Abstract:

The approval of professional education programmes by regulatory agencies can be located within the global rise of professional regulation and the growing emphasis on quality assurance in education. The regulation of professionals is generally heralded as a purposive and progressive measure which has, as its aim, the reassurance of the public that the professionals they encounter are fit to practice. Regulators, educators and employers share a common interest in the education and production of expert, competent and ethical professionals. This is commonly achieved through the setting of standards of competence or proficiency which articulate the thresholds skills and knowledge which newly qualified professionals must possess.

Nonetheless, the assurance of standards can be seen as a ‘contested’ field between educators and the state, with the scope for tensions between the parties. In addition, the intense pace of change in professional practice and the growth in graduate mobility mean that standards are becoming increasingly comprehensive in order to prepare newly qualified professionals for practice in multiple, diverse and perhaps international settings.

Using the context of social work standards in Ireland, but with reference to the wider literature, the authors discuss the role of regulatory standards in professional programme development and the education of competent professionals. While standards offer signposts to what must, or should, be included in a programme of professional education, the paper explores some of the challenges and tensions associated with programme development based on regulatory standards and the potential for unintended outcomes.

Keywords:

Professional standards, professional education programmes, professional regulation, newly qualified professionals.