Full Profession Research Articles

Teachers as Professionals: How Contextual Knowledge Justifies Teacher Autonomy

Background: Despite claims made by teachers, teacher educators, and researchers, the dominant U.S. legal and political practice holds that teachers are not full professionals. Denying teachers’ full professional status limits teachers’ professional autonomy and leaves their work heavily controlled by external authorities. Are these external limits on teachers’ work justified? Definitions of what a full profession is vary, but nearly all require the professional to possess complex and specialized knowledge, which justifies the self-regulation of the field by its practitioners. Unlike the knowledge possessed by doctors and lawyers, the knowledge teachers possess is often thought to be insufficiently specialized and complex to meet this standard—they are claimed at best to be “semi-professionals.” Purpose: This essay aims to show that leading arguments used to reject teachers’ claim to professional status rely on a misleadingly decontextualized picture of pedagogical knowledge traceable to Lee Shulman. Against this picture, I follow Gloria Ladson-Billings’s critique of Shulman from the perspective of culturally relevant pedagogy to advance what I refer to as the integrated account of teachers’ pedagogical knowledge. The integrated account of teachers’ pedagogical knowledge reveals that although teachers possess a unique and highly complex knowledge base, that knowledge base is always in large part hyper-context-specific. Once the hyper-context-specificity of teachers’ knowledge is appreciated, we discover that teachers’ claim to professional status is justified, contrary to prevailing legal and political practice. Research Design: This essay uses empirically engaged philosophical methods to analyze the existing arguments against teachers’ claim to full professional status. By making the presuppositions and limitations of these arguments explicit, the analysis supports a revision in theory, policy, and practice toward the integrated account of teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and teaching’s professional status. Recommendations: The integrated account of teachers’ pedagogical knowledge recommends the development of professional institutions for teaching. Because pedagogical knowledge differs in its hyper-context-specificity from the more codifiable knowledge bases of other professions, the professional institutions and practices appropriate to teaching differ as well. To guide policy, research, and practice, I trace four commitments implied by the integrated account of pedagogical knowledge: (1) representation from learner communities in professional pathways; (2) professional organizations and standards rooted in hyper-context-specific knowledge; (3) culturally sustaining, teacher-driven law and policy creation processes; and (4) educational research that centers teachers’ professional wisdom.

Professionalization of Human Resource Management in China: A Comparison Study to Law and Accountancy

This paper aims to explore the development of HR profession in China in a comparative perspective. The author assessed the degree of HR professionalization in China through Fanning’s (2011) nine-characteristic model of HR profession. To better understand the extent of HR professionalization, the case of established professions­­—law and accountancy—are analyzed. Particularly, the professionality continuum in each profession is illustrated. In this paper, research questions concerning whether the HR profession is a semi or full profession, to what degree HR profession stands in the Chinese context, and how HR professionals can become more professionalized are answered.

Applied Contributions and Insights From Health Education Role Delineation Research (1978-2015) in Advancing the Health Education Profession in the United States

Five role delineation studies for health education specialists (HESs) were conducted from 1978 through 2015. The authors explored contributions and derived insights from these studies in advancing the profession of health education through professional preparation, credentialing, and professional development. The review process incorporated a comprehensive and methodic review of published and publicly available documents from the five studies: Role Delineation Project (1978-1981), Graduate Competencies Development Process (1992-1996), National Health Educator Competencies Update Project (1998-2004), National Health Education Job Analysis 2010 (2008-2009), and National Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis 2015 (2013-2014). The methodology involved identification and selection of resources; review of the published literature to identify comparison points that were analyzed across the five studies leading to data and information extraction; compilation of operational aspects, results, and professional buy-in; and identification of findings and eventually, themes. Three overarching themes emerged addressing: leadership, sponsors, and resources; a competency-based model of professional practice; and consistency and changes in defining the role of the HES. Nine major conclusions were drawn from the findings. Five key recommendations derived from the analyses and conclusions addressed greater health education role delineation research data set and report availability; wider dissemination of study findings and technical reports; increased representativeness of HES from key work settings and the three levels of professional practice in future role delineation studies; expansion of the research involvement and support from the full profession; and consistently naming the empirically based hierarchical model the Hierarchical Model of Professional Practice (HMPP).

