification with the NBPTS are indeed rigorous. Teachers seeking certification with NBPTS must hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree, have taught for a minimum of three years, and have held a teaching license for those three years (WEA, "What is National Board Certifi- cation?"). The certification program spans a thirty-six-month period (Massachusetts Teacher Association, "MTA Members Achieve National Board Certification") and consists of:

[an] extensive series of performance-based assessments that includes teaching Portfolios, student work samples, video- tapes and thorough analyses of the candidates' classroom teaching and student learning. Teachers also complete a series of written exercises that probe the depth of their subject- matter knowledge, as well as their understanding of how to teach those subjects to their students (Texas State Teachers Association, "Tip: Did you know . . .?"I

34The full title of this Web page (no longer structured as such) was "Tip: Did you know NEA supports teachers in their efforts to obtain national level certification by offering low interest loans?"

This program appears to adhere to the traditional conception of the professions, with professional knowledge being obtained via extensive training, in stark contrast to the short-term "alternate" certification programs presented earlier. National Board Certifica- tion (NBC) also appears to be very challenging, with only 40% of applicants achieving certification on their first attempt (Massachu- setts Teachers Association, "MTA Members Achieve National Board Certification").

The fact that this certification remains voluntary for teachers is interesting. Mention of voluntary NBC was made several times in the data, but, unfortunately, the professional association sites do not engage in much discussion or debate about the voluntary nature of NBC. The NBPTS itself says that its certification system remains voluntary, (and it prefers it to be that way), because it is up to bodies at the state level to set the standards:

Offered on a voluntary basis, National Board Certification of experienced teachers is intended to complement, not replace, state systems of mandatory licensure for beginning teachers. State licensing systems set entry-level standards to protect the public interest and to assure that a teacher will do no harm. Professional certification takes the next step to provide assurance of high-quality practice (NBPTS, "Why America Needs NBCTs").

The NBPTS further asserts that:

Once there is a way to regard and recognize teachers who can do more than just master the basic licensing requirements, the orientation of both teachers and administrators toward professional growth opportunities should change markedly. Peers will seek out accomplished teachers noted for their expertise. . . . Administrators responsible for encouraging and supporting teachers' efforts to attain National Board Certifi- cation will have a fresh perspective for judging the quality of the professional growth opportunities their schools provide (NBPTS, "Strengthening Teaching and Improving Learning").

Maintaining the voluntary nature of the certification will increase its value, in that only the teachers most willing to develop their professional careers will invest the considerable time and effort to obtain it.

Associations at the state level also agree that NBC remain voluntary. In its policies, the Washington Education Associa- tion notes:

The Washington Education Association supports the efforts of our members to demonstrate excellence in teaching by obtaining National Board certification. The Association fur-

ther believes National Board certification should remain a voluntary process. It should not be used as criteria for continuing employment, state certification, renewal of state certification, evaluation, dismissal, or promotion. Members choosing not to participate will not be negatively impacted (WEA, "Continuing Resolutions").

The WEA, like the NBPTS, views NBC as a credential to be added after state licensure, rather than a replacement. Also, it has delineated its view that NBC should ideally not influence employers to treat teachers differentially, though one could speculate that the extra credential would indeed give an NBC teacher a competitive edge. At the very least, WEA has made it clear that NBC should not become a condition of employment, ensuring that state licensure remains the primary credential. In a separate document, the WEA calls the NBC "an advanced teaching credential that complements the teachers' state license . . . a symbol of excellence in teaching (WEA, "News Release June 21,2002"), giving the further impression that state licensure and board certification are distinct. State licensure is always portrayed as the item of substance, with NBC as the added decorum.

However, in Texas, so much faith is put into the National Board that as of November 2002, by decision of the State Board for Educator Certification, anyone who passes the National Board's Assessment for certification may qualify for exemption from writing the Texas Certification exam requirement (Texas State Teachers Association, "SBEC Considers Automating CPE"). This waiver contrasts the ideas stated above by NBPTS and the WEA, who clearly place state requirements first. Texas's approach potentially threatens the ideal vision of state licensure exams being the substantial item to be achieved by teachers first.

A number of the U.S. teaching professional associations in our sample strongly support the certification offered by NBPTS. The Texas State Teachers Association, the WEA, mchigan Education Association, and the Massachusetts Teachers Association all posted information stating that National Board Certification (NBC) indeed raises teaching standards. The MTA states that:

National Board Certification is an important part of the "professionalization" of teaching, that is, the buillng or strengthening of standards and processes that assure the public that there are qualified teachers in every classroom (MTA, "68 MTA Members Achieve National Board Certification in 2001").

It was also argued by some teaching professional association sites that the overall image of teaching as a profession is considerably augmented by NBC:

The advent of National Board Certified Teachers is already resulting in positive changes in their classrooms, in their school districts, and in the larger education community. The recognition, visibility, new roles and growth of the numbers of National Board Certified Teachers are affecting not only their classrooms, but also the culture of schools where they work. They are affecting how teachers are viewed by everyone from the education policy establishment to parents in the community (Texas State Teachers Association, "National Board Certification").

NBC was thus seen as an important way to correct teaching's image problem.

Some of the professional associations were very active in helping local members become certified through the NBPTS. For example, the National Education Association offers low-interest loans to teachers undergoing NBC (TSTA, "National Board Certification"). The Michigan NEA offers $750 grants for local NBC applicants (Michigan Education Association, "Certification"). The Washington state legislature and local school districts are helping teachers who wish to obtain NBC by offering full fee payment ($2300), release time and mentoring during the process (WEA, "What is National Board Certification?").

Some associations without solid plans pledged their intentions to ensure that their members would have support in the future should they pursue NBC. Education Minnesota (the AFT affiliate) lists its commitment to establishing opportunities for their members to pursue NBC as part of its strategies for investingin teacher training (Education Minnesota, "Investing in Professional Educators"). The Pennsylvania State Education Association is also in the beginning stages of establishing support systems for teachers to obtain NBC, having formed a coalition with the Pennsylvania School Boards Asso- ciation, the Association of School Administrators, the Principals' Association, the Association of Rural and Small Schools and the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges of Teacher Educators to encourage qualified teachers to pursue NBC (Gondak, for PSEA, "Keep Standards High for Teachers"). This coalition was formed despite a lack of support (and even opposition) by the state government:

Other states have embraced the concept of licensure and certification based upon meeting high academic and performance

standards. A few have provided incentives for teachers to undergo the rigorous process of National Board Certification. By contrast, Pennsylvania to date has provided no support for National Board Certification, and Ridge Administration officials have been openly hostile to the initiative (ibid.).

Thus, it appears that some professional associations are only starting to put support structures in place to obtain NBC, even though the MBPTS has existed for nearly two decades. In sum, the teaching associations sampled in this project that discussed NBC were supportive of it, and generally viewed it as a promising step toward improving the teaching profession, both in terms of standards and image.

Monopoly Over Use of Title Unlike the nursing and social work data reviewed for this project, the teaching data made no mention of title protection issues. How- ever, some mention was made of the image problems that plague teaching, that is, that "anyone" can teach. As long as there is an image that teaching is something anyone can do, (and anyone can call oneself a teacher), few people will treat the profession with the seriousness it merits. The source of this image problem, and thus the inability to lay claim to the title "teacher," stems from the fact that teaching does not have a coherent, recognized body of knowledge:

Unlike physicians, architects or accountants, teachers have not codified the knowledge, skills and dispositions that account for accomplished practice. Consequently, there are widespread misconceptions about what constitutes good teaching. . .Unfortunately, lack of attention to the act of teaching at the college and university level reinforces a cava- lier attitude toward teaching in general. Too many Ameri- cans-school board members, administrators and many teachers included-believe that any modestly educated person with some instinct for nurturing has the requisite qualifications to teach (NBPTS, "The Promise of National Board Certification").

This suggests the fundamental value and absolute necessity of the ability to claim a special knowledge/theory base before action to protect the title or scope of practice is even feasible.

Education and Accreditation Strategies

Entry-Level Strategies In terms of raising the minimum level of education required to

enter the profession, teaching once again diverges from the pattern shown with nursing and social work, in that our data shows a rela-

I tively low level of discussion of this strategy in the Web sites. How- ever, the lack of widespread discussion does not mean that this strategy is completely unimportant to the teaching profession. In

I fact, the early 2002 passing of the ESEA (the Elementary and Second- ary Education bill requires that teachers funded with Title I funds36 be "highly qualified," meaning they must hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree in teaching from a post-secondary institution approved by their state" (Education Minnesota, "ESEA FAQs Regard- ing 'Highly Qualified Educators'). This law also calls for each state to "develop and submit to the U.S. Secretary of Education a plan to ensure that ALL teachers, not just Title I teachers, must meet the highly qualified standard no later than the end of the 2005-06 school year" (ibid.). Thus, while the topic of minimum education requirements is not discussed much currently (at least in terms of our sample), it is likely that it will become a widely discussed topic in the near future.

While the data regarding minimum education standards for entry was not particularly pronounced in our teaching sample, various other entry-level educational strategies were discussed in more detail. These included internships and probationary periods for new teachers, induction strategies, and mentorships. Increasingly, participation in these is becoming requisite for entry into the profession. The National Education Association (NEA) notes on its Web site that "[mlore than half the states in the country now require mentoring for entry-level teachers (NEA, "The Usefulness of Mentoring"). In Massachusetts, the state licensing law for teachers changed in November 2001 such that every new teacher (whether a novice or

35The ESEA is part of the federal level "No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001." The ESEA is described by Sandra Feldman, then president of the California Federation of Teachers as "a framework for a national commitment to education" (CFT, "What is ESEA?"). 36Title I "Improving The Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged" is also part of the federal level NCLB Act. Title I outlines criteria to determine children at risk of being disadvantaged in the education system (whether by systemic problems such as poverty or individual problems such as disability) and allows for federal funding to provide proper support structures are in place to ensure such children receive quality instruction (homepage of the isc cons in Department of Public Instruction).

experienced) must go through an approved induction program in order to be licensed3' (The Massachusetts Teacher Association, "Charting a Course-A Mentor Program Handbook"). For incoming but experienced teachers new to a particular district, the induction consists of an orientation course regarding "how things are done" in that district, in terms of local approaches and philosophies. For incoming and inexperienced teachers, there is a mentoring component in addition to the orientation course that lasts the first year of their new teaching position (MTA, "Requirements Mandate Dis- tricts Have Teacher orientation, Induction and Mentoring Pro- grams)."

Along the same lines, the state of Michigan passed legislation in 1993 that requires mentorship for the first three years of new teachers' careers (Michigan Education Association, "Issue-Quality Education"). However, no mention was made as to whether this requirement was linked directly to licensure. In addition to this, Michigan teachers are on probation for the first four years of their career, a period "longer than most other states-and virtually all other professions (Michigan Education Association, "Issue-Teacher Testing"). On its Web site, Education Minnesota (an AFT affiliate) supports "[elstablishing a paid fifth-year residency as a prerequisite to licensure" as part of its overall strategy to ensure high quality preparation for its teachers (Education Minnesota, "Investing in Pro- fessional Educators"). Thus, the teaching data shows a wealth of strategies related to entry-level education strategies that are not limited to simply raising the minimum degree required.

Continued Education/Professional Development Continuing education (CE) and professional development (PD)

were often discussed in the teaching data as a means of improving professionalism beyond the entry-level years of teachers' careers. In fact, CE/PD were argued to be a professional's right to maintain contact with an ever-growing body of teaching knowledge. The Mich- igan Education Association argued that maintaining a strong connection to the teaching body of knowledge via CE/PD is a "professional right":

Teachers should not have to beg and bargain for time, money and opportunities to stay on top of the profession. Communi- ties need to recognize the importance of improving teacher

371n Massachusetts' case, the induction program is mainly based on mentoring of new teachers (NEA, Massachusetts Chapter, "Charting a Course-A Mentor Pro- gram Handbook").

quality. Even though most teachers arrive prepared to teach, they need to stay up-to-date in their slulls and knowledge in order to continue being effective teachers (MEA, "Issue- Quality Education").

The Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) presented a very similar argument in its Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities:

Teachers have the right to base dagnosis, planning, methodology and evaluation on professional knowledge and skills, and have the responsibility to review constantly their own level of competence and effectiveness and to seek necessary improvements as part of a continuing process of professional development (ATA, "Declaration of Rights and Responsibili- ties").

