Rethinking Professionalism

The first collection of scholarly essays on women and art in Canadian history.

The history of women and art in Canada has often been celebrated as a story of progress from amateur to professional practice. Rethinking Professionalism challenges this narrative by questioning the assumptions that underlie the category of artistic professionalism, a construct as influential for artistic practice as it has been for art historical understanding. Through a series of in-depth studies, contributors examine changes to the infrastructure of the art world that resulted from a powerful discourse of professionalization that emerged in the late- nineteenth century. While many women embraced this new model, others fell by the wayside, barred from professional status by virtue of their class, their ethnicity, or the very nature of the artworks they produced. The richly illustrated essays in this collection depict the changing nature of the professional paradigm as it was experienced by women painters, photographers, craftspeople, architects, curators, gallery directors, and art teachers. In so doing, they demonstrate the ongoing power of feminist art history to disrupt patterns of thought that have become naturalized and, accordingly, invisible. Going beyond the narratives of recovery or exclusion that the category of professionalism has traditionally encouraged, Rethinking Professionalism explores the very consequences of telling the history of women's art in Canada through that lens. Contributors include Annmarie Adams (McGill University), Alena Buis (Queen's University), Sherry Farrell Racette (University of Manitoba), Cynthia Hammond (Concordia University), Kristina Huneault (Concordia University), Loren Lerner (Concordia University), Lianne McTavish (University of Alberta), Kirk Niergarth (Mount Royal University), Mary O'Connor (McMaster University), Sandra Paikowsky (Concordia University), Ruth B. Phillips (Carleton University), Jennifer Salahub (Alberta College of Art & Design), and Anne Whitelaw (Concordia University).

This book challenges the dominant expertise professionalism rationale for music education by responding to the call to develop ‘ecological awareness’ at a time when all professions have a moral obligation to place sustainable and interdependent life at the center. The book aims to expand music education’s professional horizons to acknowledge the responsibility of the music field to contribute to the demands of complex questions of sustainability and identify the ways in which sustainable music education may be strengthened through an activist relational ecological stance. It suggests a radical moral turn by asking: What if music education is recognised as part of the problem of sustaining unsustainability? and What if music teacher education was developed in and through dialogue with a futures perspective? These questions are interrogated through a critical analysis of the historical positioning of music in education and an interdisciplinary application of theories of ecology and professionalism.

The concept of evidence-based medicine was launched in 1991 as a new paradigm to inform medical practice and has risen to be regarded as the gold standard. It rapidly gained the attention of medics, health service managers and the general media as it presented a means to improve efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. Despite its stunning success in capturing the health agenda, the campaign that launched evidence-based medicine has also attracted criticism, particularly from clinicians and philosophers concerned about its selective views of knowledge and evidence, and for its denigration of reasoning, clinical experience and judgement. Evidence-Based Medicine traces this movement from its launch to its meteoric rise, examining what it has done for healthcare and medicine in the context of changes in science policy and the long-running criticism held against the movement for its inherent weaknesses. As evidence-based medicine will remain an important feature of healthcare in the decades to come, this book is perfect for healthcare professionals, medical scientists, health service managers and public health experts looking for a critical examination of the topic. Contents:The Origins of Evidence-Based MedicineEvidence-Based Medicine in the UKThe Cochrane CollaborationEvidence-Based Medicine and the Evolution of Health Related ResearchHypothesis, Evidence, Knowledge and Reasoning in Medicine: Certainty and UncertaintyEvidence-Based Medicine and Medical ScienceImpact of Evidence-Based Medicine on Clinical Practice; Achievements and LimitationsEvidence-Based Medicine and Medical ProfessionalismThe Future of Evidence-Based Medicine Readership: Healthcare professionals; medics; health service managers; public health experts. Key Features:The concept of "evidence-based medicine" appears to be such an obvious good that most of what has been published has been written by advocates of the campaign or members of the movement, which tend to present uncritical or laudatory evaluationsThis book aims at a wide readership, presenting a critical examination of evidence-based medicine, its origins and role in healthcareEvidence-based medicine will inevitably remain an important feature of healthcare in the decades to come and will continue to be at the centre of discussion and debate as healthcare evolves to meet new challenges

The first volume of this ground-breaking book critically examines how and why arts-based methods such as choir conducting workshops and dialogue improvisation can make a difference in improving professional practice. Taking a ‘human-centred’ approach, it delivers an insightful account of what these approaches do differently to achieve a new mode of learning – ‘sensuous learning’ – that cultivates professional judgment to serve the common good, simultaneously supporting personal and collective growth. The chapters present cutting edge examples of multiple ways arts-based methods underpin learning arenas for expanding leadership and improving professional practice. The reflexivity cultivated through these learning arenas has the unique potential to improve professional practice, not merely by enhancing competence but also by cultivating character and conscience, which is central in making judgments that serve the common good. These benefits are relevant for professional practitioners sharpening the skills and behaviours needed in organisations, including creativity, diversity, imagination, and improvisation.

The professionalism of the early childhood sector has gained prominence on the policy agendas of many countries. National pedagogical frameworks or curricula and an upsurge of pathways to gaining or upgrading qualifications has led to a pervasive terminology of professionalism. Yet, despite the pervasiveness of this terminology, the question of what professionalism means in early years contexts remains open to debate. This book draws together the work of an international group of scholars who have engaged with this question. They ask: How can professionalism be conceptualised in early childhood settings? How might one act professionally in increasingly diverse and changing social and cultural contexts? Do we have a common ground of understanding about these terms? Are there key concepts that can be agreed upon? Drawing on research and experience across a wide range of national contexts, this book seeks an understanding of early childhood professionalism in local contexts that might throw light on the global implications of this term. This book was published as a special issue in the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal.

Contributors from around the world tackle the factors that have the greatest impact on creating quality learning opportunities for students: namely policy, school leadership and teaching/teachers' lives. Drawing on a range of critical conceptual and empirical perspectives, the contributions illustrate the extent to which experience can be similar around the world. The book sheds much-needed light on the effects of mandated change upon school leaders and teachers, both nationally and internationally. It also demonstrates how teachers have coped or flourished, both because and in spite of the changing circumstances they work under.