The Making of Informed Choice in Midwifery: A Feminist Experiment in Care

This paper is about the clinical principle of informed choice-the hallmark feature of the midwifery model of care in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on ethnographic history interviews with midwives, I trace the origins of the idea of informed choice to its roots in the social movement of midwifery in North America in the late 1960s and 1970s. At that time informed choice was not the distinctive feature of midwifery but was deeply embedded what I call midwifery's feminist experiment in care. But as midwifery in Ontario transitioned from a social movement to a full profession within the formal health care system, informed choice was strategically foregrounded in order to make the midwifery model of care legible and acceptable to a skeptical medical profession, conservative law makers, and a mainstream clientele. As mainstream biomedicine now takes up the rhetoric of patient empowerment and informed choice, this paper is at once a nuanced history of the making of the concept and also a critique of the ascendant 'regime of choice' in contemporary health care, inspired by the reflections of the midwives in my study for whom choice is impossible without care.

Welcome to the Irish Journal of Paramedicine

<p>Welcome to the first issue of the Irish Journal of Paramedicine (IJP). It gives me great pleasure to launch this journal, a first for Irish paramedics, and pre-hospital care in Ireland. I am also honoured to announce that the IJP has been adopted as the official journal of the Irish College of Paramedics, the professional body for prehospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland.</p><p> A newly emerging profession, paramedicine is now poised at a crossroads. Previously alluded to with colleagues from around the globe, the role of the paramedic is one that is rapidly evolving, and yet paramedicine as a discipline has yet to figure out where it belongs.(1) Are we public safety professionals, first responders or healthcare professionals? Williams has previously stated that the road less travelled requires the paramedic profession to pursue identity as a healthcare profession and not as emergency responders, EMS workers, or ambulance drivers, which we are so commonly identified as.(2)</p><p>Initiatives within Ireland such as the Centre for Prehospital Research national research agenda, the move to higher education for paramedics in University College Dublin and the University of Limerick, and the publication of high-quality peer-reviewed research, undertaken for paramedics, led by paramedics, and published in paramedicine journals are key components in this pursuit of professionalism. It is our hope that the Irish Journal of Paramedicine will play its part as a vehicle in this endeavour.</p><p>It is important however to point out that the Irish Journal of Paramedicine is not exclusively for paramedics. Within Ireland, and around the world, there are many other prehospital care providers, including community responders, volunteer first responders, EMT practitioners, nurses, physicians and others who deliver high quality patient care and are as committed to their personal and professional development as any paramedic. This journal is for the entire prehospital care community, within Ireland and abroad.</p><p>On behalf of the editorial board and the executive of the Irish College of Paramedics, I would like to outline our vision for this journal. We aim to deliver a high quality, freely accessible, peer-reviewed journal that will help to further the professionalisation of paramedicine and prehospital care provision both in Ireland and internationally.</p><p>Our aim is to provide you with access to research, reviews, appraisals, clinical updates, case reports and opinions that will help you to provide the best quality service – whether you are a student, clinician, educator, manager or researcher. We aim to present a wide range of topics relating to clinical practice, professional issues, role development, education and training, policy and service delivery, thereby representing all aspects of paramedicine and prehospital care.</p><p>Our editorial board consists of respected academics, researchers, clinicians and educators from Ireland and abroad who are committed to furthering the cause of paramedicine, and encouraging its future development of professional standing. I am indebted to them for the time they gave so freely in helping to establish this journal.</p><p>We strongly encourage you to submit articles, reports, letters and other contributions to the journal. It is also our vision to publish abstracts of research activity undertaken by Irish prehospital care providers and practitioners, which has been presented at various conferences and scientific meetings, such as the EMS Gathering, and Irish College of Paramedics Scientific Days to name but two.</p><p>Remember this is your journal and it will be as successful as you want it to be. This journal has been a long time in the making, and we look forward to helping it to develop into a true academic and clinical resource along with your assistance. Thank you.</p><p>Alan M. Batt</p><p>Editor</p><p> </p><p>Source of support/funding: None.</p><p>Conflict of interest: AB is Editor of the IJP.</p><p>Provenance and review: Commissioned, not peer-reviewed.</p><p>References</p><p>1. Morton J, Kloepping K, Buick J, Todd J, Batt A. The evolution of the paramedic. Can Paramed. 2015;38(5).</p><p>2. Williams B, Onsman A, Brown T. Is the Australian Paramedic Discipline a Full Profession ? J Emerg Prim Heal Care. 2010;8(1):3.</p><p>How to cite this article: Batt AM. Welcome to the Irish Journal of Paramedicine (Editorial). Irish Journal of Paramedicine, 2016; 1(1).</p><p>This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/</a>),which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work and any attributes thereof are properly cited, are distributed under the same licence, and that the work is not used for commercial purposes. Content copyright remains with the authors, who grant the IJP a licence to reuse and distribute.</p><p> </p>