In addition to being constructed as necessary and professional prerogatives, CE/PD were also constructed as a long-term, never ending professional endeavor marked by individual growth: "Profes-

I sional growth is characterized by a career-long learning process [involving] individual reflection and dialogue with colleagues about professional practice (ATA, "Professional Growth, Evaluation and Supervision"). Similarly, the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union states:

Professional Development is an on-going process. Activities are designed for the professional and personal growth of teachers and must be purposeful and come about as a result of some planned process which [sic] addresses specific needs. The strategies or the approaches involved will result in some identifiable change in the teachers' knowledge, attitude, and/ or skills, which will increase school effectiveness. . . . The [school] board needs to show its commitment to teachers as life-long learners by delegating the necessary resources both financial and human to support long range planning initiatives in professional development (NSTU, "What is Profes- sional Development? ").

Practical support for CE/PD was given by a number of professional associations in our sample. The NSTU claims it has "developed structures both provincially and locally to support the professional development of teachers" through a number of professional development initiatives, including provision of in-service programs/resources such as Developing Successful Schools (DSS), NSTU facilitators, and Assessment and Accountability Kits (NSTU, "What is Professional Development?"). In addition, NSTU has developed a system of grants, including out-of-province conference grants, short- and long-term study grants, and the Professional Development

Assistance Fund (ibid.). Education Minnesota also voiced its commitment to providing professional development through its Teachers as Learners and Leaders (TALL) program, established in 2001:

. . . we believe local unions should be directly involved in building a strong effective professional development program for the profession. . . . In order to assure that all educators have access to good professional learning opportunities, the TALL 2001 goals were to . . . work with local school district staff development committees and local unions to prepare a high-quality professional development action plan for 2001-02 based on local needs (Education Minnesota, "TALL project Details").

Professional associations are key supporters of CE/PD programs, in both principle and action.

Continued education is mandatory in only one of the jurisdictions in our sample, this being Pennsylvania. Act 48, passed in July 2000, requires teachers and other certified education workers to have six collegiate credits, or six credits of professional development, or a total of 180 hours of activities approved by Act 48 guidelines, or any combination of these adding to 180 hours of activity8 by the year 2005 (Pennsylvania State Education Association, "Frequently Asked Questions: Act 48"). Failure to comply will result in loss of certification, with a likely loss of job and prohibition on being rehired or hired elsewhere until the conditions are met. These requirements will be renewed every five years (ibid.).

Although not mandatory in the other jurisdictions studied, continued education/professional development was nonetheless very important in the professional association Web sites. Collaboration with university education faculties to provide continuing education programs proved to be a valued strategy in our sample. Three jurisdictions in our U.S. sample (California, Massachusetts, and Michigan), in collaboration with their local universities, have firmly established professional development centers for teachers and/or education staff39. For example, in California, the Poway Federation of Teachers, Local 2357 (a CFT affiliate) opened the Center for Teaching Excel- lence ". . . at which district educators can get everything from beginning teacher support to a master's degree (CFT, "Pioneering Program:

380ne credit = 30 hours (PSEA, "Act 48 Home"). 391n Michigan's case, the Michigan Education Association provides support to the Michigan ESP Center for Professional Learning, a professional development center especially for education support staff (MEA, "Michigan ESP Center for Professional Learning").

Poway Local Opens Professional Development Center For Teach- ers"). The Center collaborates with the masters program of CSU San Marcos, and classes are taught by National Board-Certified teachers (ibid.).

Although they have not yet established professional education centers, both the Washington Education Association (WEA) and the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) have made clear their intentions to do so. In particular, the PSEA states it:

. . . supports the concept of teacher centers to develop and produce curricula, utilize research findings, and provide training. The Association, therefore, will work closely with the U.S. and Pennsylvania Departments of Education to (1) provide full funding, (2) assist in the use of evaluative criteria to judge applications, (3) provide statewide service to all interested teachers for professional development, and (4) implement programs designed to help inservice teachers to become more effective in the educational process (PSEA, "PSEA Resolutions").

Thus, professional development centers, whether a reality or in progress, were an important strategy in the U.S. data.

Alberta and Newfoundland were the only jurisdictions in Canada to explore the idea of professional development centers. The Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA), collaborating with both the University of Calgary and University of Alberta, set up experimental professional training centers within two high schools in that province in order to ". . . develop a partnership between the university and the profession to encourage joint research, collaborative review of practice, leadership, mentorship and school improvement (Alberta Teachers' Association, "Research Monograph #38, Professional Development Schools"). The overall goal of these professional development centers is summed up nicely by the ATA:

Professional development schools work closely with faculties of education to improve the quality of teachers entering the profession, support teachers already in the profession and provide universities with a venue for carrying out practical research (Alberta Teachers' Association, "Research Mono- graph #38, Professional Development Schools").

For its part, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Associa- tion (NLTA) is part of the Professional Development Alliance, a joint initiative with the Department of Education, the School Districts, and Memorial University (NLTA, "Schools as Professional Learning Communities"). The mandate of this initiative is "to develop greater

coordination in the planning and development of professional development for educators throughout the province" (ibid.).

In addition to exploring the benefits of professional development centers, the teaching profession, like social work, is exploring CE/ PD programs that include both "traditional" and "non-traditional" methods of professional development. For example, the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union (NSTU) proposes more than thirteen CE/PD activities that could serve as alternatives to traditional in-service programs. The majority of these involve teamlpair collaboration activities, and include: action research (where a problem is identified and teachers work together toward a solution), curriculum development (a group of teachers develop course outlines together), peer coaching (general discussion of issues in teaching), mentoring a novice teacher, videotaping one's teaching and analyzing it with colleagues, networking, and teacher exchanges (NSTU, "What is Professional Development?"). Individual pursuits include submission of written articles to professional teaching journals and implementing a new technique in their daily teaching practice (ibid.). Professional development in teaching thus has the potential to be highly collaborative and creative. It is possible that this heavy emphasis on collaboration has the same desired effect as outlined earlier, in that collaboration between teachers forces them to discuss and draw from the body of knowledge.

A significant and important theme in our data regarding CE/PD was the teaching profession's insistence that teachers have professional control (autonomy) over the process. Typically, such arguments focus on the benefits of allowing teachers, as professionals and insiders to the intricacies of the teaching body of knowledge, to decide on how best to approach and implement CE/PD. For example, the NSTU argues that:

Teachers are highly qualified professionals and as such must take more control over their professional development activities. Focus on increased accountability translates into expectations of improved standards of teaching which [sic] will result in better service to our students (NSTU, "What is Pro- fessional Development? ").

The Alberta Teachers' Association has made the following part of its "long-range policies" regarding professional development:

15.A.1 The Alberta Teachers' Association supports the principle that the professional growth, supervision and evaluation process is based on a standard of practice established by the profession.

15.A.5 Professional growth plans are teacher authored, growth directed and reflect the individual's assessment of the individual's professional learning needs (ATA, "Professional Growth, Evaluation and Supervision").

These statements reflect the support of autonomy over PD at both the level of the profession as a whole, and the individual teacher. The Pennsylvania State Education Association, Texas Federation of Teachers, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and the Califor- nia Federation of Teachers also stated their support for autonomy over CE/PD, but did not give the same depth of argument as NSTU and ATA.

Overall, CE/PD was a very important part of professional discussion in the teaching data, and an abundance of strategies to gain professional status were found related to this topic.

Accreditation Strategies Unlike the nursing and social work data, our sample of teaching

professional association Web sites did not directly discuss accreditation of post-secondary schools. However, as noted previously, teaching professional associations do work in tandem with universities to provide professional development/continuing education programs for teachers.

Issues Surrounding the Body of Knowledge As previously mentioned, the teaching profession's body of knowledge is not reputed to be esoteric or specialized. This creates a very fundamental need for teaching to define and promote its body of knowledge. Terrence Sullivan, in an article reprinted on the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union Web site40, stresses the need for the teaching profession to make a concerted effort to define and develop teaching's body of knowledge in order to strengthen its claim to professional status:

Most people would define a professional as a person who possesses a unique body of knowledge, a person with a high degee of personal autonomy accompanied by some degee of self-regulation. . . . Yet the label of professional also carries with it the burden of . . . establishing standards and h o l h g one another to them. The search for criteria with which to judge effective teaching, as well as the power to make and

"Sullivan's original article appeared in the 1995 (Fall) edition of AVISO, the professional publication of the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union.

enforce that judgment, must have a major emphasis as we begin the next hundred years (NSTU, "Issues in Education"].

Several association Web sites offered their definitions of what actually constitutes the teaching knowledge base. Generally, it was argued that teaching's knowledge base consists of two parts: knowledge of effective teaching techniques and skills, and a thorough understanding of the subject being taught, as in this excerpt from the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union: "[tleachers must be knowledgeable of both developments in the content area and recent innovations in instructional strategies which are generic or specific to the discipline they teach" (Nova Scotia Teachers' Union, "What is Professional Development?"). Implied in these requirements are extended periods of training and a university level education, fundamental professional features.

A general lack of understanding of the nature or complexity of teaching's knowledge base was believed to have some serious consequences for teaching practice. According to the Michigan Chap- ter of the NEA, the lack of respect for the complexity of the theory base in the teaching profession is evident in the way teachers are expected to be able to teach any topic:

Teachers must be assigned to teach what they know. Teachers who are certified in math or science should not be teaching history or English. We would never ask an obstetrician to perform heart surgery, and yet administrators often consider teachers interchangeable (Michigan Education Association, "Issue: Teacher Testing").

Here, a direct comparison is made between medicine, a profession that most people understand has a complex body of knowledge (so complex that specialists are required), and teaching, in order to assert that teaching knowledge is just as complex. As previously noted, the result of this misconception is the incorrect utilization of teachers, in that they are often asked to teach subjects about which they have no knowledge. The MEA calls out-of-field-teaching a "widespread problem" (ibid.). The NBPTS also comments on the problem, stating:

[mlany schools are now organized as if all teachers were peas in a pod, indistinguishable one from another. . . . Unlike other professions, the schools have, for the most part, been unable to accommodate their practices to account for the diversity that exists within the teaching work force (NBPTS, "The Promise of National Board Certification").

Until the teaching profession can effectively convince the greater population of the complexity of its knowledge base, teachers will continue to be underutilized as professionals.

Teaching as a profession has taken a number of steps to improve its claim to a complex and unique body of knowledge, comparable to other professions. Indirect and fleeting references were made in the Web site data to the ever-expanding body of knowledge being produced by new education-related research. For example, the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union notes that "[tlhe last decade has produced a significant body of knowledge on the science of teaching" (NSTU, 'What is Professional Development?'). However, the bulk of the discussion in the data focused not on the generalities of expanding the body of knowledge through education research, but, rather, on how education research should be used by teachers to strengthen the link between teaching theory and practice. The California Federation of Teachers listed ". . . working toward a closer fit and greater communication between research and practice" as part of its policies and positions (CFT, "CFT Policies and Positions," April 1996). Education Minnesota also asserted its commitment to "[elstablishing a research and development fund for grants to conduct classroom action research to improve instruction" (Education Minnesota, "Investing in Professional Educators).

In addition to use of research in teaching, the teaching profession also seeks to strengthen the link between teaching theory and practice through mentoring and teacher collaboration programs. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) asserts that the collaboration involved in the National Board Certification program will strengthen teaching's body of knowledge by forcing teachers to acknowledge and use the profession's existing body of knowledge:

Teacher interest in the knowledge base also will be piqued. For the first time in teachers' careers it will be in their direct self-interest to have command of the knowledge base. Simul- taneously, capturing the wisdom of the nation's exceptional teachers will be seen as a crucial endeavor (NBPTS, "Strength- ening Teaching and Improving Learning").

The Alberta Teachers' Association also outlines how the collaboration process between teachers in professional development schools forces teachers at all skill levels to recognize and draw on the teaching body of knowledge:

Traditionally, there has been a clear distinction between teacher and learner, expert and novice, experienced teacher and student teacher. In professional development schools,

these clear lines of distinction fade as everyone becomes a 1 learner. Veteran teachers learn more about theory and the

practice of teaching as they themselves work with novices.

I Their knowledge base is deepened as they collaborate with others in planning, teaching and decision-making, and as they reflect upon their practice. They become engaged in the work of thinking, researching, debating and implementing imova- tions. They engage in professional readings and conversations to answer the questions that emerge as they plan and experiment with their own reforms (ATA, "Research Monograph #38, Professional Development Schoolsii).

Speaking about teaching with other teachers forces the use and exchange of concepts and ideas, and re-sparks interest and respect for the teaching body of knowledge. Thus, collaboration/mentoring programs are viewed as potentially powerful means of re-engaging teachers with their knowledge base.

