Professionalization is a process that allows us to achieve a certain standard.
Professionalization is the process and result of professionalizing (turning an activity or hobby into a profession ). For example: “The professionalization of the team developed gradually,” “It is essential to achieve the professionalization of the leaders: such a large business cannot be managed by improvisers,” “The government will work for the professionalization of tourism activity in the country.” town" .
Professionalization involves a series of changes to something, usually with the intention of increasing its quality and achieving certain standards. Suppose that the leaders of a club are neighbors and friends who, as best they can, carry out the management of the institution. Because they earn their living through other activities, they only dedicate their free time to the club and cannot take courses or learn about management. If it is decided to go for professionalization, professional leaders will be hired (marketing experts, accountants, etc.) or a salary will begin to be paid to former leaders so that they can dedicate themselves full time to this activity.
Characteristics of professionalization
Let's look at some of the most important characteristics of professionalization:
- It is a process that takes place in society, both in the family, in education and at work.
- If it is considered a pedagogical category that relates education, politics and work, it cannot be understood without taking into account the different social classes.
- Education is, in itself, the professionalization of the student.
- The different objectives that arise throughout the professionalization process are achieved gradually.
- The individual who participates in the process must act actively and consciously, with motivation and leaving space for reflection.
- Professionalization plays a fundamental role in the community, as it promotes commitment to education and development.
Studying is essential for professionalization.
The term associated with an economic sector
An economic sector can also become professional. In a neighborhood, there is a custom for people to prepare meals in their homes and then sell them on public roads, in improvised street stalls. With the intention of guaranteeing hygienic conditions and ensuring that work is carried out in a responsible manner, authorities can promote the professionalization of the activity through free courses on food preservation, the imposition of controls on what is sold and the installation of a fair with good infrastructure so that interested parties can offer their products in an orderly manner.
It is important to note that professionalization is a category that has repercussions at a social level, both in the educational field (which can be informal or school-based), in the workplace and in the community in general. Furthermore, there are various variables that condition it, the most important being the role of the school and its way of relating to the rest of the educational agencies .
In addition to the most obvious results of professionalization, there are various concepts with which it maintains a close relationship, such as instruction, education and the personal development of students, teachers and managers. In other words, it is not simply limited to the training of professionals, but rather provides the education necessary to achieve a certain objective.
Different ways of understanding professionalization
Depending on the author, professionalization can be understood in three different ways, which in turn carry a series of particular relationships with other concepts:
- As a category : this interpretation places it on the same level as the education and work sciences, in addition to sociology, among other social sciences.
- As a process : since it opens the doors to the creation of professional training processes.
- As a principle : so that it serves as a regulator of the training and development processes that take place in the school environment.