Government Policies and Rural Entrepreneurship- Case Study of an Horticulture Entrepreneur

India is a country which is in forefront of being called a developed nation. To be a developed nation, India has to first look at its rural development, because 70 percent of the population live in rural areas, which means more than 700 million people are spread across 6,27,000 villages. Rural development is more than ever before linked to entrepreneurship. Establishments and agencies promoting rural development now look at entrepreneurship as a strategic development medium that could speed up the rural development process. Development institutions believe that rural entrepreneurship offers a huge potential for employment. In this paper a case study of a young entrepreneur who has taken up horticulture (vegetable plants nursery) as his full time profession, with a mission to help the neighbouring farmers is studied, the purpose of this paper is to understand the government role (policies and schemes), the difficulties faced by the entrepreneur during the startup time and knowledge transfer from the horticulture department, nursery management. The methodology followed is in-depth interaction with the entrepreneur. The outcome of paper will be to understand how rural entrepreneurship is helping improve the quality of life for families, communities and individuals leading to sustainable economy and environment.

Assessing Professionalism in Teaching: The Secondary Education Perspective in Cross River State, Nigeria

The study examined whether or not teaching is a full profession. It also determined the relationship between professionalism in teaching and teaching effectiveness at the secondary education level in Cross River State, Nigeria. A sample of 850 educators (844 teachers, 3 staff of Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria and 3 heads of inspectors of schools) was selected through stratified random sampling, judgemental and wholistic techniques respectively. A 20-item researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. Survey design was adopted. Test statistics adopted for data analysis were frequency, weighted mean and standard deviation. A mean score of 2.00 and above formed the significant/acceptance level. It was found that teaching is a profession but not in its fullest sense, and that there is a strong and positive relationship between professionalism in teaching and teaching effectiveness in the study area. It was recommended that licensing should be an essential pre-requisite for entry into teaching; a uniform and lengthy training period should be maintained in all teacher training institutions and be followed by inductive training. There should be strict enforcement of Education Act 31 of 1993; and more awareness be created among teachers that professionalism in teaching is essential in their career and depends partly on them.

The Professional Landscape: The Historical Development of Professions in Sweden

This special issue of Professions & Professionalism seeks to explain the transition of occupations from non-professions to professions and the conditions and causes that generate professions (i.e., the bases of professionalization). Empirically, we use the histories of the Swedish professions, positing that these histories have several close similarities (and, of course, differences) with those of other nations, thus making this project of international interest. Theoretically, we define a number of general concepts that are employed to explain the processes of professionalization. The most general concept, which covers the professional layer, is called the professional landscape. It is divided into a number of professional fields and generations, creating a typology of professions. The fields that are presented, together with the professions assuming key positions in the fields, are technology, health, social integration, social regulation, education, and academia. The historical emergence of the fields and the transition from occupation and pre-profession to full profession are outlined.

Is the Australian paramedic discipline a profession? A national perspective

Background Over the past century the Australian paramedic discipline has gone through a dramatic evolution; moving from its origins of an ambulance driver to its current practitioner role as an integral member of the Australian health care system. However, at present the Australian paramedic discipline is not considered a full profession by the national or state governments. This begs the further question, how does the paramedic discipline within Australia view itself? Objectives This paper has two objectives: 1) To examine whether or not the Australian paramedic membership views itself as a profession, and 2) if it does not regard itself as such, whether the paramedic community wants to be considered a full profession within Australia. Methods 3800 questionnaires were posted to all Australian College of Ambulance Professionals (ACAP) members around Australia. An investigation of attitudes towards professionalisation were investigated using an 8-item paper-based self-report questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale (1=Strongly Disagree to 5=strongly agree). Findings A total of 872 paramedics (23 % response rate) returned completed questionnaires. The responses indicated that, broadly speaking, the Australian paramedic membership does not consider itself a recognised profession, furthermore, the Australian membership indicated a desire for paramedics to be recognised as a profession. Conclusions Given that first, the paramedic discipline does not presently view itself as a full profession and second, the paramedic discipline wants to become recognised as a profession. The study identified a set of underpinnings of professional paramedic practice; including professional autonomy, national accreditation for paramedic education programmes, and the development of a unique body of knowledge.