Implications for Project Management from the Teacher's Professionalization Journey Although the word "teacher" is not protected, teaching has long owned the title in most jurisdictions, in as much as teachers are required to have a valid teaching certificate of education and register with the local teaching association. Teaching associations also play a large role in disciplining the practitioner. However, there have been some outcomes of this registration that have actually negatively impacted the level of recognition awarded the profession. Table 6.1 reviews teaching's progress in attaining the characteristics of a profession.

Teaching has long held the societal recognition that enables it to restrict entry to the profession through educational standards. In most jurisdictions, being a member of the local teachers' association is mandatory to hold a teaching position. In addition, the teaching association plays a clear role in disciplining the profession. However, teaching's position as largely a public sector employee-based occupation has made it susceptible to the downward pressures on budgets that resulted in threats to the teacher's professional standards. These threats are realized in changes in working conditions (increased class sizes, reduction in support staff and loss of physical resources), wages that have not kept pace with other occupations with similar educational requirements, increasing pressure to use less skilled labor, and increasing demands for standardization to increase quality of education. The role of the professional association is, in some ways, jeopardized by the fact that teachers' professional associations often also serve as labor unions negotiating contracts with employers.

nature of "teaching" processes and practices rather than solely the

Some jurisdictions are education standards

introduce "fast-track" teacher preparation national certification

with limited education for "master" teachers

Lobbying to restrict teaching to those with education degrees

Lobbying against "fast- track" teacher preparation that focuses on hands on mentoring and limits the classroom education requirements

Increasing interest in mentoring, internship, and apprenticeship processes for entry- level teachers

lncreasing emphasis on improving professionalism beyond the entry- level requirements into career-long learning processes, some going as far as requiring 180 hours of professional development in five years


associations discipline teachers for infractions against this code and

revoke the teaching credential, which leaves

In some ways, very little curriculum and

curriculum standards are typically centrally

Some jurisdictions are

In other ways, teachers have the sole responsibility for how the required material will be taught within their own classroom

Employer/government intervention in scope of practice is growing

lobbying for increased (at least 50%) teacher representation on a board or council that governs and recommends standards for preparation and certification of teachers

Norm of altruism

Strong

Teaching is not a lucrative profession and those entering it generally have a strong desire to share their knowledge and make the world a better place

Education in ethics and multiculturalism, etc. is ingrained in the normal education of teachers

are now a lot of other people in the classroom (such as teaching

required to share this authority with increasingly well-educated

passed that restricts teaching positions to those holding valid certification from the teachers association. There is strong recognition of the need for qualified teachers to protect the public and, in particular, the children

Table 6.1 Teaching Progress-Attaining Characteristics of a Profession

This conflating of the two types of association serves to denigrate the claims to being a profession. Demands to set and adhere to professional standards are seen by the employer, and often the public, as simply tactics in labor negotiations, rather than the rightful concerns of a profession attempting to assert professional autonomy.

The development of National Board Certification in the United States appears to be an attempt to address the declining perception of teaching as a profession by introducing a voluntary level of certification involving very challenging (only 40% acceptance ratio) requirements. Some see this as an attempt to establish "best practice" standards to complement the entry-level standards established at the state level. The National Board could be seen as a prestigious association for the "true" professionals of teaching that could raise the profession in both standards and image.

Project management shares the awkward position of teaching, in the sense that from outside the project or classroom, the approach appears to draw mostly on "common sense." It is easy for outsiders to feel that the knowledge required to teach or manage a project is not terribly esoteric. Teaching associations have tackled this issue by instituting and maintaining strict educational restrictions for entry to the profession. Teaching has an advantage over project management in that the quality of anything to do with the development of a society's children is more easily seen as necessary for the public good. Teaching, therefore, had a relatively easy time in most jurisdictions in attaining legislative recognition as a "profession," even given the arguable lack of an esoteric body of knowledge. Project management will not have an easy time attaining the legal recognition that teaching enjoys. However, one of the lessons from teaching could be that the educational requirements of an occupation are key to developing the perception in society that it is a task deserving a higher standard of regulation. Increasing the education level is clearly a fundamental tactic in increasing the likelihood that an occupation will be perceived as a profession.

The teaching case also clearly illustrates that acquiring regulation and the authority to discipline membership does not, in themselves, provide the benefits of professional status. Rather, the establishment of a position of knowledgeable autonomy in practice seems to confer the credibility and bargaining power of a profession. Regulation without a firm hold on autonomy in the development and interpretation of the knowledge base leaves the occupation susceptible to increasing cost pressures and possibilities for intervention by employers. This is a potential issue for project managers, since many employing organizations are increasingly taking an interest in project management and program management, and aretwill be

implementing organizational standards of practice for project managers. This development moves the authority over project management from the qualified and professional project manager to the standards and policies imposed on them.

The issue of minimum practice standards versus master certification is also an interesting one to explore from the project management perspective. There are a number of different certification approaches in existence for project managers globally. At a high level, they can be broken down into knowledge-based standards such as the PMP and competency-based standards such as those being implemented in Australia. Knowledge-based standards test an individual on his/her knowledge of the topic and require a minimum level of experience. Competency-based standards require evidence of competent practice of the task in question. Competency standards tend to be laddered with minimum levels of competency and preparation required for the first certification, and higher standards of certification for more experienced and competent practitioners. By far, the most prevalent certification today is the PMP knowledge-based certification, which tests individuals on standards based on what most project managers would do on most projects, most of the time. Given the erosion of the teaching certificate's value as a professional designation, and the introduction of much more stringent "master's" certification procedures, project management may want to explore the next step in certification.

Findings &om Comparative Online Survey

T he preceding three chapters present the current status of the professionalization journey of three comparable, knowledge-

based occupations. This material provides a detailed, if possibly idio- syncratic, examination of three comparable emerging professions with clear similarities to, and differences from, project management. The discussion focused on the threats to professionalization faced by these occupations and the strategies and tactics their professional associations wielded to address these threats. We concluded by highlighting what we feel are threats and strategies that project management needs to consider as it moves forward, based on learning from the experience of these other occupational groups.

Combining these insights with the literature review presented earlier, we derived a thorough list of the threats to established and emerging professions, and the strategies and tactics in use across a variety of professional occupations. From this material, we developed a survey instrument designed to capture insights into the professionalization struggle across three groups from the leadership of various associations engaging in it. The objective of this survey was to gener- alize the literature and Web-based findings on threats and strategies to a wider range of associations with particular interest in substanti- ating some of the key findings and comparisons across three types of professional occupations. The f i s t group of interest is the traditional professions (in this study, we looked at medicine, accounting, phar- macy, and engineering). The second is the emerging semi-professional occupations (in this study, social work, teaching and nursing). The third is project management. The survey was designed to dis-

cover the concerns about, and strategies employed by, various professional associations in attaining and retaining professional status. The three research questions of interest were:

What are the primary threats to professional status for different professional associations?

.What are the strategies employed by these various groups in addressing these threats? How does project management compare to other occupational groups with respect to these issues?

Three hundred eighty-three personal letters of invitation were sent to leaders of professional associations in groups of interest in Australia, Canada and the United States. A reminder was sent out to encourage participation. As reported in the methodology chapter, we received fifty usable responses for an overall response rate of 18% (ranging from 17-20%). This chapter provides the results and interpretation of this survey. This chapter is composed of three sections. The first provides demographic information on the associations that answered the survey. The second explores the threats to professional status across the three groups of interest. The third highlights the strategies in use to encourage professionalization by each of these groups. Finally, we offer some conclusions and insights from the data available.

Association Information Nine occupational groups from three countries were surveyed and fifty responses were received. Figure 7.1 documents the percentage distribution of the responses across professional occupations. Project management represents the largest group of association leaders (42%) responding to this survey. This is due to an intentional disproportionate sampling of project management association leadership, to gain insights into project management's position on these topics. Careful consideration was given to this potential bias in looking at the data that follows.

Due to the small sample size for each independent occupational group, we collapsed these groups into three categories for the purposes of further analysis (see Table 7.1). These categories have been selected on the basis of the relative stability/security of the occupational groups and the theoretical literature. The most well-established category of occupations (Group A) is that of accountants, doctors, pharmacists, and engineers. The next category (Group B) is comprised of nurses, teachers, and social workers. This category is considered less well established. Finally, Project Managers (Group C) are placed in a category of their own, being least well established according to the criteria of, and particular interest for, this study.

Figure 7.1 Occupations Represented in the Sample by Percent

These categories will allow further exploration of how project managers perceive their occupation by contrasting their responses against those of the other two categories.

Doctors, Pharmacists

Group B: Nurses, Teachers, Social

Table 7.1 Occupational Group-Collapsed Categories

Respondents were asked to select the level at which an association represented their occupation, and the largest group of respondents (60%) reported the Provincial/Territorial/State level (see Figure

7.2). This supports evidence from the Web site review that professional occupations are typically more active and organized at the local/state/provincial levels, where lobbying for professional autonomy develops. The 14% of respondents reporting that their organization is something other than state, province or nationally focused consisted entirely of project management association leaders. This reflects a clear difference in the geographic development of the occupation of project management as opposed to other professional occupations.

Figure 7.2 Representation Level

The majority of the respondents reported that their associations were located in the United States (54%) followed by Canada (32%), and Australia (14%) (see Figure 7.3). These percentages reflect the underlying e-mail invitations that were sent out.

The number of members in the associations ranged from under 100 to over 100,000. The categories were collapsed to allow for further analysis (see Figure 7.4). The majority (66.6%) of Group A respondents reported membership between 5,000 and 50,000 mem-

Figure 7.3 Association Location

bers, with the majority of these between 5,000 and 25,000 (46.2%). The majority (68.8%) of Group B associations in the study reported membership of less than 25,000. Fifty percent of this group reported membership of less than 5,000. Interestingly, the project management association leadership presented in Group C reported either membership of less than 1,000 (42.9%), reflecting the chapter level, or membership of over 100,000 (28.6%), reflecting the supranational organizations. Thus, within the same category of professional association, we have both a local and a supranational model co-existing.

Association Age Not surprisingly, a large majority (84.6%) of the traditional professional associations reported in Group A originated before 1974, with over 60% originating before 1949. Surprisingly, all of the associations for emerging professions reflected in Group B reported originating prior to 1974, with 37.5% emerging prior to 1949. A majority of the project management associations reported originating in the second half of the twentieth century. Project management is the newest of these occupations with respect to the development of its professional associations. It takes time for an occupation to develop into a recognized profession. Project Management Institute, the world's largest project management association, was founded in 1969 with five

3nd Over 0%

Figure 7.4 Number of Members in Collapsed Categories

members and had grown to over 8,500 by 1990. At present, it has nearly 220,000 members. This brief history has seen enormous growth in both associational memberships and in the number of practicing project managers. The intensification of interest in professionalization indicates that the occupation has reached a new stage of development, but the road to full professionalization is problematic and will take time.

Respondents were asked to estimate the percentage of their association membership that was female. The categories were collapsed to allow for further analysis, and only 25% of those who answered this question claimed to have 60% or more females in their associations (see Table 7.2).

between 0 and 39%

Table 7.2 Percentage of Females in Assocation

Also of interest in this study was the possibility that the size of the association budget could be a contributing factor to the occupation's ability to advance its claims to professional status. It was found that there was a considerable range in budget estimates. These estimates were collapsed into four categories to allow for further analysis (see Figure 7.5). The most important considerations here are questions of budgetary concentration and the desire to use these resources to further professionalization. A number of the reporting units for project management are local chapters, not state or provincial organizations. This places the onus of activity on the national and international associations. It will be easier to proceed toward professionalization in those cases where there is a dominant national association, such as in Australia. The International Project Manage- ment Association is considerably smaller than PMI, and does not demonstrate a great interest in expanding its membership or actively pursuing a political course of action that would lead to full recognition of project management as a profession. PMI, on the other hand, is sufficiently divided to make coordinated efforts within nations difficult to pursue.

Figure 7.5 Association Budget-Collapsed Categories

From this sample, we can see that project management tends to have a different organizational structure than many of the comparable traditional and emerging professional occupations. In particular,

the size, budget, composition and national or larger basis of the organization are significantly different. This difference is primarily a function of the chapter-based organization of the Project Manage- ment Institute. This form of organization, compared to a state or provincial form of organization, reduces the capacity of each chapter to work toward professionalization and fragments the efforts of the occupation. These differences are likely to impact the professionalization of project management in ways that need to be considered, even as we try to learn from the experience of other occupational groups. This topic will be addressed in the conclusions.

Current Level of Professionalization This section of the survey was designed to explore the respondents' perceptions of the level of professionalization within their respective occupations. Their perceptions are measured by responses to a set of questions about specific traits that are traditionally associated with professional status.

