Continuing professional development: its role in the changing education and qualification landscape of the information profession, a case study of the UK Dr Judith Broady-Preston Senior Lecturer Department of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University Presentation to “Moving in, moving up and moving on: strategies for regenerating the LIS profession,” IFLA World Library & Information Congress August 2009, Italy Satellite conference: Bologna University of Bologna August 18-20, 2009 (copyright retained)
Transcript
Continuing professional development: its role in the changing education and
qualification landscape of the information profession, a case study
of the UK
Dr Judith Broady-PrestonSenior Lecturer
Department of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University
Presentation to “Moving in, moving up and moving on: strategies for regenerating the LIS profession,” IFLA World Library & Information Congress August
2009, Italy Satellite conference: Bologna University of Bologna August 18-20, 2009
(copyright retained)
Background
July 2008 - Governing Council of the UK Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) voted unanimously to introduce mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for active chartered members. CILIP = leading UK professional body for librarians, information
specialists and knowledge managers, with an active professional community of c. 36, 000 of whom c. 21,000 are members. CILIP formed 1 April 2002 from the merger of the UK Library Association (LA) and the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS).
“potentially far-reaching”? NB Only KNOWN mandatory scheme
CILIP CPD Scheme (August 2009)
“ light touch” BUT compulsory Key features:
No core curriculum or minimum time requirements
Emphasis on simplicity; the scheme will be web-enabled to minimize effort and inconvenience and should require little extra work beyond the CPD most would choose to do
It should be able to be mapped closely onto employers’ appraisal schemes
No requirement for the compilation of a portfolio
Timescale for introductions yet to be determined – probable start date = January 2011
Outline
Brief background to the research
Introduction of mandatory CPD by CILIP UK Changing professional landscape
CPD and the information profession
Scope and methods Definitions and terms Cui bono? Individual vs employer benefit? Workplace learning and reflective practice Education and training implications
Where are we now?
Changing professional landscape
“Blurring (or demolishing?) boundaries” Generic – UK Government Panel on Fair Access to the
Professions – July 2009 report Information Profession – Impact web2.0, 3.0, 4.0 on sector
boundaries Levels of practice – glass ceiling shatters?
Governmental drivers Employability: Relationship HEIs and employers Transferability (e.g. Bologna) Recognition work-based learning – development of competency
frameworks and occupational standards Emphasis on skills –’can do’
Aberystwyth Project
Project aim to assess and explore the implications of the adoption of
compulsory CPD schemes by professional associations within the context of the changing education and qualifications landscape for the information profession.
UK = unique? Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) = voluntary
Professional Development (PD) scheme - BUT “once registered there are a number of requirements that must be met. This is compliance” (ALIA, 2009)
Methodology and scope
Single Case study Self-completion questionnaires to key stakeholders in CILIP
decision. Response rate = 100% Chair, CILIP Task and Finish Group, Framework of Qualifications and
Accreditation (TFG, FOQA) (I1) Head, Qualifications and Professional Development (QPD) CILIP (I2) Chair, CILIP Chartership Board (I3) Chair, CILIP Accreditation Board (I4)
Why qualitative research (QR) methods? “[QR is] A process of enquiry that draws data from the context in which
events occur, in an attempt to describe these occurrences, as a means of determining the process in which events are embedded and the perspectives of those participating in the events, using induction to derive possible explanations based on observed phenomena” (Gorman, G.E. & Clayton, P. 2005,3)
What is CPD?
Context Relationship cognate terms – e.g. workplace learning, reflective
learning, Personal Development Plans (PDP), Human Resource Development (HRD) etc.
Difficult to define – buzzword!
General definitions: a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help
you manage your own learning and growth (CIPD, 2009) describes a commitment to structured skills enhancement and
personal or professional competence (CPD Certification Service, 2009)
CPD definitions: information context
ALIA – NB PD not CPD: Participation in an activity which will enhance and/or increase our
knowledge, skills and abilities in relation to our work… (2009) American Library Association (ALA):
Through continuing professional development, the individual can effect their personal growth, and through that impact their workplace and society (2000).
CILIP: No definition at present!
