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Professionalization, also called credentialism, is the social process by which any trade or occupation transforms itself into a true "profession of the highest integrity and competence." This process tends to involve establishing acceptable qualifications, a professional body or association to oversee the conduct of members of the profession and some degree of demarcation of the qualified from unqualified amateurs. It creates an "occupational closure", closing the profession to entry from outsiders, amateurs and the unqualified. ==History== Professionalization is the social process by which any trade or occupation transforms itself into a true "profession of the highest integrity and competence." This process tends to involve establishing acceptable qualifications, a professional body or association to oversee the conduct of members of the profession and some degree of demarcation of the qualified from unqualified amateurs. This creates "a hierarchical divide between the knowledge-authorities in the professions and a deferential citizenry."〔http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/conservatism.html ''What Is Conservatism and What Is Wrong with It?'' Philip E. Agre, August 2004〕 This demarcation is often termed "occupational closure",〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Karen Mahony & Brett Van Toen, "Mathematical Formalism as a Means of Occupational Closure in Computing—Why 'Hard' Computing Tends to Exclude Women," ''Gender and Education'', 2.3, 1990, pp. 319–31 )〕 as it means that the profession then becomes closed to entry from outsiders, amateurs and the unqualified: a stratified occupation "defined by professional demarcation and grade." The origin of this process is said to have been with guilds during the Middle Ages, when they fought for exclusive rights to practice their trades as journeymen, and to engage unpaid apprentices.〔see Benton, 1985〕 It has also been called credentialism, a reliance on formal qualifications or certifications to determine whether someone is permitted to undertake a task or to speak as an expert.〔"Credentialism." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2014 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045300482.html〕 It has also been defined as "excessive reliance on credentials, especially academic degrees, in determining hiring or promotion policies.".〔http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/credentialism〕 It has been further defined as where the credentials for a job or a position are upgraded, even though, there is no skill change that makes this increase necessary 〔https://www.hodder.co.uk/Books/detail.page?isbn=9781473601147〕 Professions also possess power,〔see Johnson, 1972〕 prestige, high income, high social status and privileges; their members soon come to comprise an elite class of people, cut off to some extent from the common people, and occupying an elevated station in society: "a narrow elite ... a hierarchical social system: a system of ranked orders and classes."〔 The professionalization process tends to establish the group norms of conduct and qualification of members of a profession and tends also to insist that members of the profession achieve "conformity to the norm." and abide more or less strictly with the established procedures and any agreed code of conduct, which is policed by professional bodies, for "accreditation assures conformity to general expectations of the profession." Different professions are organized differently. For example, doctors desire autonomy over entrepreneurship. Professions want authority because of their expertise. Professionals are encouraged to have a lifetime commitment to their field of work.〔http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.ardc.talonline.ca/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3045302074&v=2.1&u=red68720&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=29f0093de5865da9e5b42a3731a5cc57 William Darity,“Professionalization”, ''International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences'', Detroit: Macmillan References USA, 2008.〕 Eliot Freidson (1923–2005) is considered one of the founders of the sociology of professions〔() PEREIRA NETO, André. Eliot Freidson: progression and constraints in the biography of an intellectual. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos (). 2009, vol. 16, n. 4 (2013-01-15 ), pp. 941–960 .〕 Very few professions existed before the 19th century, although most of the societies always valued someone who was competent and skilled in a particular discipline. The government was especially in need of skilled people to complete various duties. Professionalism as an ideology only started in the early 19th century in North America and Western Europe. This gave women room to enter the workforce as men were too busy to meet the needs of the community. For the first time a “professional” woman was a desirable quality. There were many emerging fields of work for her. Some of these included hospitality, mothering, interior decoration, and fashion. As women began to take on more and more room in the professional world, men began to feel threatened. They feared their wage would decrease because women were expected to be paid less. They thought that some professions should only be reserved for men. Universities for women were underfunded. There was a lot of discrimination against them; one might think jealousy played into it. As a result a lot less women became professionals.〔Kenschaft, “Professions and Professionalization.”〕 Professions began to emerge rapidly. However, a person who wanted to become a professional had to gain the approval of members of the existing profession beforehand and only they could judge whether he or she had reached the level of expertise needed to be a professional. Official associations and credentialing boards were created by the end of the 19th century, but initially membership was informal. A person was a professional if enough people said they were a professional. 〔Kenschaft, “Professions and Professionalization.”,〕 Adam Smith expressed support for professionalization, as he believed that professionals made a worthwhile contribution to society. They deserved power and high salaries due to the difficulties inherent in gaining entry to professional fields and living up to the rigorous demands of professionalism.〔Robert Dingwall,"Essays on Professions." Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2008. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed March 24, 2014), pp. 100-102〕 State licensure insured that experience could not be substituted for certification, and decreased outside competition. A code of ethics for professionals ensured that the public receiving the service was well served and set guidelines for their behavior in their professions. This code also ensured that penalties were put in place for those who failed to meet up to the standards stated. This could include termination of their license to practice.〔 After the Second World War, professions were state controlled. The degree of legislation and autonomy of self-regulated and regular professions varied across Canada. Possible causes include societal infrastructure, population density, social ideologies, and political mandates. Physicians and engineers were among the most successful at professionalization of their work. Medicine was consistently regulated before the confederation. Medicine and engineering became self-regulated and had their regulatory legislation altered five decades after the confederation even though some other occupations were not able to. This meant these professions could oversee entry to practice, education, and the behavior of those practicing.〔http://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed February 15, 2014). Tracey Adams,"Regulating Professions in Canada: Interprovincial Differences across Five Provinces”, ''Journal of Canadian Studies 43'', no.1, 2009, pp. 1996-200〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Professionalization」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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