Question 14 in this section asks "How firm a grasp does your occupation currently have over the following traditional professional traits?" These responses were dichotomized into the variables "not firm" and "firm" to allow for further analysis. The responses to Question 14 were sorted on the basis of occupational group using collapsed categories and several interesting differences emerged. Results were sorted based on the firmness of the grip on each variable level for the grouped traditional professions. As might be expected, there was considerable variance across the traits among project managers when compared with traditional professions. However, there were also several differences when compared to the other emerging professional occupation categories (see Table 7.3).

The questions in Table 7.3 are organized by ranking responses in Group A and comparing across the other two groups for those same traits. It is clear that this well-established group of occupations claims to have a firm grasp on several of the traits associated with professionalization. (For example, the first five traits all scored loo%.) The traits with the lowest level of perceived attainment of a firm grasp for this group are licensing (76.9%), scope of practice (76.9%), accreditation (69.2%) and control over practice (62.5%). This finding supports suggestions that these traits are those under the greatest threat from increasing bureaucratization and embed- dedness of the traditional professions in organizational settings, and is skewed by the inclusion of management accountants and pharmacists who are not as professionally secure as the others.

Group B is struggling to maintain their grasp, but, as indicated by the percentages on the first five traits, they do not have as firm

Group (%I

(1 1) Accreditation

Table 7.3 Ranking of Dichotomized Question 14 Variables Regarding the Grasp on Various Traits Related to Professionalization

a grasp and, in the case of legal protection of title, their confidence is much lower (68.8%, compared to 100% in Group A). The top six characteristics for the other emerging professional groups (Group B) indicate that association leadership believes they have a relatively strong grasp on the following: theory (87.5%), ethics (87.5%), education (81.3%), scope of practice (81.3%)) unique concepts (75%), and discipline (75 % ).

Leaders of project management associations believe they have as firm a grasp on many of these traits, yet there were only two categories in which their perceptions were similar to those of the other two groups. Specifically, these include:

Having a code of ethics that clearly defines standards to protect the client's interests (85.7%) compared to 100% and 87.5% for Groups A and B, respectively

. Having a strong theoretical base that guides the everyday practice of [their] practice (76.2%) compared to 100% and 87.5% for Groups A and B, respectively.

Apart from these two categories, the percentages for the rest of the traits suggest that, overall, leaders of project management associations recognize that they do not have a firm grasp on the criteria that are essential to their struggle to achieve professional status for their occupation. Of considerable concern is the fact that in areas such as education and setting educational standards (both 23.8%), protection of title (28.6%), control over the practice (23.8%), discipline (23.8%), and especially licensing (4.8%), leaders of project management associations claim to be a long way from achieving this goal. These percentages are far lower than those of Group B, whose members are further along the professionalization process. In contrast, the majority of the responding project management association leadership indicates that they have a relatively firm grasp of only three characteristics: ethics (85.7%), theory (76.2%)) and setting minimum standards (57.2%).

When asked to rank the five characteristics most important for the profession to maintain a firm grip on, similar important differences came into play. Table 7.4 presents these findings.

The top five characteristics ranked in order of average firmness of grip for Group A are code of ethics, legal protection of title, strong theory, unique concepts and practices, and prolonged education. Note that all of the average rankings for these characteristics for Group A were above three on a five-point scale. The top five characteristics, ranked in order of average firmness of grip, for Group B are code of ethics, prolonged education, discipline of members, strong theory and clear scope of practice. Average rankings for all characteristics ranged from 2.50 to 3.56 for this group. The top five characteristics ranked in order of average firmness of grip for Group C are code of ethics, strong theory, unique concepts and practices, clear scope of practice, and set minimum standards independently. Rankings for these characteristics of professionalization for the project management group ranged from 1.14 to 3.33, with half of these characteristics recognized as not firmly held by this group.

Clearly, project management association leadership recognizes that they have a long way to go to attain the characteristics associated with professional status. The next section of the survey explored the threats to achieving professional status perceived by the various occupational groups.

Report

Engineers

- Grip Strong Theory 3.69 13

to Research

and Practices Grip Prolonged

Education Grip Internship

Grip Clear Scope of 3.15 13 3.13 16 2.62 21 2.92 Practice

Gripcontrolover 3.00 13 2.50 16 1.86 21 2.36 Practice

Grip Legal 3.85 13 2.94 16 1.71 21 2.66 Protection of Title

Grip Set Minimum 3.62 13 3.00 16 1.71 21 2.62 Education

Grip Accredit Schools 3.08 13 2.88 16 2.43 21 2.74 Grip Set Minimum 3.38 13 3.06 16 2.62 21 2.96

Standards Independently

Grip Discipline 3.62 13 3.25 16 1.90 21 2.78 Members

Grip Code of Ethics 3.92 13 3.56 16 3.33 21 3.56

Table 7.4 Average of Rankings of Each Characteristic by Occupational Group

Threats to the Professionalization Effort An occupation's control of criteria that are critical to the struggle for professional status can face various threats. In Question 18, respondents were asked to consider some of these challenges and to rate them according to the degree of challenge to professional status of their occupations. Their responses, found in Table 7.5, were dichotomized into "little challenge" and "considerable challenge" as related to their perceptions of the various threats to professionalization. As can be seen in Table 7.5 (Question 18), all groups, even the well-established occupations, are facing some challenges.

Table 7.5 Degree of Challenge to Professional Status

Of interest here is that all three groups acknowledge major concern over increased influence/control over [their] profession by managers who are not members of the profession. For all three groups, this threat received the highest ranking. This raises the issue of how well the concept of profession is positioned to survive when practitioners are embedded as employees in major corporations. The tension between bureaucracies and the professional employees embedded within them may prove to have.negative effects on the efforts of project managers to professionalize.

For the traditional professions, issues of working within a bureaucracy under non-profession-based managers, high liability insurance costs, and decreased membership in professional associations are the highest-ranked challenges. The first reflects the concern with professions becoming just another occupation within the orga-

nizations previously mentioned. The second may have something to say about the status of professional judgement in today's society with more individuals ready to challenge the judgment of the professional. The decline in membership is likely related to the decline in membership in virtually every form of organization and associations in North America (Putnam 2001).

Liability issues are of similar concern to both the well-established occupations (60%) and to project managers (50%), but this is an area of little concern to nurses, teachers, and social workers (12.5%). This is not a surprising finding, given the nature of the occupations in Groups A and C, and the parallels that can be drawn between their practitioner-client relationships; the nature of their work has implications of responsibility for mistakes and poor practice. This could also reflect the degree of confidence the occupational groups have in the strength of the ethical and education standards of their occupation, in light of recent failures in business ethics. Nursing, teaching and social work, on the other hand, are likely protected from liability problems by virtue of their employment in large public bureaucracies.

The leaders of emerging professional associations (nursing, teaching, and social work) recognize more challenges to their professional status than do either of the other groups. In particular, they recognize managers not part of the profession (87.5%), paraprofessionals (75%), intervention by the state (73.3%), and decreased membership (70%) as significant threats to their professionalization efforts. Examined as a group, the challenges can all be related to the fact that these occupations typically work within large and, most often, public sector organizations that have faced serious budget problems for years. Attempts by these organizations to address the lack of funds has led to a number of initiatives, such as the introduction of paraprofessionals through intervention in work practices by the state, which results in decreased membership in the profession. This result is very supportive of the trends documented in the Web survey results.

What may be surprising in this result is that the project management group is not more similar to the emerging professions. We expected that these two groups would recognize similar challenges. In fact, the ranking of the project management group in regard to challenges to professional status is more closely aligned with the traditional professions' ranking than with the emerging professions' ranking. Project managers recognize the same top two threats as the professions (managers not part of profession and high liability insurance costs) and the same bottom four threats-with slightly different rankings (role hybridization, public participation in moni-

toring, gap knowledge shrinking, and role expansion). The largest difference between the project managers' rankings and the traditional professions is that a significantly larger number of project managers ranked gap knowledge shrinking as a challenge to professional status. Similarly, a significantly lower percentage of project managers ranked the high liability insurance costs and role hybridization as important challenges to professional status.

Given the concept that project management is relatively early in the professionalization process, it could be that many of these challenges have yet to be recognized or realized. Not having yet achieved professional status may mean that there is less to lose within the current situation with respect to these challenges. What- ever the reason for these differences, it does provide insight into the challenges recognized by project management association leadership, and some of the challenges faced by other professional occupations that may need to be covered in project management's drive to professionalization. The final section of this chapter looks at the

I actions the various occupational groupings are taking to address these challenges and work toward attaining or retaining their professional status.

Strategies for Professionalization

I Finally, we asked the various association leaders to rank the importance of a range of professionalization strategies for their profession or occupation. The top three actions determined by the frequency with which they showed up in the top five actions of all the associations were: Promoting the Unique Nature of the Knowledge (68% of respondents ranked this activity in the top five); Linking Theory and Practice (46%); and Establishing a Clear Scope of Practice (44%). In examining the actions that were consistently ranked highly, the top five actions in terms of rank importance were: Linking Theory and Practicej Obtaining Legal Protection of the Title; Setting Own Education Standards; Establishing Licensing; and Increasing Research.

For Group A, the action most often included in the top five ranking by all participants was Promoting the Unique Nature of the Knowledge, followed closely by Establishing a Clear Scope of Practice. The top five actions in terms of being consistently ranked at the top of the list of five items (having the lowest average score overall) were: Linking Theory and Practice; Establishing a Clear Scope of Practice; Establishing Internship Programs; Establishing Licensing; and Developing Code of Ethics.

For Group B, the action most often included in the top five ranking by all participants was Promoting the Unique Nature of the

Knowledge, followed closely by Increasing Research and Establishing a Clear Scope of Practice. The top five actions for this occupational group in terms of being consistently ranked at the top of the list of five items (having the lowest average score overall) were: Obtaining Legal Control over the Title; Linking Theory and Practice; Establish- ing Licensing; Increasing Research; and Promoting Unique Nature of the Knowledge.

For Group C, the actions most often included in the top five ranking by all participants were: Promoting Unique Nature of Knowledge; Setting Standards Independently; and Linking Theory and Practice. The next three most often selected actions were: Obtaining Legal Protection of the Title; Establishing Internships; and Establishing Licensing. The top five actions for this occupational group in terms of being ranked at the top of the list of five items (having the lowest average score overall) were: Setting Own Educa- tion Standards; Establishing a Wider scope of Practice; Increasing Minimum Education Levels; Linking Theory and Practice; and Estab- lishing Internships.

There were a couple of clear differences in how the three groups ranked these actions that should be noted as well. More than 50% of project management respondents ranked Linking Theory and Prac- tice in the top five important actions to take. More than 50% of the emerging professions (Group B) ranked Increasing Research as one of the top five actions, while less than one quarter of traditional professions and project management did so. More than 50% of both Group A and Group B ranked Establishing a Clear Scope of Practice in the top five, while less than 25% of project management association leadership did so. None of the traditional professions (Group A) and few of the emerging professions (Group B) ranked Accrediting Schools as an important activity, while almost 50% of the project management respondents did so (this could reflect project management's relative late start in attaining this right). More than 50% of project management respondents ranked Setting Standards Indepen- dently in the top five actions to take, while only 10.5% of Group A and 26.3% of Group B did so.

It is interesting to note that project managers: Are lower in the reported grasp they have on all of the characteristics related to professionalization, relative to the established professions and the "intermediate" occupations (nursing, teaching, social work) Are not as strongly committed to the importance of maintaining a strong grip on any of the professional characteristics as are the established professions and the intermediate occupations

. Are very similar to the established professions in their recognition of challenges to professionalization, and share with the established professions differences with respect to the intermediate occupations.

Conclusions This chapter reported on the findings of a multi-national, multi- occupational online survey exploring the characteristics of profession attained by various occupational groups and the challenges they are facing in attaining such characteristics. We find significant differences between the level of attainment of professional characteristics among the three groups of occupations and the challenges they recognize as significant. Project management leaders recognize that they do not have a firm grasp on many of the professional characteristics necessary to attain professional status. Yet, the same leadership does not recognize as many challenges as do the other occupations. In addition, project management associations tend to be quite differ- ently organized than the more regional based associations that gained the professional standing on a local, rather than a national or supranational basis. Finally, project management association leadership tends to rank professionalization activities in a much hfferent way than other associations' leaders do. This could be taken as reflective of the differing geographic orientations of the different types of professional occupations, and project management's need to follow a different professionalization path. It could also reflect a need for project management to reprioritize its activities if it intends to gain traditional professional status.

