Regulation of Professions

Abstract

Professional self-regulation is a hallmark of the most socially relevant, responsible and recognized professions. It is the gold standard of professional status in most Anglo-Saxon countries, but in the rest of the world it has not been favoured by the centralized Nation States. Economic regulation means State intervention in the domain of economic–professional activities, in the public interest, that is, to protect consumers, clients and society in general from potential harm. Professional regulation basically consists in controlling the access to the practice of a profession by means of registration and certification or licensure, aiming at assuring that professionals provide services in a competent, ethical and safe manner, with the highest quality and at an affordable price. Professional self-regulation means, literally, the regulation of a profession by itself. It may be purely private, private but with some kind of official recognition, or public. It is public when operated by a professional body vested with statutory powers delegated by the Legislature. The basic self-regulatory powers and functions are registration and certification or licensure of the profession’s members. The highest and most arduous mission of a self-regulatory body is adopting, cultivating and supervising respect for Professional Standards. Its supreme empowerment is the disciplinary one, which amounts to a judicial power. Professional self-regulation is sometimes objected to chiefly for the following reasons: it lacks democratic legitimacy; it is incompatible with freedom of association; it is inherently exposed to a potential conflict of interests; it is an obstacle to competition. Such objections either have no valid foundation or may be solved. Professional self-regulation brings benefits for all stakeholders. They may be summarized in four “P”s: public, professional, personal and political. Could the teaching profession be self-governing? What can teachers win with it?