Beyond Competency A Socio‐Technical Approach to Continuing Professional Education

Abstract

This paper is concerned mainly with the cultural influences on continuing education in the professions. It falls into three parts. It begins with a discussion of the relationship between technology, modernity and consciousness. Against this background, the reasons for the current emphasis on competency‐based continuing education in the professions are discussed. This emphasis, though necessary, is too limited, for reasons to be considered. The second part suggests a typology of professions using insights drawn from socio‐technical organisation theory (Woodward, 1958; Street et al., 1966). This typology leads to the conclusion that most high‐status professions are overly technicist in their professional ideologies. This emphasis is to be expected, given the wider techno‐bureaucratic structure of our society. Third, in order to raise the possibility of a professional perspective which goes beyond a technical component, a new approach to continuing education in the professions is generated.