The professionalization of leisure management in Western Europe

Abstract

This paper considers British ('Anglo') approaches to the terms 'profession' and 'professional' and indicates how 'professionalization' has been viewed in a British context in the past. It goes on to examine new approaches to professionalism, particularly in the context of leisure and recreation, and to draw distinctions between the Anglo and Continental European ideas of professions. The process of professionalization is revisited in the light of these differences and a study of European leisure practitioners and their views on professions, associations and change in their working lives, is discussed.