Issues and Technology in Continuing
Professional Education
Andjulon Richardson
Ball State University
Introduction
Continuing professional education
has become a topic that is very relevant to today’s society. Now more than
ever, individuals are seeing the importance of education not just at the high
school level, but well into college and beyond. Even once a college graduate
lands that first job and is well into his or her career, education continues to
be something that is of upmost importance. With this in mind, it is necessary
to take a look at some of the issues that surround continuing professional
education. Furthermore, since technology has become so prevalent around the
world, it is only fitting to see how the growth of technology has had its
effect on continuing professional education.
Issues
Trevitt and Perera (2009) stated
“the concept of curriculum and the nature of learning involved remains
problematic. We argue for a focus on the transformation of self, and posit this
as an expanded version of one established curriculum.” Trevitt and Perera
further go on to say, “We suggest that institutions need to find ways to
strengthen their sense of identity and self confidence if this situation is to
improve (2009).” According to this excerpt and the subsequent research
conducted, the individual himself or herself and their identity are as critical
components of learning as the material being taught. This basically means that
there is more to what is being taught or who is teaching it. This notion was
further embraced when Trevitt and Perera described a few points to consider
when implementing a curriculum, which stated “designing a programme is less
about reproducibility and more about adaptability and sustainability. Hence,
the kernel of the programme should have built in modules. Modules that can cause
all participants (mentees and mentors) to engage, reflect, review, and adapt
accordingly; while the husk of the shell is the vehicle structure that
fundamentally remains reproducible (2009).” This is a particularly important
statement with regards to helping an individual develop his or her self or
identity. The act of reflection can easily be seen as one the most important
ways in which an individual and take the first step to truly understanding his
or herself. Reflection is something that no one else can complete for another
person. While someone can be have direction provided by another person,
reflection is a level of thinking that at times can provide a deeper
understanding.
As with reflection, engagement with other
individuals is yet another critical component of providing deeper understanding
of one’s self. Engagement in a way goes hand in hand with each other. One can
almost not go without the other. A group of students can get together and
discourse on a particular subject, while providing each other with points of
view that the other would otherwise not have thought of. Through these new
found points of view, and individual can apply this to their own circumstances
and how it relates to their own being.
Adaptability is yet another point that Trevitt
and Perera bring up within their publication, and is as important to a person’s
continuing professional education as any. As alluded to earlier in this paper,
gone are the days that a person could specialize in one particular area of
interest or field and have the comfort of a stable career. As globalization
increases as well as the average education level of people, those that are
looking for a stable, rewarding career need to realize that there is an
importance placed on those who are multi-faceted employees who can take on a
wide range of responsibilities placed by their employers.
One particular issue of continuing
professional education that deserves to have analysis is the ethical issues
that may arise. Patricia Lawler (2000) stated, “Ethics sets limits regarding
what people can do in pursuit of their own interests, and prescribes standards
of behavior governing their dealings with others.” This is a particularly
relevant and important concept when thinking about continuing professional
education. The ethical issues surrounding continuing professional education may
at first be difficult to understand. However, a closer examination may shed
light on why this has become an issue.
Continuing professional education is
essentially the business of providing professionals a means to progress or at
the very least stay current within their respective careers. In order to
accomplish this, professionals need to be educated on the numerous advances and
developments with their fields. This is more times than carried out by someone
who is considered an expert within the field of interest. This can come in the
form of lectures, seminars, workshops, etc. These means of providing education
more times than not require some form of monetary compensation to run. It comes
as no surprise that there is a considerable amount of professional development
or continuing education events that are relatively expensive.
This dilemma begs the question, “should
someone be denied information if he or she does not have the monetary means of
paying for it?” At first this may seem a simple enough question. Of course a
person should be denied, someone is providing a service, and should be
compensated as such. However, taking a look from the other point of view, what
if the education is something that could determine whether or not a
professional maintains employment? It has already been established that society
is a constantly changing and rapidly evolving place, and if someone is unable
to provide what a company is looking for, that company will find someone who
has the skills to get the job done. This is an ethical consideration that
warrants further discussion, for there may be ways to alleviate or at least
mitigate the effects. For example, government could take the initiative to help
offset some of the costs associated with providing continuing professional
education. However, even though this may be one solution, it still does not
address the issue of playing towards a particular party’s interests. Whether it
is the educator or the one being educated, there is almost a sentiment that
neither side can both have their interests completely fulfilled.