Marketing Ibsen: A Study of the First Italian Reception, 1883–1891

Ibsen is one of the first Scandinavian writers who made a full profession out of his writing, as well as managing to secure a great degree of autonomy (Fulsas, 2005, pp. 25–29; 2009, pp. 25–27). Ho...

Social professionals' perceptions of activating citizenship

This article reports on qualitative research among 48 social professionals, managers and policymakers and their perceptions of activating citizenship, social work roles and responsibilities, carried out in Utrecht and Tartu. Professionals from both countries agreed to the idea of activating citizenship but stressing the perspective of personalised or lived citizenship, each person to his own capacities and embedded in the personal context. Nearly all respondents were critical about the recognition of social workers as a full profession, about the new management way of steering social work and about cooperation between different groups of professionals and services. Although both countries have quite different historical and cultural backgrounds, the authors found many similarities among social workers regarding their ideas on support, participation and commitment to the people they work for and work with. International research projects contribute to a more strongly recognised social work theory and social work practice by getting a better understanding, in particular of the way social work adapts to different contexts but from a highly recognisable international discourse within social work.

Is the Australian Paramedic Discipline a Full Profession?

Background Over the past century the Australian paramedic discipline has changed dramatically; moving from its origins of an ambulance driver to its current practitioner role and integral member of the Australian health care system. However, at present the Australian paramedic discipline is not considered a full profession. The issue of whether the discipline currently believes it is a profession, and if it wants to achieve full professional status will be examined. This paper has two objectives - to examine if the Australian paramedic membership views the discipline as a profession, and if paramedic community wants to be considered a profession within Australia. Objectives This paper has two objectives - to examine if the Australian paramedic membership views the discipline as a profession, and if paramedic community wants to be considered a profession within Australia. Methods A convenience sample was used for this study that included participants who attended the inaugural National Association Paramedic Academics in September, 2008. An investigation of professionalisation attitudes were investigated using a paper-based self-report questionnaire. Results A total of 63 experts participated in the study. Forty (63.5%) of the participants were male and 23 (36.5%) were female, with 44% of the participants (n=28) being between 35-44 years of age. The majority of the participants reported that the paramedic discipline would benefit from being recognised as a full profession (M=4.62, SD=.771) within Australia and that the higher education sector has an important part to play in this process (4.49, SD=0.74). The majority felt that national registration would not occur within the next 2 years (M=2.52, SD=1.12). A significant difference (p=0.001) between participants from Victoria, New Zealand and Queensland about whether the paramedic discipline would achieve national registration produced was noted. Findings A total of 63 experts participated in the study. Forty (63.5%) of the participants were male and 23 (36.5%) were female, with 44% of the participants (n=28) being between 35-44 years of age. The majority of the participants reported that the paramedic discipline would benefit from being recognised as a full profession (M=4.62, SD=.771) within Australia and that the higher education sector has an important part to play in this process (4.49, SD=0.74). The majority felt that national registration would not occur within the next 2 years (M=2.52, SD=1.12). A significant difference (p=0.001) between participants from Victoria, New Zealand and Queensland about whether the paramedic discipline would achieve national registration produced was noted. Conclusion The findings from the survey suggest two points in relation to professionalism of the paramedic discipline within Australia. Firstly, the paramedic discipline is not a profession and secondly, the paramedic discipline wants to become recognised as a profession. Other professional factors such as national registration, autonomy and the development of a unique body of knowledge require further investigation.