CPD vs CPE (Continuing Professional Education) Synonyms? (cf Robinson and Glosiene, 2007) Broader and narrower terms (cf Ritchie, 2005)
CPD definitions: CILIP Stakeholders
it’s a realisation of the importance of learning about (and integrating where relevant) new developments, practices, skills into your own on-going professional practice in order to make better choices and more informed decisions and access more opportunities than a narrower or ageing skills-base would allow. CPD is an enabler of choice for individuals and a measure of competence, commitment and flexibility to employers. Information professionals, of all professions, need to be curious about the world. (I1)
a career long active commitment to updating and extending professional knowledge, skills and competences through a range of formal and informal learning activities, which benefits the individual, employing organisations and wider society. (I2)
Planned improvement of professional knowledge and skills throughout your working life. (I3)
any activity – courses, conferences, reading or work-related – of which the purpose is seen by the participant as updating or increasing his or her professional knowledge.(I4)
CPD: individual perspective
Individual = “prime responsibility” for career development/planning
Changing emphasis from ‘job for life’ to ‘joint responsibility’ for career management (individual and employer)
Role of Personal Development Plans (PDPs) Mandatory provision in UK HE sector for all students (2005/6-) PDP = “a structured and supported process undertaken by an
individual to reflect upon their own learning performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development” (Higher Education Academy (HEA), 2002)
HEA = explicit link PDP in education and CPD in the workplace
CILIP scheme: Recognition PDP/CPD link – scheme for new professionals in
first instance as they “will be used to a similar process if they are recent university graduates.”
Web-enabled to minimise effort/inconvenience
ICT Platform = central to success/failure of scheme 2 respondents ranked ICT platform as most significant risk -”
members need to be assured that the scheme…will have effective/accessible ICT to support it (I2)”
Need to ensure data security, confidentiality and privacy
Individual vs employer benefit: potential conflict?
CPD = fusion personal growth and professional development. Is there a conflict between individual and employer perspective? CIPD Research concluded:
Individuals want employability, and for knowledge workers this means having up-to-date skills that make them desirable to employers. But bosses want to retain talent and to offer development and career progression that ties people to a career with their organisation. Many employers are wary of offering development that may make people too attractive to the competition… Employers want to develop organisation-specific skills and the individual has a desire for transferable knowledge.
Individual vs employer benefit: information context
Information/library context NZ study (Cossham & Fields, 2007):
Balancing a library’s needs with individuals’ needs = complicated process
Needs as perceived by individuals vary from those perceived by their managers
overall lack of understanding across the profession about who should be responsible for what aspects of CPD, what should be offered, and who should be taking the initiative.
performance and individual career enhancement are to be met.”
Individual vs employer benefit: CILIP stakeholder views
DIFFICULTIES in achieving balance, especially where “employers are not convinced of
the need for CPD, or believe it should be wholly focused on the tasks of the current post” (I4)
RISKS Failing to convince employers of necessity for, and value of, up to date
professional qualification Members whose employers have similar performance appraisal systems
will not want to repeat the process REQUIREMENTS
Ensure mandatory scheme = “fully compatible with employers own in-house training and appraisal schemes”(I2)
ERGO – robust employer engagement strategy = necessity
Workplace learning and reflective practice
CPD = linked to employability Context – trends in workplace and reflective learning [NB
too wide to be reviewed in depth here], BUT: Workplace learning = important contribution to improving quality
and raising professional practice standards (Ritchie, 2005) Governmental drivers/initiatives re: education, employability and
workforce development Boundaries “blurring” between formal and informal learning –
recognition and reward of competency based practice – e.g. ACLIP
Threat of generic competency-based frameworks? Possible obsolescence “qualifications” + “professions”?
(Edwards)
Mandatory CPD and workplace learning/reflective practice: CILIP
stakeholder views
PLUS points: Guarantees commitment to continuous learning – a
“qualification... not ‘set in time’, but a dynamic on-going commitment to further developing professional practice” (I1)
Raises profile of practitioners with employers Persuades employers and public that “information isn’t
something “anyone can do” (I4)”; AND “It’s a means of helping negate all the old unhelpful ideas of ‘anyone can do it’. They can’t, not without a lot of knowledge and skill, and that knowledge and skill needs kept up-to-date. That’s a good message to get across.(I1)”
NB Self-regulatory profession, therefore - centrality of robust employer engagement strategy
Education and training implications
Stronger focus on CPD results in: Demands for individuals to supply evidence of periodic formal study
(courses, workshops etc.) – portfolio-based Results in - growth in providers of education and training, including
HEIs, professional bodies themselves and other newly established education and training providers
Trend towards professional bodies recognising and accrediting certain education/training providers via formalised schemes formal accreditation of university-level courses CILIP Seal of Recognition
ERGO - Successful mandatory CPD schemes require approved and relevant education and training
NB Role of mentors – “socialising” individuals into the profession?
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