Lawler also points to a number of other
ethical issues that need to be considered. One of these ethical issues is very
relevant to today’s society is the use of distance education. Lawler states,
“distance education brings new ethical problems concerning the use of on-line
resources, privacy, equitable access, intellectual property, new forms of
cheating, and redefining the relationship between student and instructor
(Lawler, 2000).” As mentioned before, this type of issue is very relevant to
society. With the advances in technology, there is little doubt that distance
education will become a more prominent means of providing education to people.
Consequently, with this increase will come the need to regulate the conduct of
those involved.
Ronald Cervero (2000) had stated one
issue of continuing professional education as, “ who benefits from continuing
professional education? The struggle between the learning agenda and the
political and economic agendas of continuing education. As mentioned earlier,
there seems to be a divide between those that are in need of continuing
education and those who are providing the continued education. This may not be
an intentional issue, but rather a basic example of supply and demand. If a
continuing professional educator makes his or her services too available, then
everyone would have access to the information and eventually becomes useless.
This is the same idea as those who had high school educations. Years ago there
were not as many people who would finish high school, making a high school
education a valuable commodity. However, as more people began completing high
school at higher rates, the demand for a high school diploma went down. Therefore,
for a continuing professional educator to keep their product worth anything,
there may be reason to limit the availability. On the other hand, as mentioned
before the information that is being withheld may prove to be costly for those
in need.
Technology
The amount of growth with regards to
technology within the past couple decades has been exponential. People are now
able to complete tasks in a manner that used to only could be dreamed of. With
this in mind, the use of technology with continuing professional education has
also seen its share of growth. Distance education has been a resounding use of
technology that many in the continuing professional education field utilize.
According to Helen Johnson and Marian Roman, “distance learning is a generic
term, denoting several technologies, from classical correspondence courses to
the use of the computer, telecommunications, videos, and web-based
technologies, offered alone or in conjunction with classroom experiences (Johnson
& Roman, 2003).” There has been research that suggests that there are
benefits and drawbacks to utilizing technology in continuing professional
education. Robin Mason stated, “ it is more flexible than face-to-face
teaching, it supports a self-directed approach to learning rather than a
teacher-directed approach and it facilitates choice and the use of a wide range
of resources (Mason, 2006).”
These benefits are especially true for an
increasing amount of adult today. More people are working at least full while
carrying any number of other obligations. This consequently leaves people with
little or now time for continuing education. However, providing a program
exclusively online can help individuals stay abreast with their careers while
maintaining a healthy personal life.
One drawback that Mason addresses has to
do with the age gap of individuals using technology. “On the whole, young
people who have grown up with computers, mobile phones, and other devices for
virtual communication are not frightened by the technology and are open to
experimentation and exploration of the facilities (Mason, 2006).” This alludes
to the fact that while not all adults are completely oblivious to the use of
technology, it may safe to say that there are still a large portion of society
who may have difficulty grasping the use of technology, especially when it
comes to learning.
Adding to the benefit of convenience from
the use of technology is brought to attention by Adam Segal-Isaacson, who
stated “among the prime advantages is that the student rarely has to spend more
than 2 weeks on campus (Sega-Isaacson, 2002). This is yet another illustration
of how an individual can carry a busy schedule within their personal life and
still have the opportunity to further their education.
The issues and technologies that face
continuing professional education have been researched a great deal, however as
time progresses, so will the issues and technologies. What is truly fascinating
about continuing professional education is that it is constantly evolving,
making strides and advances, regardless of the stakeholders. The issues of who
continuing education benefits will continue to be of discussion, and the
technology that continuing education utilizes will continue to evolve. However
one thing is certain; there will always be those who are willing to research
and synthesize information in order to better understand it.
Bibliography
Cevero, R.
(2000). Trends and Issues in Continuing Professional Education. New
Directions for Adult & Continuing Education , 10.
Johnson, H. A., & Roman, M. (2003). GERIATRIC
CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE WORKPLACE: UTILIZING INTERACTIVE TELEVISION (ITV)
TECHNOLOGY IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE. Educational Gerontology , 29
(7), 597.
Lawler, P. A. (2000). Ethical Issues in Continuing
Professional Education. New Directions for Adult & Continuing
Education , 86, 63.
Mason, R. (2006). Learning Technologies for Adult
Continuing Education. Studies in Contiuing Education , 121-133.
Segal-Isaacson, A. (2009). Technology Puts Continuing
Education Within Reach. Nursing , 14-16.
Trevitt, C., & Perera, C. (2009). Self and Continuing
Professional Learning: Issues of Curriculum and Identity in Developing
Academic Practice. Teaching in Higher Education , 14 (4),
347-359.
