What do we Mean When we Say "Professionalism?": A Language Usage Analysis for Public Administration
- 1 March 1992
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in The American Review of Public Administration
- Vol. 22 (1), 1-17
- https://doi.org/10.1177/027507409202200101
Abstract
This paper analyzes use of the term "professionalism" in public administration by language usage analysis—an interpretive methodology. It begins by arguing against static interpretation of professionalism implied by the sociological model. It then explores various meanings of professionalism by using a series of antinomies: professional-laity, professional-amateur, achievement-ascription, and professionals as a new class in opposition to other classes. Each antinomy reveals meanings of professionalism that public administrators should avoid or embrace in their quest to make public administration a widely recognized profession. Concluding remarks suggest a particular definition of professionalism appropriate to public administration.Keywords
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- Public Administration and the Paradox of ProfessionalizationPublic Administration Review, 1990
- The Professional State Revisited: Twixt Scylla and Charybdis?Public Administration Review, 1989
- Public administration and the code of ethics: administrative reform or professional ideology?International Journal of Public Administration, 1989
- Professionalism and Bureaucratic Responsiveness: Conflict or Compatibility?Public Administration Review, 1988
- Hierarchy, Virtue, and the Practice of Public Administration: A Perspective for Normative EthicsPublic Administration Review, 1987
- Action Theory in Practice: Toward Theory without ConspiracyPublic Administration Review, 1981
- The Rise of ProfessionalismPublished by University of California Press ,1977
- Labor and Monopoly CapitalMonthly Review, 1974
- Social Equity, Justice, and the Equitable AdministratorPublic Administration Review, 1974
- Administrative Responsibility in Democratic GovernmentPublic Administration Review, 1941