Gender Expectations: Natural Bodies and Natural Births in the New Midwifery in Canada

In this article, I examine the meaning of natural bodies and natural births in contemporary midwifery in Canada and explore the impact of these central concepts on the embodied experiences of pregnant and birthing women. The ideal of a natural birth has been used as a successful rhetorical strategy in scholarly and popular feminist works on childbirth to counter and critique the predominant biomedical or "technocratic" model of the pregnant and birthing body as inherently problematic and potentially dangerous to the fetus. Contemporary Canadian midwifery--which only as recently as 1994 made a historic transition from a grassroots social movement to a full profession within the public health care system--continues to work discursively through the idiom of nature to affect women's knowledge and experience of their bodies and selves in pregnancy and birth. However, my key finding in this ethnographic study, which focused primarily on midwifery in the province of Ontario in the years following professionalization, is that natural birth is being redefined by the personal, political, and pragmatic choices of midwives and their clients. I argue that the construction, negotiation, and experience of natural birth in contemporary midwifery both reflects and promotes a fundamental shift away from essentialized understandings as it makes room for biomedical technology and hospital spaces, underpinned by the midwifery logics of caring and choice. Natural birth in this context also carries important cultural messages--gender expectations--that posit women as persons and bodies as naturally competent and knowing.

Shifting boundaries and negotiations on knowledge: interprofessional conflicts between nurses and nursing assistants in Norway

This chapter deals with a long and intense conflict between nurses and nursing assistants within the context of the Norwegian health care system. Caring work is culturally coded as female. A major issue embedded in the conflict concerns the definition of knowledge. The issue, it is argued, is not so much what constitutes knowledge, but what counts as professional expertise and theoretical knowledge when it comes to women’s work, which is devalued. As a middle‐class women’s occupation, nurses have strong aspirations that their work be acknowledged as a full profession. Their knowledge base is a combination of practical and theoretical knowledge, profoundly different from medicine they themselves argue. Such a “professionalisation” of care work is, however, threatened by the mere presence of nursing assistants and the overlapping work they do. For various reasons – not least strategic – the concept of basic care was introduced more than ten years ago. The term was rather vaguely defined, but seems to comprise all personal care for the patient and the patient’s body, including intimate tasks such as washing, dealing with bodily waste products, feeding, etc. Making basic care the exclusive preserve of nurses and delegating the more “housewifely” tasks to nursing assistants effectively excludes the latter from caring work and, not surprisingly, they strongly oppose existing working boundaries and the redistribution of tasks. We investigate the power relationship between the two occupational groups and examine dual closure strategies. Interestingly, nurses have invested in a precarious strategy by reclaiming the hands‐on bodywork that is often labelled “dirty work”. In Western societies these tasks are commonly left to working‐class women. The conflict is thus about both gender and class in an androgynous professional world. The aim is to explore the occupational conflict and to trace some of its implications for theorising professions. Professional tasks, knowledge claims, and the concept of dirty work are addressed, and professional projects and strategies discussed from a gender perspective.

Compensation and More: Economics and Professionalism in Early Care and Education

Efforts toward achieving professional status for early care and education (ECE) are linked to economic and finance issues. The work to develop to the level of a full profession appears to parallel the development of nursing and elementary education. These professions share a history with ECE of being considered reproductive work performed in the home primarily not for pay. Development to the level of a full profession includes work on the understanding of the ECE knowledge base, an understanding of services and service markets, an understanding of finance and compensation issues, and the development of professional organizations and processes such as credentialing and accreditation. Research on economic and finance issues has supported efforts to professionalize the ECE field. As early care and education develops as a profession, continued research and analysis on a state and national level will provide critical knowledge about economic and finance issues. Insights into economic and finance functions in the market are useful in the development of the profession.

