How educational institutions train professionals and help them maintain their professional qualifications will be the focus of a conference on Friday 2 March in Wagga Wagga.

 

Charles Sturt University’s Centre for Research into Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE) will host a symposium to explore issues influencing the development of professional practice in education and other fields.

 

Keynote speakers include CSU Professors Stephen Kemmis and Gail Whiteford as well as Professor Wilfred Carr from the UK and Professor Petra Ponte from the Netherlands, who is also a visiting Professor with the CSU Faculty of Education.

 

Speakers will explore issues such as the importance of exposing up and coming professionals to a professional environment in their chosen field, as well as the need for continuing professional education and research and how those factors influence development of personal professional practices.

 

CSU’s Professor Stephen Kemmis says: “Professional educators face difficulties as they prepare new graduates for the professions, including what knowledge and what kinds of practices are most important to learn and what should be learned in what order?”

 

“In a climate of increasing regulation, educators for the professions also recognise there are increased ethical or moral challenges for professional practice.”

 

Speakers will also outline the development of informed, committed action as teaching professionals.

 

The symposium will contribute to the formulation of draft chapters for books to be published in the Netherlands and Australia titled Practicum and Praxis, as well as draft chapters for the book “Understanding and Researching Professional Practice” being edited by Bill Green and published by RIPPLE.