Professional learning for ethno‐cultural diversity, Part II: Dialogue, an emerging model

Abstract

This is the second of two linked papers which explore the implications for professional learning of the ethnic and cultural diversity which marks contemporary developed societies. The two papers are based on a case study of the contribution of continuing professional education to the development of the Race Relations Policy of Metropolitan Toronto Police, an initiative which brings lessons for any organization or professional group. The first paper described the Race Relations Policy, and considered the implications for professional learning of policy development of this kind, particularly in relation to trends in race relations education and training in police services. This second paper focuses on data collected for the case study in interviews, observations of meetings, and observations in the field. It argues that the learning which supported the development of the Race Relations Policy took place over a long period of time outside classroom or instructional settings. A further significant feature of the learning was that it was joint learning undertaken collaboratively (but not without difficulty) by police and community representatives in a variety of joint working groups. The paper uses these data to suggest that the Race Relations Policy can be construed as a text with multiple authorship. It goes on to draw on the work of Bakhtin on dialogue to set out a dialogic (rather than reflective) model of professional practice and professional learning. Such dialogic practice, which affirms and acknowledges difference, is, it is argued, a more appropriate form of professionalism in societies characterized by ethno‐cultural diversity.