New Professionalism, Trust and Competence

Many professional occupations have acquired a new environment and new conditions for their legitimacy. Decentralization, deregulation, privatization and new market forms have turned many professional work organizations, including schools, into clearer and more delimited organizations. Thus, there is a demand for a new professionalism in the discourse on changes and leadership of work organizations. Professionalism is strongly related to confidence in abstract systems and institutions as well as trust in individual professional practitioners. A minor semantic questionnaire study of the concept of professionalism was conducted. Results showed a very strong emphasis upon knowledge, competence and skill, and on the coupling with professions and professional practice. Professionalism was regarded by respondents as contextual competence rather than as a general capability. Practical knowledge, experience and knowledge in use were stressed over theoretical knowledge and formal education. Moreover, the concept had a strong positive connotation. Professionalism was always interpreted in the study as a phenomenon on the individual level and never on the organizational level. A cognitive aspect was completely dominant, a clear minority of respondents indicated an affective aspect, another clear minority expressed an ethical and moral aspect. Authority, licence and legitimation were barely mentioned. The concept of professionalism was not directly linked to confidence or trust, but only indirectly through concepts such as ethics and responsibility. Conversely, however, it was the cognitive attitudes towards professionalism that formed the decisive basis for trust in professionals.