Response to Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap

Doug Carnine's position of Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap is both classic and timely. It is classic because the skepticism that separates researchers and has long been on the conscience of the in education. The American Educational Research Association (AERA) established an annual award Relating Research to Practice starting in 1903. There was at least 1 year when a quality recipient could not be identified. It is timely because the best minds still espouse the cause but have produced nominal results. Even today the AERA with its 23,000 researcher membership is wrestling with its need to research results more accessible to target audiences including school leaders and classroom practitioners (Educational Researcher, 1994). In June 1993 the Outreach Committee was established to design and implement a program of meaningful interactions among the AERA membership and policymakers, the education press, and school practitioners. The American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) attempt to bridge the gap between research and practice was inspired by AFT President Albert Shanker's (The New York Times, 1979) longheld belief that: If teaching is to become a full profession, teachers must know something and have an expertise in something that nonreachers generally don't have. Professionalization will result from tire recognition that teachers, like doctors, lawyers . . . base their actions and judgment not on style, whim, opinion or bureaucratic rules, but on a substantial base acquired through intensive and continuing study. Believing that useful educational research information has indeed been generated, AFT attempted to bridge the gap between research and practice by delivering the research directly to teachers. This program won the first AERA Award for Relating Research to Practice. The complex process for research delivery in the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) program involved: * Identifying credible research on topics important to classroom teachers. * Presenting research in translations that did not alter original findings, oversimplify important concepts, or misrepresent the intent of the research by adding unproven ideas. * Designing a training-of-trainers model (based on the teacher center model) to disseminate the research to classroom teachers. * Developing collaborative relationships among teachers, colleges and universities, and the research community. Another major emphasis of ER&D was on identifying useable research based on: * Perceived need by practitioners. * Practical application. * Consistent findings. * Observation-based data. * Time-tested results. * Translatable studies. * Generic scope. ER&D now includes research on instructional strategies in the content areas and in special needs categories, such as special education. What AFT has learned in over 16 years of program implementation and expansion dovetails with much of what Carnine puts forth in his suggestions for improving the trustworthiness, useability, and accessibility of research. Teachers who have participated in the ER&D program become informed decision makers about their practice because they: * Have research savvy. * Know what questions to ask. * Refer to research as a sound knowledge base from which to function. * Contribute their own ideas about ways in which the research does or does not make sense in the classroom. * Engage in dialogue with researchers. * Communicate with each other. * Make real change in practice (not cosmetic adjustments). If these qualities sound familiar, it is because they represent a cross-section or compilation of the issues brought forth in the Carnine article. …

From Two Years to Two Generations:

A full profession includes roles in both direct and indirect career functions for its members. As the field of child and youth care has developed, career paths for practitioners primarily focusing on indirect functions have been proposed. This chapter proposes a career trajectory in clinical work that allows for increasingly responsible, complex and autonomous practi~a s ,the ,practitioner becomes more mature and experienced both personally and professionally. Actualization of both career path options should contribute towards the retention of practitioners, and to the long term advancement of child and youth care as a profession.

The Flexner Myth and the History of Social Work

Abraham Flexner's pronouncement in 1915 that social work was not a full profession came at a critical point in the intellectual development of social work and social work education. It led to strenuous efforts by organized social work to fulfill the criteria of a profession set forth by Flexner. The author suggests that these criteria should be put aside and attention directed toward developmental requirements that reflect the distinctive characteristics of social work as a major profession.

Public regulation of social work

14 A major contemporary movement of the community to exercise such in social work's efforts to attain recogauthority. nition as a full profession is the move The second point—defined and spe toward public regulation. The National cialized skills—should be a basic pre Association of Social Workers, for exrequisite for public regulation of an ample, has taken strong action to furoccupational activity. These skills de ther this objective, as illustrated in the scribe the activity to be regulated, following resolution approved by its However, they are not sufficient alone 1969 Delegate Assembly: to transform an occupation into a pro Resohed: That the various combinafession nor do they Provide a11 the Pre tions of Chapters, working in concert requisites for public regulation, at a state level, be authorized to purAccording to Wilensky, two addi sue licensing of Social Work practice tional elements are necessary for each within each state. . . A transformation.3 The first element is

Psychological Testing in Schools of Nursing: A General Statement Including Results from the Rhode Island Hospital

IT is the purpose of this article to present certain facts concerning the extent to which psychological tests are used in training schools for nurses throughout the country, some of the results of such testing in general, and the practical significance of a testing program in the Rhode Island Hospital Training School for Nurses in particular. A bibliography of titles pertaining to this special field is added. In the development of nursing to its present status of a semiprofession and at certain points a full profession, training schools for nurses have arrived, as have certain other educational institutions, at the point where they are not only in a position to exercise a greater degree of selection in the admitting of candidates but at a point where it is desirable and important that they should do so. Conscious objectives are both a reduction in the numbers trained and an improvement in the qualifications of candidates accepted for training. In the last decade colleges and universities, particularly the privately endowed ones, have been developing selective methods based upon the careful study of various entrance criteria. These studies have tended to place more and more emphasis upon objec-