The survey portion of this study was successful in that it verified the results of the literature and Web survey and introduced greater variety and details into some of the findings. It was not as successful as we might have hoped in that the response rate does not allow for a high degree of confidence in the generalizability of the findings and did not allow for sophisticated statistical analysis of the data. Given these limitations, the results reported in this chapter must be taken as supporting evidence rather than proof of any conclusive findings. However, given the triangulation between the literature on the topic to date, the Web survey detail, and the results of this survey, we believe we can fairly confidently provide some important insights, conclusions and suggestions for consideration that will be important for project management association leadership at all levels to consider in the near future. The final chapter of this work provides such insights.

Insights and Future Direction41

T his research study set out to explore the theories and development of traditional and emerging professions, in order to derive

insights to help provide guidance for future directions in moving project management toward a profession. We started out by reviewing the literature and setting out the key characteristics of, and processes involved in, developing traditional professions. The first section of this concluding chapter evaluates project management's progress toward attaining traditional profession status as defined in the literature. We then reviewed the progress of a set of comparable knowledge occupations (nursing, social work, and teaching) in attaining professional status over the last several decades. We also collected comparative information across traditional, emerging and project management occupations to explore the generalizability of these findings and the nature of the most common strategies addressing professionalization. The second section of this chapter reviews the key lessons learned for project management from this analysis. We conclude this chapter by discussing what we feel are the key questions that deserve attention in pursuing professionalization for project management based on the results of this study.

41 Some of the conclusions included in this chapter were reported earlier in conference papers (Zwerman, Thomas, Haydt 2002; Zwerman, Thomas, Haydt 2003), presented as early findings over the life of this research project.

Evaluating Project Management as a Profession Recall from chapter two that there are three important perspectives in the sociological study of traditional professions. The first estab- lishes criteria in the form of traits or characteristics that must be present to recognize an occupation as a profession. The second describes the steps or process involved in becoming a profession. The third explores the political pressures involved in the professionalization process. This section of the conclusion contains an assess-

I ment of project management along these three criteria.

Project Management's Attainment of Characteristics of a Profession Using the criteria established for the recognition of an occupa-

tion as a profession: Exclusive control and command of an esoteric and systematic body of knowledge: Project management cannot lay claim to any exclusivity regarding a body of knowledge, and is unable to clearly define as a body of knowledge that over which it might claim to possess exclusive domain. One of the unique claims of project management is that the distinguishing claim is built around the control of processes, rather than content. Psychology claims both process and content in its claims, but the others are almost exclusively content-oriented. The PMBOKB Guide and other related materials constitute a start to the claims regarding knowledge. However, even in this case, there is no claim that this knowledge is not available to anyone who wants to take the time to read the materials. . Education and research: Formal education programs are developing very rapidly. Short courses and training provided in the context of professional meetings have been around a long time. A large number of undergraduate and graduate degrees are now being offered in university settings. Eventually these will produce a significant proportion of those individuals considering themselves professional project managers. The research process has lagged behind the development of the educational system. This is a result of the slowing of research funding into new areas of occupational practice, coupled with a focus of professional associations on the practice of project management, rather than research into the practice. Code of ethics: The major project management associations have adopted a code of ethics. However, since membership is not mandatory, the code has not been subscribed to by the majority of practitioners.

Autonomy of practice: Project managers are almost always employees (regular or contract) of corporations, and their practice is rarely recognized as providing them with a claim to autonomy of practice. All established professions are now encountering implications of this employment status, and are struggling to maintain autonomy in the face of corporate demands. An excellent analysis of this in the case of doctors is provided in Draper's (2003) analysis of the company doctor. . Norm of altruism: Project managers have never claimed that they are providing an altruistic service to the community at large. This occupation has always been defined in functional and economic terms. The efforts to legitimize project management, therefore, must go beyond analysis of ROI and other such considerations. Doctors save lives, lawyers provide us with justice, etc. Project managers save money and improve the quality of products and services. Control of the name: Anyone can call himself or herself a project manager. Very little effort has been directed toward capturing the name and reserving its use for those deemed qualified to carry the title. Authority over clients: As previously noted, the client has control over the project manager. There has been very little discussion of how to wrest control from the client. However, articles in practitioner journals aimed at renegotiating the project manager's role can often be seen to be moves in this direction, as can conference interest in sessions and research into the need for increased autonomy and recognition of project managers. Distinctive occupational culture: There is no defined occupational culture characteristic of project managers. There are hints of this at professional meetings where the "language" of project management is spoken. One of the problems here is that there is not a community of practice or a regular gathering of project managers (except, perhaps, for informal networking purposes). This lack of community is also being faced by the established profession, as specialization and the loss of community in urban areas are eroding occupational community and culture. Culture is carried in the context of "community," and as the pace of life and individuation proceeds, the communal base of occupations is challenged. These days, people are less likely to "coffee" together and gather on a regular basis for informal discussions of life and work. Recognition: There is no legal recognition of exclusive claims to practice. There are various forms of voluntary certification, which constitute initial steps toward formal certification and

licensing. These do not appear to be leading to demands for licensing and recognition of the controlling nature of professional associations.

Clearly, using the criteria established for recognizing an occupation as a profession, project management does not qualify. Many project managers conduct themselves in a professional manner, but the occupation is not organized along the lines of a profession, and there is no explicit legal recognition of the professional nature of the occupation.

Becoming a Profession Project management has moved in the direction of professional-

ization with the establishment of processional associations, development of codes of ethics and voluntary certification programs, emergence of new educational programs as well as a growing body of research, and an explicit focus on trying to define a body of knowledge that is germane to the practice of project management. The process of becoming a "profession" has been examined and it would be fruitful to see where project management stands in this respect.

There have been several efforts to define the processes involved in an occupation moving to a profession. Critics of these efforts have pointed out that there has not been a single process set ever identified and that, even when the various steps identified are taken, they are not necessarily taken in the order identified by analysts. Neverthe- less, the work of professionalization draws attention to the fact that professions do not spring full blown from the soil, and a consideration of the process perspective can be illuminating for any occupation that aspires to professional status. The scheme we will follow represents a modification of the work of Caplow (1954), Wilensky (1964), and Ritzer and Walczak (1988), as introduced in Chapter 2.

The professionalization process of project management entails the following:

Hours worked: Project management may be a part-time or full-time occupation

Name: The term "project manager" is not protected, and few serious efforts are being made to protect it

National associations: There are a number of national and international associations formed around the process of project management. One of the differences between project management and the established professions is that project management is not likely to be confined to the licensing boundaries of states of provinces. The occupation has a natural international extension, along with some of the other new knowledge occupations, and licensing would

likely involve international agreements if it were brought to its logical conclusion. Licensing along state and provincial lines would not only take a very long time, but would also produce serious complications with respect to international border crossings and projects that operate on a virtual basis crossing jurisdxtional lines. It may be that following old lines of jurisdiction is the only way to proceed in North America on a short-term basis, but efforts to create registration and licensing at the national level would probably be worth the effort

Training schools: There are dozens of educational programs in place, many of which have connections to major professional associations

Code of ethics: Each of the major occupational associations has a code of ethics drawn up for its members, but there are no procedures in place to enforce codes of practice

Political agitation: There is little serious lobbying, and none in some national settings, to require certification or licensing. One of the differences between project management and the historic professions is that some larger clients have undertaken the initiation of certification requirements. These may or may not be established upon consultation of one of the project management associations, and may be altered or terminated without consultation.

At this point in time, several of the steps identified with professionalization have been undertaken. However, several have been seriously overlooked at this point.

Role of Power in Professionalization of Project Management In the 1960s, Johnson introduced a power perspective in the

study of professions. Prior to then, the professions had been dealt with in terms of their commitment to the altruistic service to the larger community. Critics had queried the altruistic nature of the service and the question as to whether or not service provided by the professionals was any more essential to the good of society. However, no voice challenging the basic assumptions of the dominant perspectives had reached a wide audience. Johnson viewed the privileges of professionals as resulting from their successful efforts to capture authority and to exercise it in such a way as to maintain it in the face of criticism. He believed that the privilege was unjustified and that, eventually, the state would exercise control over the professions in such a way as to bring greater benefit to the public at large. His work was quickly followed by that of Friedson, Larson, and Abbott.

Today, there is general recognition that established professions, as well as aspiring ones, are fighting battles in the contested terrain of the work world. Occupational groups, with the exception of law, are not generally handed the rights and responsibilities of professions without their intervention. Exceptions occur in states where the government actively intervenes in a proactive manner. However, this is increasingly less likely to happen when governments are withdrawing from control or, conversely, exercising greater control. We are in a peculiar situation where governments simultaneously withdraw from direct action while removing privilege from estab-

I lished groups. Governments show little interest in establishing licensing for new knowledge occupations, while moving to withdraw privilege from those that are already established, whether through more direct control or actual removal of privilege. For example, physicians are scrutinized and controlled by the government with respect to their prescription of drugs, and in the early 1990s, Austra- lia's state of Victoria downgraded the professional status of teachers.

The power perspective includes a concern with the professionalization process, the struggle of occupational groups to maintain their turf in the face of attacks from the bottom and sides, and the struggle to maintain professional autonomy in the face of increasing corporate control.

Project management enters the professionalization picture at a time when the environment may be considered chilly, at best. There is very little public understanding of project management and the activities of project managers. Governments have not shown much awareness of the new set of knowledge occupations that have arisen during the past 50 years. Corporations are reluctant to cede control to the occupational groups in their midst. The road to professionalization will be an uphill battle involving a wide array of political factors, will undoubtedly assume different paths than those taken in the past, and will probably result in different outcomes. To assist in traveling this path, this study set out to explore the professionalization journeys of other emerging professions; we now turn to those findings.

Comparing Project Management to Other Professions In comparing project management to other established or emerging professions, we collected two kinds of data. The first was Web site information on the professionalization journey of three comparable emerging professions. The second was data that allows us to compare the professional status, challenges and professionalization activities of traditional and emerging professions, as well as project manage-

ment. The main finding from each of these analyses is presented in its own section below.

Learning from the Professionalization Journeys of Comparable Occupations In comparing the professionalization journeys of the three com-

parison occupations, we focused on the following topics of interest: Gaining monopoly over use of the occupation name . Defining and laying claim to an esoteric body of knowledge Defining the field of operation Controlling education and accreditation Introducing certification and licensing Changes to professional associations.

Each of these categories is explored through examination of Web site evidence of the activities undertaken by various professional associations, followed by a brief assessment of project management's accomplishments and activities. This paper presents the portion of Web site analysis that is most relevant to project management's situation, and provides background material for the discussion of implications in the final section of the chapter.

MONOPOLY OVER USE OF THE NAME

The designation, "project manager" must be captured and controlled. As long as anyone can use that designation without regard to training or certification, it will be impossible to create an occupation that can lay claim to "professional" status. All analyses of "professionalization" processes include this criterion, but it should not be viewed in absolute terms. Registered nurses really don't care much whether someone occasionally receives an informal designation of "nurse." What they protect is the center of their occupational world: hospitals, doctors' offices, and clinics. Furthermore, the protection of that designation or "name" is an ongoing process, a continuing part of the struggle between occupations, and between occupations and employers, to achieve control over their work. This will require lobbying and related activities to win the rights to that "name" and continuing efforts to police its use. Teachers show relatively little interest in protection of the name, but a number of associations are concerned with differentiating the role and responsibilities of teachers and "parateachers."

There are several examples from nursing and social work that demonstrate efforts to protect professional titles. The effort to protect professional titles varies from emphasis on the title of vol- untarily registered professionals to protecting the very title itself. Professional associations in Canadian provinces have lobbied to

extend protection of title to the general terms "social worker" and "social work." Nursing associations in Canada have also sought title protection. There is also evidence of efforts made by associations to actively police the use of the title. A full discussion of this topic is found in Chapters 4, 5 and 6.

In countries that rely on skill-based certification of many occupations (e.g., South Africa and Australia), the local project management associations are working with government bodies to delineate skill- based competencies. This process takes them a step closer to being able to exclude the non-qualified or incompetent from using the name.

DEFINITION OF THE FIELD

All claims to professionalization include a negotiated statement regarding what the practitioners include in their claims and what

I they leave out. Doctors do not claim control or competency over everything in the domain of work in healthcare. Similarly, teachers do not claim the exclusive right to practice in all learning situations. What projects will professional project managers assume as theirs? Where does the casual practitioner fit into the world of projects and where does the professional project manager enter? Not all projects are equal and not all projects require a professional. The limits of the practice will be negotiated through time. Nurses do a number of things today that they did not do 20 years ago (witness the nurse practitioner).

