Educating for ‘civic mindedness’: Towards transformative professional education
Abstract
Drawing on previous conceptual work on the meaning of authenticity (Kreber, 2013), and
inspired by the recent ESRC-funded research by Melanie Walker and Monica McLean (eg
McLean & Walker, 2012, Walker & McLean, 2013), the paper is concerned with whether and
how, in the context of contemporary public sector service work, university based-professional
education might afford future professionals capabilities, specifically a certain ‘authentic
motivation’ or civic-mindedness, that would predispose them favourably towards supporting the
‘authenticity’, ‘flourishing’, or fundamental human needs of those they are there to serve. In other
words, what can Scottish HE do to develop authentic socially responsible and civically minded
graduates and professionals motivated to make a difference to social justice and sustainability?
The expected outcomes are research-informed principles to guide professional education for
‘civic mindedness’, in Scottish Universities. The paper proposes a three-staged methodology
by which to achieve the objectives.
Outline
Context: The quality of life in modern societies depends, in crucial ways, on the quality of
professionals’ work (Sugrue & Solbrekke, 2011). This in turn, hinges on the professionals’
advanced knowledge and skill, their capacity to make personal judgements in complex
contexts, and, importantly, their genuine commitment to employ their specialised knowledge
and skills in the interest of their clients and the public. However, the conditions of
contemporary public sector work often give rise to value conflicts calling ‘ideal-type’
professionalism into question. Indeed, several studies across different professions report on a
diminishing sense among professionals that the services they provide are of vital importance
to society, instead perceiving professionalism increasingly (and one-sidedly) as the effective
provision of technical services based on specialised knowledge. Therefore, although it would
seem clear from the above that university programmes aimed at preparing students for
professional practice ought to intentionally promote ‘civic mindedness’, it is less clear how
this may be achieved given the realities of contemporary public sector work.
Research by Walker and McLean (2009, 2013) recently yielded a theory-informed and
empirically-based framework, the ‘Public-Good Professional Capability Index’ (PCI), which
offers concrete suggestions for how to promote, through university-based professional
programmes, a civic-mindedness, or as they call it, a ‘public good’ orientation amongst future
professionals. The Index is informed by Martha Nussbaum’s (2011, 2000) and Amartya Sen
and Nussbaum’s (1993) capabilities approach to social justice. Capabilities, according to Sen
and Nussbaum, are not just ‘abilities’ or ‘competences’ but refer to substantial freedoms to
choose certain functionings (actual beings and doings). Capabilities are real opportunities
created by a combination of personal abilities and context.
Walker and McLean (2009, 2013) applied the ‘capabilities approach’ creatively on two levels
distinguishing basic from professional capabilities. On a first level, they argue with
Nussbaum and Sen (1993) that achieving greater social justice requires expanding basic
capabilities among all individuals in society to enable a fully human and dignified life
(according to Nussbaum, basic capabilities include ‘being able to have good health’, ‘being
able to benefit from education’, etc.). On a second level, and equally important to the
purposes of our proposed project, Walker and McLean argue that (a) professional
responsibility, therefore, involves contributing to basic capability expansion in society and
(b) university-based professional programmes ought to afford students certain professional
capabilities (eg, ‘integrity’. ‘knowledge’, ‘emotions’, ‘confidence’, etc) and functionings (eg
‘acting ethically’, ‘having a firm grounding in disciplinary academic knowledge’, ‘being
compassionate’, ‘having confidence in the worthwhileness of one’s professional work’, etc),
that enable them to meet their professional responsibilities.
In the proposed study ‘civic mindedness’ is understood as a fundamental and overarching
professional capability that pervades and complements others (e.g., knowledge, etc) which
ought to be cultivated in professionals to promote society’s well-being. We intend to build on
Walker and McLean’s work and use the Professional Capabilities Index (PCI) as a startingpoint for our investigation of professional responsibility, capabilities and ‘civic mindedness’
in the Scottish context.
Against this backdrop, our specific objectives are to identify
1. how academics teaching on professional programmes at Scottish universities, students
studying on these programmes and public sector-based professionals in Scotland, interpret
their professional responsibilities, the extent to which a sense of ‘civic mindedness’ features
in these interpretations and, if so, how this is understood;
2. what professional capabilities and functionings they believe professionals in their fields
should develop through higher education in order to meet these responsibilities;
3. what contextual and personal factors they perceive as enabling or constraining the
development of these professional capabilities;
4. how contemporary public sector work conditions might affect professionals’ identities and
thus the development and enactment of ‘civic mindedness’;
5. how obstacles to the development of ‘civic mindedness’ through university-based
programmes might be overcome and generate research-informed principles for transformative
professional education for civic mindedness to inform professional education at universities
in Scotland and elsewhere.
Theoretical foundations: The study is informed by
(1) An ethical or civic perspective on professionalism (Sullivan, 1995), emphasising an
authentic disposition to employ one’s special knowledge and skills in the interests of
individuals and society (Kreber, 2013);
(2) The capabilities approach to equality and social justice (Sen & Nussbaum, 1993),
addressing the question of what people are actually able to be and do, and
(3) Transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 2000), highlighting critical reflection on social
structures, ideologies and beliefs about oneself that often conspire to foster conformity and
prevent identities being grounded in a sense of responsible agency and commitment.
Method: We propose to address the five objectives through a three-stage design.
Stage 1
We will conduct a three-round Delphi study (Kreber, 2002; Ross & Kreber 2011) with
university-based professionals responsible for professional programmes in the identified
fields. First, participants respond to an open-ended question: ‘What pressing problems do you
perceive in Scotland that your profession ought help to address?’ Responses will be
transformed into separate questionnaire items to be rated on a Likert Scale. The other two
stages explore how these issues and/or injustices could be addressed listing as possibilities, in
itemised form, the professional capabilities and functionings identified in the ‘Public Good
Professional Capabilities Index’ (Walker & MacLean, 2009).
Stage 2
We will conduct focus-group interviews with students on professional programmes at the
University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh. We also carry out individual
interviews with practising professionals.
The purpose of both the focus groups and interviews is to explore students’ and field-based
professionals’ own perceptions of their professional responsibilities, the role of professional
education in preparing them for these challenges and how contemporary work conditions
might affect their professional identities, and thus the development and enactment of the
capabilities identified in stage 1.
Stage 3
In partnership with the Higher Education Academy, we will also be working with universitybased professionals in three consecutive workshops to collaboratively consider what can be
learned from stages 1-2 and how obstacles to educating for civic mindedness can be
overcome. Participants generate theory and research-informed principles and pedagogies for
transformative professional education.
References
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