With the expansion of the role of nurse practitioner, negotiations with the medical profession were required to clearly delineate scopes of practice. These actions indicate that expansion into medical territory by nurses is occurring, but is a carefully negotiated process. Similar processes of defining the scope of practice occur in the social work profession, but teachers are virtually silent about establishing a clear scope of practice for the teaching profession. A full discussion of these considerations is found in Chapters 4, 5 and 6.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

The most cynical of conflict theorists recognizes that the claim to "professional status" ultimately rests on the ability of practitioners to lay claim to more or less exclusive command of an esoteric body of knowledge that they declare to be essential to good practice. Virtually every analyst agrees on this. The inability to make this claim convincingly is, perhaps, the primary factor responsible for the failure of teachers and social workers to achieve full recognition as professionals.

The social work profession has made a number of attempts to strengthen its claim to a unique body of knowledge. An oft-cited example is the social work profession that claims an ability to deal with human diversity as its esoteric body of knowledge.

Nurses, on the other hand, suffer not from the lack of a "hard scientific" body of knowledge, but rather from the fact that another group of professionals (physicians and surgeons) has laid claim to controlling that body of knowledge. As mentioned earlier, nurse practitioners and the medical community have had to negotiate scopes of practice. However, the medical community is not always willing to cede control. In this case, the professional association is fighting for autonomy of the nurse practitioner to practice from a particular body of knowledge respected by the medical community. It is a particularly valuable illustration of the kinds of actions taken by professional associations and practitioners on the road to professionalization.

Despite a solid claim to scientific knowledge, nurses also still attempt to expand their claim to a unique and expanding body of knowledge. This is done by expanding efforts into nursing research. The Canadian Nurses Association makes several recommendations about how to strengthen nursing research in Canada. It outlines the responsibilities of individual nurses to generate researchable questions based on their practice experiences, for professional associations to lobby their government for research funding, for nursing schools to promote research, and for more efficiency in communication of research results (Web site #5, Position Statement: Evidence Based Decision Making and Nursing Practice). Furthermore, nurses are concerned about linking theory and research to everyday practice, and take concrete steps to ensure that this occurs.

Nursing has also sought to improve i ts body of knowledge through establishing a universal nursing language that would serve to standardize the profession. A short article entitled "Use of standardized nursing language (SNL) will make nursing visible" by RN Gail Keenan on the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) Web site outlines the need for standardized nursing language. The MNA also conducted a survey of 35 nursing leaders to determine the forces that are either advancing or impeding the use of SNL in Michigan's nursing practice. All of these examples suggest that even professions with an established body of knowledge continuously seek ways to improve their claims.

As discussed in Chapter 6, the teaching profession suffers from a lack of recognition of its body of knowledge. The need to define and promote its body of knowledge is clearly recognized. The teaching

associations believe that the problem arises from a combination of two factors:

Lack of communication with the public hides the true nature of the extant body of knowledge There is need to continue the research effort to create a better definition of the body of knowledge and to extend it.

A full discussion of this is found in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 . For project management, the Project Management Body of

Knowledge is a significant step in the right direction, but the development of a full-blown body of knowledge will require considerable elaboration. The short statements on communication in the PMBOKB Guide would need to be elaborated in the context of project management, methodologies would have to be developed in an inte-

I grated context, and control of the process would also require attention; indeed, every aspect of the Project Management Body of Knowl- edge would need to become the subject of elaboration and research.

While creation and maintenance of the PMBOKm Guide is a step in the right direction to accomplish this goal, the PMBOKa Guide does not hold an exclusive position in the world of project management doctrines. There are other project management guidelines promulgated by other project management professional associations worldwide, as well as those crafted by individual gurus and large companies. Efforts to define standardized project management language and to identify global project management standards are examples of the recognition of the importance of these activities (see, for example, www.globalPMstandards.org). However, without agreement on what this body of knowledge is, and who is in charge of developing and maintaining it, professionalization will be difficult to achieve.

EDUCATION AND ACCREDITATION

Whenever a modern occupation has strived to upgrade to "professional" status, there has been an emphasis on upgrading knowledge and developing the associated educational programs. The major established professions and three semi-professions of particular interest to project management (teaching, social work and nursing) have captured a home in universities laying claim to their own faculty/college. Accounting is the only profession that still resides in someone else's home, namely business and management faculty/ colleges; the others all have their own "deans." Project management is found in one of several locations, including business, engineering, and planning. In addition, leading edge training in project management often resides within corporate training and consulting organizations, entirely outside the academic realm associated with higher

education. Development of a recognized academic discipline will be crucial to the professionalization of project management, and much work will be required for the integration of that discipline into the educational offerings of those specialized short courses in project management. There will always be a demand for a wide array of educational offerings, ranging from short courses offering an introduction to project management, as well as specialized short programs, to full university degrees (Abbott).

Professional nursing association Web sites in Canada are rich with data about this occupation's commitment to raising the educational standard for entry (the U.S. states sampled for this project did not reflect this trend). The following are provincial nursing associations that have adopted the Canadian Nurses Association recommendation in1982 that the minimum educational requirement to enter the profession be a baccalaureate degree: New Brunswick (1989), Newfoundland and Labrador (1992), Nova Scotia (1984), Ontario (year unknown-this association (RNAO) claims that they have been lobbying for legislation for this since the 1 9 7 0 ~ ) ~ and Saskatchewan (1984).

To help realize this transition, nursing associations across Can- ada have developed strategies to overcome barriers to implementing this new requirement. One is "grandfathering" of nurses with a diploma-level education (since no mandatory upgrading is required), which will help integrate those who have already been practicing nursing for a number of years into the new system. Grandfathering as a strategy is discussed in the nursing association Web sites of Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, NWT, and Saskatchewan. Another strategy, discussed vaguely, is to increase enrollment in nursing programs, and increase accessibility to education for those nurses without the BN (Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador).

The nursing profession in Canada has also developed continuing education programs (often dubbed "continued competence" in some jurisdictions). These programs are mandatory for nurses in British Columbia [under the Nurses (Registered) Act], in Nova Scotia, and the Northwest Territories (as of 2004). Continued competence programs are voluntary in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Sas- katchewan. Such programs consist of one or more of the following: self-assessment, peer review, continued education, maintaining a professional portfolio, practice review, written exams, and observed structured clinical exams (College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba Web site).

The social work profession also makes efforts to upgrade and control educational requirements. For example, Quebec plans to

raise i ts standard of entry into the profession to an MSW (The Advocate 2002, Summer, 13). This initiative has sparked much debate about whether or not it will really enhance the profession, or whether it will only create a two-tiered system within social work. Introduction of the MSW as the minimum standard was mentioned only in the Canadian data.

This is a debate that has yet to happen in project management, even though the provision of project management education at all levels has increased dramatically over the last 10 years.

CERTIFICATIONILICENSING AND CONTROL

Some decisional body must be given responsibility for designating who is qualified to practice. This may be very complicated, with a number of certification and licensing alternatives as in medicine. This may be much simpler, as in the more generic licensing of teachers. In any event, if there is no effective certification and/or licensing scheme, it will be impossible for practitioners to lay claim to any sort of special status or privileges. This is the key to control of the name and to control of admission to practice. All recognized professions are licensed occupations. Voluntary certification may be a step along the road to professionalization, but it is not sufficient for full professionalization.

The social work profession in various U.S. states has recently made efforts toward securing licensure.

Teachers show relatively little overt concern with the question of certification and licensing. This is probably a function of the fact that there is extensive licensing in the occupation and a sense that there isn't much more to be done. However, the renewed concerns with teacher qualifications in the United States will likely fuel another round of discussion and lobbying in the immediate future. A full discussion of this is found in Chapters 4, 5 and 6.

It seems clear from the review of the Web sites that this is a fundamental requirement of professionalization, and one that has serious implications for both the practitioner and the professional association. To date, practitioners and professional associations alike in the project management realm have pursued efforts toward professionalization without tackling this potentially thorny issue. Virtu- ally all established professions and those seriously aspiring to full professional status have pursued licensure. The implications of this will form part of the discussion.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

The associations become the center of control for practitioners, and represent the interests of practitioners to the outside world.

Individual practitioners cannot conduct the struggle for recognition and privilege alone. A strong association mediates between public and private authorities on behalf of practitioners. The strength of the professional association is directly associated with the power and influence that accrues to that profession.

Professional associations in the North American context are dynamic and innovative in their pursuit of professional status for the occupations they represent. A unique initiative in both social work and nursing in Canada has been to pursue "college" status: Several Canadian Nurses Associations have renamed and restruc- tured themselves as "colleges" to enhance their claim to professional status. For example, the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia (formerly the Registered Nurses' Association of Nova Scotia) "is . . . only the third, after Ontario and Manitoba, to see its nursing profession formally transition to a college model to regulate the practice of registered nurses. . .through licensing processes, the establishment of standards, and competency and professional conduct services and programs" (College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia, "Press Release: New Act Officially Changes 92-year His-

- tory1,). Social work in Alberta has also recently introduced the college

model. With passing of the Health Professions Act (2003), the association had to take on a college model (i.e., become the self-regulating, regulatory arm for the profession) (Alberta College of Social Workers Web site). Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick have a slightly different approach, where the regulatory body and professional association are distinct bodies, but work very closely together, sharing committee or board members.

Many associations, particularly in the U.S., choose to fulfill a "dual role" of union and professional association. One example of this is the California Nurses Association, a particularly vocal and active association that operates with a grassroots style of promoting the profession.

Teachers have been functioning with a "dual role" set of associations for some time, and discussion surrounding this is increasing in volume as the question of qualifications is being examined.

Project management is a very young occupation that has only recently started down the path to professionalization. Professional associations at this point are strictly voluntary organizations and have little or no authority outside that granted by the membership. It remains to be seen what sorts of changes in the professional association itself will be needed to further the goal of professionalization.

Learning from the Challenges and Actions of Professionalization across Occupations There has been considerable discussion with project manage-

ment regarding the focus of efforts required to move along the path of professionalization. It is clear from the examination of the other

I occupations that they take each of the major factors associated with professionalization very seriously. There is a strong thrust on the part of the associations interested in professionalization to protect the name and to achieve licensing and registration. These are not viewed as options.

In order to achieve the status of a licensed profession, they are focused on the question of educational requirements and the definition of the field of practice. Project management, at this point in

I time, seems reluctant to seek control of the name, to scope the limits of professional project management, and to require higher educational standards. There is also reluctance to aggressively pursue development of the body of knowledge. These observations lead to the questions associated with "Future Directions."

Future Directions: Important Questions for Consideration

Professionalization of What? To date, it has been impossible to obtain a consensus on the

definition and scope of project management practice. This is a pivotal concern of the "professions" examined throughout this research study. For example, Aldridge points out that social work in the U.K. has long suffered from a lack of agreement about what social work "is." She notes that "attempts to define goals by both BASW (British Association of Social Workers) and CCETSW (The Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work) have been pitched at such levels of generality that any unifying potential disappears" (1996, 186). Aldridge concludes that it is more important for social workers as a group to identify elements of, and agree on, what their expertise really is; she also notes a greater need to achieve broad consensus on the skills and techniques required by social workers to practice than to be concerned with whether the knowledge base is rooted in positivistic scientific principles (1996, 186).

We believe that this advice holds weight for project management. Until the occupation can define the scope of practice, it has little hope of developing into a full-fledged profession. What kinds of projects belong to the "profession" of project management and which don't? What are the basic skills that define a "professional" project manager? Who is included in the project management profession?

Is it only the project managers? Or only project managers of a certain size or type of project? How about all people interested in project management at any level?

Decisions must be made about what to control, what to monitor, and what to let go. Project managers will not control all projects. Curriculums and training programs that are developed will be an important part of the definition of the scope of project management, and will assist in dealing with the problem of differentiating project management from related activities. No profession attempts to control everything associated with it. Some projects will be managed by individuals who are, occupationally, casual project managers. One of the challenges facing project management today is that a very large number of people holding the title of project manager have no significant training in project management (see, for example, Thomas, Delisle, and Jugdev 2002). This problem cannot be dealt with until there is some consensus as to what constitutes the "project" in professional project management. Curriculum is developed around defined practices. Professional innovation occurs when there is a departure from an established body of practice(s). However, established practice(s) cannot be fully developed until there is some agreement on what is the focus of the practice, that is, the nature and type of projects included in the new profession. The development of educational programs requires a serious focus defined by the delin- eation of "project" in project management, but this definition will never be written in stone, and will vary across the internal lines of the occupation and between political jurisdictions. What projects belong in the profession of project management will be key to defining the limits of the professional practice.

The discussions of the "traits" of a profession and the "process" of becoming a profession were followed by considerations of the power and politics of professionalization, as well as the establishment and maintenance of rights and responsibilities. This raises the following question.

Professionalization for Whom? Although it is beyond the scope of this study to go into detail

on the various roles to be played by "actors" in the professionalization saga, we do feel it is important to recognize and identify the key players likely to play important roles in this exercise. An important question to ask is professionalization for whom? Is it the individual driving this to increase his value in the labor marketplace and his/her instrumental power in organizational settings? Is it the professional associations, in order to secure their positions as the administrators of "all things project management"? Is it the consultants and gurus

who stand to benefit by selling a "premium" product in the market? Is it academics, who stand to benefit from an increased profile and research dollars to support the ongoing development of the profession? This section explores the role of these key players in the professionalization project.

As the importance of project management as a business practice grows, so too grows the supporting knowledge industry. Key players in this industrial filed include those that produce the project management knowledge: academics, consultants, gurus, professional associations, and the consumers of that knowledge. This section reviews these key players and their motives and interests in the professionalization project. . Academics: Engineering and business schools serve two pri-

mary and related functions in this knowledge field. First, they traditionally perform a quality control role in assessing the project management practices in use. Similar to other applied professional studies, notably management, academic research generally follows rather than leads (Barley, Meyer and Gash 1988). Thus, academics review and revise existing practices. In doing this review and quality assurance, it is inevitable that academics also produce normative suggestions for improving practice. This improvement on extant knowledge is itself the creation of new knowledge.

Academics are interested in the professionalization exercise for a number of reasons. First, the study and development of a professional body of knowledge is an excellent academic exercise, easily justified to deans and industry alike. Improving the status of project management in the organizational hierarchy will also improve academics' access to organizations for research and research funding. The research function is key to the development of a body of knowledge sufficiently well developed and elaborated to provide the base for an occupation's primary claim to professional status. Development of the research function, along with the integration of academics into the professional process, is a requirement for professionalization. The emphasis being placed on education and research by teaching, nursing, and social work is acknowledgement of the importance of these functions.

In order that "educators" might gain greater economic and social rewards within the profession, they need to actively participate in the control of the required educational process and, therefore, the trainee. Disciplinary power (Foucault 1977) needs to be exercised over entry requirements (e.g., who may enter training?), as well as curriculum definition, inculcation of occu-

pational values, examination standards (what, when, and how they learn), and the development of trainees. Through such control, educators will be able to participate in the definition of project management and the role of the project manager. . Consultants: The practitioners' primary function in this industry is to convert abstracted managerial knowledge into a saleable form. We term this process commodification. Com- modification involves rationalizing the knowledge by converting it into a form that can be easily understood and implemented by junior consultants. It also requires that the knowledge be generalizable, so that it can be applied in a variety of situations. Commodification, therefore, requires routinized and codified project management tools that can be easily applied in varied settings. Finally, commodification requires that the knowledge be portable. This often involves transferring the knowledge into a template or icon, which can be interpreted by junior consultants, generalized to a variety of disparate contexts, and moved easily throughout a large consulting organization.

In project management, consultants have been a project management information conduit among industries (Blum- quist and Sunderland 2001). Their main role has been in expanding the scope of project management so that it is diffused in three ways: individuals hired into new industries; consulting organizations expanding their industrial reachj and consultants personally applying project management to consulting projects. Such &fusion drives another pattern of diffusion, as these consultants need to attract new customers. Thus, they must make their expertise as valuable as possible to potential customers. They do this by expanding their market to new customer groups and by applying project management to new issues. Finally, consultants need more developed theoretical project management tools. They need to be able to convince potential customers that project management is a well-founded way of organizing business. Thus, consultants are interested in making project management more conceptual and easier to point out the benefits. In this manner, project management models become more generic and the value of project management is more clearly identified. Consultants add value by making industry-specific models generic, and generally attractive for companies wanting to increase effectiveness and efficiency. . Gurus: These experts serve the primary function of translating managerial knowledge between the other two groups and, in some cases, to the general public. Gurus abstract the theoretical

concepts generated by the business academics into generic forms that can be understood and used by practitioners. Gurus also serve the important function of legitimizing certain types of managerial knowledge. This is achieved, primarily, by translating specific managerial practices into the mainstream business press, presenting these ideas at practitioner and academic conferences, and promoting such practices through their own consulting firms. We term this process popularization.

Improving the standing of project management to that of profession is likely to improve the status of the gurus and the currency of their published work. Professional Associations: The project management associations appear to be attempting to internalize all the functions of the commodification cycle within a single organization. Their role in the organizational field is still evolving; however, they present the potential to usurp the role of all other actors in the knowledge creation process.

The main role of the professional associations in this area has been in increasing the volume of participants in this knowledge industry. As project management took off as a management device during the '60s, i t meant that a lot of people (mainly engineers with various backgrounds) acquired a common interest. Professional associations were founded in North America (1969) and Europe (1965). (There are also organizations in Australia and Asia, and a new organization attempting to form a global project management association). Similar to PMI, the organizations in Australia and Asia are membership-based, and membership has increased exponentially throughout the '90s. The primary function of both groups is to promote a project management "profession." The international conferences of both organizations are important events where conference practitioners, consultants and scholars meet, tell each other success stories, and exchange "best practices." General topics of these conferences show a shift from engineering and technical topics to general management topics (Blumquist and Sunderland 2000). Since the late 1990s, both associations have endeavored to shift the scope of project management to include more industries and more tasks. Some state that these organizations may be trying to make project management an all-embracing issue that should engage each and every employee in each and every organization in all countries, and should cover all thinkable efforts. Both associations also publish journals and books ranging from practitioner-oriented materials to academic writings. Both also support a specific guide to project management.

A serious effort toward professionalization requires that professional associations play a very strong role in leading the process. Their relationships with members will be dramatically altered, as will the relationships between members, their associations and their employers.

Standardization is under way, but has thus far not been transformed into formal rules and requirements. Professional associations have implemented certification initiatives, which drive this process, but so far have not initiated or enforced the standards that are necessary for traditional professionalization. In fact, it is questionable whether they have the authority to enforce such standards.

Discipline has other benefits that explain its reproduction. For example, it enables the leaders of an occupational group to exercise control over the values and beliefs of the rank and file. . Consumers: Consumers represent a poorly understood component in the field. There is clearly a strong (and intensifying) demand among consumers for knowledge products, yet there is an obvious skepticism, among primary consumers, about the validity and quality of the product they consume (Suddaby and Greenwood 2001).

Large multinational corporations represent the largest consumer of consulting services. Corporate consumers are interested i n professionalization because they believe i t will improve the practice of project management and allow them to count on the maxim "on time, on budget, on spec," with respect to their projects. The professionalization of this occupation would allow them, they believe, to offload the risk associated with projects onto the individual professional who agrees to take on the role. This professionalism, they believe, will increase accountability on projects and, simultaneously, increase their control over them. A "failed" project manager can be held accountable and a project manager who is judged to be acting unprofessionally may be dismissed or asked "to resign."

Individual project manager consumers are interested in developing their skills and improving their chances of deliver- ing successful projects. Many believe that professionalization is fundamental to improving their authority in organizations and, therefore, their ability to deliver successful projects.

Clearly, all the key players have something to gain by profession- alizing project management. Also, certain players clearly may lose, depending on the path that professionalization takes. If the professional bodies dominate the process, they may be able to dictate to

the consultants and academics at a level that is not healthy for the development of the discipline. At the same time, if the consultants dominate the professionalization process, the short-term profit drive will be difficult to coexist with some of the professional values that need to be enforced. Individual accountability of project managers may be a serious win for corporations, but a serious loss for consultants and individual project managers. Clearly, there are many issues where the power and political will of these players will come into play. Depending on the perspective taken, recognizing and paying attention to these varying interests will be an interesting and difficult task.

Impact of Professionalization on Practice Written practice standards are an important stage in the develop-

ment of a profession. Putting it simply, written standards provide the yardstick against which practitioners are measured.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOKB Guide) has been recognized by some corporations and some government departments as an official standard in the United States, and by reference in many jurisdictions around the world. It is being used by many organizations, including the Auditor General's Office of Canada, as a standard to evaluate the practice of project managers. China is very quickly adopting the PMBOKm Guide as a standard of practice. Thus, while certification remains voluntary, more and more individuals are going to be judged against the standards set in this document. Certainly, certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs) should expect to be judged by this standard.

What hasn't been generally recognized is that the development of standards necessarily changes the environment within whichprac- titioners practice their craft. Regardless of the potential for project management to achieve "professional" status, the promulgation of written standards, and the acceptance of these standards by important jurisdictions and organizations, puts a variety of changes in the way a craft is practiced. This section of the document identifies some of the implications of having written standards for issues of litigation and liability.

As described in the PMBOKB Guide, it is meant to provide a minimum standard of practice that should be employed by most project managers most of the time. This means that a baseline has been set to evaluate the competency of project managers. It is exactly this sort of baseline that will be used when a case against a project manager goes to court. The argument in law will be that the adoption of standards represents the expert opinion of the entire occupation as to what are acceptable practices. Adopting the standard in no way

guarantees perfect results, but it does imply that success of the project is contingent on applying at least this standard of management.

Finding negligence means that a person has failed to show reasonable care under the circumstances. That is, he or she deviates from what a similar, reasonable person in similar circumstances would do. Where a defendant exercises specialized skills, the standard of the reasonable person is extended to a higher standard or specialized standard of care. In these cases, the courts look to written practice standards as the basis of this specialized standard of care.

It is interesting to note that the number of malpractice lawsuits in accounting increased significantly once written standards were introduced, and most of the malpractice suits today are directed at the accounting areas having the highest degree of standardization. Rates of malpractice suits in areas with "elusive" standards, such as management advisory services, are substantially lower. One interpretation of this result could be that without clear standards of practice, it is more difficult to prove negligence.

Recognized standards in project management may provide a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it may lead to the possibility of negligence suits against project managers. On the other hand, it provides the practitioner with guidance on the minimum standard required to render necessary service. Thus, it should be easier for the project manager to show that he/she has complied with the standards. The trick is that the practitioner must now operate according to the standard and be able to provide evidence that the standard was adhered to. This requires checklists, forms and signoffs to the effect that standards have been followed. Given the nature of project management, it is probable that this will not add too much additional labor to the process if the project management methodology is appro- priately designed. However, it does increase the "load" and works in direct opposition to movements to streamline project management.

Thus, written standards have introduced the potential for liability claims and the need to carefully document the activities required by the standard. Some practitioners may find this frightening. Hope- fully, it is frightening enough to get all practitioners to reflectively practice the occupation they call their own, and take an active interest in working on, reviewing and critiquing the standards being developed to ensure that they are workable and representative.

What Would a Global Profession Look Like: How Would One Be Created? Having said that project management is not a traditional profes-

sion, and that perhaps it will have to follow a different path, it is

time to speculate on the path that efforts at globalization might take, and the end result that would be achieved.

The first (and most important) difference to be observed is, of course, that one form and standard of licensing would be accepted by a significant number of political jurisdictions in the world. It is unlikely that universal licensing would ever be achieved, but significant progress could be made by working through several larger blocs and major nations. The initial tar- gets would be North America, the European community, Ocea- nia, South Africa, India, South East Asia, China, and Japan. The most critical first step would involve the creation of a coalition of the major project management associations, each devoted to the goal of globalization. This would be a new international association, likely formed on the basis of an organizational confederacy. Constituent associations would need to agree on:

o Educational and practice requirements for certification o The process of certifying educational institutions o Requirements for "articling" (i.e., supervised practice after

graduation from a university) prior to certification o Testing requirements for those who achieved the educa-

tional and practice requirements o A common path to be taken in lobbying for licensing.

The next step would be to initiate action of the lobbying plan for international recognition. The critical factor here would be to achieve success with respect to the agreements between several major players. Once the initial international success is achieved, it becomes possible to leverage the remaining governments to join. The true test would await the creation of a new, international profession, maintaining the international association in an everyday working context.

What are Prospects for the Creation of a Global Project Management Profession? The short-term prospects for the creation of a global project

management profession are very small. However, the long-term prospects of the emergence of global professions are rather good. The high-tech industry is already operating on a global basis. Many projects involve international teams operating in widely dispersed locations. Eventually, some "lost souls in the political apparatus of the world" will wake up and realize that they are surrounded, and dependent upon, a set of new occupations that are responsible for the development, maintenance and extension of a global infrastructure,

and that the project is the key organizational form upon which this is based. When an awareness of the new occupational world finally penetrates the political chambers, there will be a response. The response will be either to the prodding of the new professional associations, or the governments will react and impose their own form of control over the new occupations. It would certainly be of advantage to the new occupations, project management among them, to be proactive in both the educational processes involved in lobbying, as well as in efforts to define the nature of the new professions.

In any event, authorities of various sorts will realize that the common good is dependent upon exercising some sort of control over the standards of practice for these new occupations. Corporations are not charged with defending the public, and exercises in social responsibility are optional within the corporate world. There will indeed be regulation, and the most appropriate form for the practitioners of the new occupations will be found in their efforts to professionalize.

Conclusions Project management is not yet a profession. It has come a long way along the road to professionalization, but it has a long way to go before it becomes one in the traditional sense.

It is unlikely that governments will, in the immediate future, independently pursue actions to create a project management profession. There is some question as to whether or not they even understand that there is a developed occupation of project management, despite the fact that individual units of the governments may establish standards and definition programs for hiring and advancing project managers.

Private corporations will act from time to time in such a way as to try and protect their short-term interests. They will not consistently act to create a situation where project managers are recognized as professionals and granted autonomy that is characteristic of established professionals. Some may support the initiative, but many will resist such efforts in order to protect their autonomy and rights over the management of work.

The thrust for professionalization will have to come from the major international project management associations (PMI and IPMA), as well as various national project management associations. The key to success will be in developing a defensible definition of project management that can be advanced as a profession, while developing a well-defined and complex body of knowledge that can be claimed by the profession, working to protect the occupational

name, and elaborating a significant independent educational program with an associated set of research programs.

The most significant challenge facing project management today, as it attempts to professionalize, is the lack of a coherent, requisite, educational program, and the development of the associated body of knowledge and research activities required for a successful claim to professional status. Lack of control of the name would be a close second requirement.

Perhaps an even more fundamental challenge is to gain acceptance for the changes that are required of the operations of both the professional associations and the practitioners. Professional associations, in particular, will have to decide to continue as a support for individuals upon request, or to move toward representation and pursuit of the collective "rights" of all project managers. Prac- titioners need to decide whether they see project management as a profession that should be self-regulating, and to which they are willing to submit their practice for judgment, or whether they would rather see it continue as an occupation that is subject to the whims of the market.

We hope this publication provides the fodder for vigorous debate and creative thinking on how best to pursue this journey, with the full knowledge of how it has been done before and the courage to chart new territory where necessary. Project management may indeed be the model for professions of the twenty-fist century!

414-7: Grip on Scope of Practice


*All 414 variables dichotomized into "not firm" and "firm"

Crosstable 1 Question 14 Traits-Occupational Groups' Firmness of Grip

414-9: Grip on Legal Protection of Title

414-10: Grip on Setting Minimal Educational Standards

414-1 1: Grip on Accreditation

414-12: Grip on Setting Minimum Standards

414-13: Grip on Discipline

414-14: Grip on Ethics

Firm

Not firm Firm

Not firm Firm

Not firm Firm

Not firm Firm

Not firm Firm

100.0

15.4 84.6

30.8 69.2

15.4 84.6

15.4 84.6

100.0

68.8

37.5 62.5

37.5 62.5

31.2 68.8

25.0 75.0

12.5 87.5

28.6

76.2 23.8

57.1 42.9

42.9 57.1

76.2 23.8

14.3 85.7

60.0

48.0 52.0

44.0 56.0

32.0 68.0

44.0 56.0

10.0 90.0

Nurses, chers, 501


Expansion

418-7: Threat o f Role Hybridization

418-8: Threat o f Intervention by the State

Considerable Challenge

Little Challenge Considerable Challenge

Little Challenge Considerable Challenge

23.1

63.6 36.4

53.8 46.2

31.3

50.0 50.0

26.7 73.3

25.0

75.0 25.0

58.8 41.2

26.5

63.8 36.2

46.7 53.3

* All 418 variables dichotomized into "little chalIengeU and "considerable challenge"

Crosstable 2 Question 18 Threats-Occupational Groups' Degrees of Challenge

References

Abbott, A. (1988). The system of professions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Adams, A., Lugsden, E., Chase, J., Arber, S., &Bond, S. (2000). Skill- mix changes and work intensification in nursing. Work, Employ- ment and Society, 14, 541-555.

Aldridge, M. (1996). Dragged to market: Being a profession in the postmodern world. British Journal of Social Work, 26, 177-194.

Barley, S.R., Meyer, G., & Gash, D. (1988). Cultures of culture: Aca- demics, practitioners, and the pragmatics of normative control. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33, 24-60.

Blumquist, T., and Soderholm, A. (2001). Howproject management got carried away. (Working Paper). Umea University, Sweden.

Bourdoncle, R., & Robert, A. (2000). Primary and secondary school teachers in France: Changes in identities and professionalization. Journal of Education Policy, 15, 71 -8 1.

Brannon, R. (1994). Professionalization and work intensification: Nursing in the cost containment era. Work and Occupations, 21, 157-178.

Brannon, R. (1996). Restructuring hospital nursing: Reversing the trend toward a professional workforce. International Journal of Health Services, 26, 643-654.

Campbell, M.L. (1992). Nurses' professionalism in Canada: A labour [sic] analysis process. International Journal of Health Services, 22, 751-765.

Caplow, T. (1954). The sociology of work. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Carr-Saunders, A.M., & Wilson, P.A. (1933). The professions. Lon- don: Oxford University Press.

Daykin, N., & Clarke, B. (2000). They'll still get the bodily care: Discourses of care and relationships between nurses and health care assistants in the NHS. Sociology of Health and Illness, 22, 349-363.

Draper, E. (2003). The company doctor. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Dressel, P., Waters, M., Sweat, M., Clayton, O., & Chandler-Clayton, A. (1988). Deprofessionalization, proletarianization, and social welfare work. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 1 13-13 1.

Epstein, W. (1992). Professionalization of social work: The American experience. The Social Science Journal, 29, 153-166.

Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish. London: Allen Lane. Friedson, E. (1986). Professional power: A study of the institutional-

ization of formal knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Friedson, E. (1994). Professionalism reborn: Theory, prophecy and policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Gitlin, A. (1996). Gender and professionalization: An institutional analysis of teacher education and unionism at the turn of the twentieth century. Teachers College Record, 97, 588-624.

Glazer, N. (1991). Between a rock and a hard place: Women's professional organizations in nursing and class, racial, and ethnic in- equalities. Gender and Society, 5, 35 1-372.

Greenwood, E. (1957). Attributes of a profession. Social Work, 2. Hodgson, D. (2002, September). Disciplining the professional: The

case of project management. The Journal of Management Studies (Oxford), 39(6), 803.

Hugrnan, R. (1991). Organization and professionalism: The social work agenda in the 1990s. British Journal of Social Work, 21, 199-216.

Hugman, R. (1996). Professionalization in social work: The challenge of diversity. International Social Work, 39, 13 1 - 147.

Johnson, T.J. (1972). Professions and power, London: Macmillan. Krause, E.A. (1996). Death of the guilds. New Haven, CT: Yale Uni-

versity Press. Labaree, D.F. (1992). Power, knowledge, and the rationalization of

teaching: A genealogy of the movement to professionalize teaching. Harvard Educational Review, 62(2), 123-1 54.

Larson, M.S. (1977). The rise ofprofessionalism. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Leighninger, L. (1990). Professionalization in British and American social work. Current Research on Occupations and Professions, 5, 29-42.

Lightman, E.S. (1982). Professionalization, bureaucratization, and unionization in social work. Social Science Review, 129-143.

Llorens, M.B. (1994). Action research: Are teachers finding their voice? The Elementary School, 95, 3-10.

Murray, C. (1992). Teaching as a profession: The Rochester case in historical perspective. Harvard Educational Review, 62, 494-5 1 8.

Putnam, R.D. (2001). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Raelin, J. (1989). Unionization and deprofessionalization: Which comes first? Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 10, 101 -1 15.

Rispel, L., & Schneider, H. (1991). Professionalization of South Afri- can nursing: Who benefits? International Journal of Health Ser- vices, 21, 109-126.

Ritzer, G., & Walczak, D. (1986). Working: Conflict and change. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Roach Anleu, S.L. (1992). The professionalisation of social work? A case study of three organisational settings. Sociology, 26,23-43.

Rossides, D.W. (1998). Professions and disciplines: Functional and conflict perspectives. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Ryan, B. (1994). Industrial relations and the rationalisation of Austra- lian education. Australian Journal of Education, 38, 147-156.

Schutzenhofer, K.K. (1988-89). The problem of professional autonomy in nursing. Health Care for Women International, 9-10, 93-106.

Slevin, D., &Pinto, J. (1987). Balancing strategy and tactics in project implementation. Sloan Management Review, 29(1), 33-41.

Spaull, A. (1997). Deprofessionalisation of state school teaching: A Victorian industrial relations saga. Australian Journal of Educa- tion, 41, 289-303.

Suddaby, R., & Greenwood, R. (2001). Colonizing knowledge: Com- modification as a dynamic of jurisdictional expansion in professional service firms. Human Relations, 54(7), 933.

Thomas, J., Delisle, C., & Jugdev, K. (2002) Selling project management to senior executives: Framing the moves that matter. New- town Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Thomas, J.L., & TjPder, J. (2000). On learning and control - Compet- ing paradigms or co-existing requirements for managing projects in ambiguous situations? Proceedings of the Biannual Confer- ence of the International Research Network on Organizing by Projects. Paper presented in Sydney, Australia.

Turner, R. (1999, October). The project management profession: Knowledge or faith? PM Network, 13, 41-42.

Webster, F.M. Jr. (1999, April). Setting the stage for a new profession. PM Network, 13, 63-65.

Wilensky, H. (1964). The professionalization of everyone? American Journal of Sociology, 70, 137-58.

Zwerman, B. (2000, January). Project manager-profession/position/ activity? In Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of the International Research Network on Organizing by Proj- ects (p. 325). Sydney.

Zwerman, B., & Thomas, J. (2001). Developing links between the project management profession, education and creativity. In Pro- ceedings of the IMPA International Symposium and Nordnet 2001, 489-98. Stockholm: International Project Management Association.

Zwerman, B., & Thomas, J. (2001, April). Potential barriers on the road to professionalization. PM Network, 15, 50-62.

Zwerman, B., Thomas, J., & Haydt, S. (2002, July). Exploring the past to map the future: Investigating the development of established professions to understand the professionalization of project management. In Proceedings of the 2002 PMI Research Conference (held in Seattle, WA). Newtown Square, PA: Project Manage- ment Institute.

Zwerman, B., &Thomas, J. (2002). Exploring the potential for professionalization of project management. In Proceedings of the 2002 PMI Seminars d Symposium (held in San Antonio, TX). New- town Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Zwerman, B., &Thomas, J. (2003). Moving project management from occupation to profession: Exploring the journey to professional status. In Proceedings of the PMI Global Congress 2003-North America (held in Baltimore, MD). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Web References

Project Management Web Sites and Discussion Lists [email protected] www.newgrange.com www.Gantthead.com www.pmworld.com

Nursing Web Sites Alberta Association of

Registered Nurses: American Nurses Association: Association of Registered

Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador:

California Nurses Association: Canadian Nurses Association: College of Nurses of Ontario: College of Registered Nurses

of Nova Scotia: Florida Nurses Association:

Massachusetts Nurses Association:

Michigan Nurses Association: Minnesota Nurses

Association: Northwest Territories

Registered Nurses Association:

Nurses Association of New Brunswick:

Pennsylvania State Nurses Association:

Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia:

Registered Nurses Association of Ontario:

Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association:

Texas Nurses Association: Washington State Nurses

Association:

Social Work Web Sites Alberta College of Social

Workers: Canadian Association of

Social Workers: NASW (California Chapter): NASW (Florida Chapter): NASW (Massachusetts

Chapter): NASW (Michigan Chapter): NASW (Minnesota Chapter): NASW (Pennsylvania

Chapter): NASW (Texas Chapter): NASW (Washington State

Chapter): National Association of Social

Workers (NASW): New Brunswick Association

of Social Workers:

Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers:

Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers:

Ontario Association of Social i Workers:

Ordre professionnel des travailleurs sociaux du Quebec:

Teaching Web Sites Alberta Teachers' Association: California Federation of

I Teachers: ducat ion Minnesota:

Manitoba Teachers' Society: Massachusetts Federation of

Teachers: Massachusetts Teachers'

Association: Michigan Education

Association: National Board for

Professional Teaching Standards:

National Education Association:

Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association:

Nova Scotia Teachers' Union: Pennsylvania State Education

Association: Texas Federation of Teachers: Texas State Teachers'

Association: Washington Education

Association:

Download - Professionalization of Project Management

Top Related