The business rescue practitioners’ professionalism: are we there yet?

Purpose and context: The purpose of the study was to explore the construction of professionalism in a multiple professional bodies (MPB) landscape in South Africa (SA) and demonstrate how this construction can be used to enhance a professional accreditation regime. Professional accreditation has become a pre-requisite for business rescue practitioners (BRPs). The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) licensing is linked to multiple professional bodies’ knowledge and practices but are not generic. This study was guided by one key question: How do PBs providing BRPs construct professionalism, and to what extent can the existing construction of professionalism facilitate the development of a professional accreditation regime? Research design and methods: A qualitative research design used required researchers to use four consecutive steps, namely (a) interviewing member services’ managers at four professional bodies (PBs); (b) systematic content analysis of codes of professional conduct and policy statements to identify constituent professionalism notions; (c) a systematic search of the literature to identify notions of professionalism mentioned in definitions and explanations of the construct; and (d) analysis of notions of professionalism using the constant comparison procedure to reveal critical themes. Results: A total of 90 separate notions of professionalism were identified in the 192 scholarly papers included in our study. The identified themes within business rescue practitioner (BRP) professionalism (emphasising relational aspects) point to practitioner dealings with (i) clients (business rescue candidates); (ii) government and others; (iii) the PB; and (iv) oneself to gain the essence of occupation. There is fragmentation between the constructed conceptualisations of professionalism among PBs, leading to an incoherent and inconsistent expert accreditation regime. Practical implications and value: The results from the indicated exploration steps were used to advance a programmatic framework to construct professionalism in an MPB landscape and set a future research agenda. The results also show that business rescue practitioners’ professionalism cannot be attained in a multi-professional body setting with an integrated professional accreditation framework.

The State of Business Rescue Practitioners Professional Accreditation

Business rescue practitioners (BRPs) are subject to many allegations of abuse and, therefore, professional accreditation has become a pre-requisite. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) licensing is linked to multiple professional bodies’ knowledge and practices but is not generic. This study was guided by one key question: What is BRPs’ accreditation’s current state in a multiple professional body occupation? We used data mapped to scholarly and documented policy sources, categorized results from extensive reading, and integrated critical constructs (after the deconstruction of concepts) to yield a conceptual framework to develop a comprehensive understanding of professional accreditation. The results confirm the existence of a legal framework and institutional arrangements that are not coherently applied because of the absence of a professional accreditation framework (PAF). The proposed conceptual framework captures the concepts of the business rescue domain, professionalism, competency, accreditation, and definition of key terms to provide an interpretive approach to the BRPs’ accreditation reality resulting in a PAF based on the integration of BRP tasks and services and accreditation, competency, and professionalism.

The construction of occupational professionalism among business rescue practitioners supplying professional bodies

Purpose of the research: To identify and explore the construction of professionalism in a multiple professional bodies (MPB) landscape in South Africa (SA) and demonstrate how such construction can be used to enhance professional accreditation regime. Design of research and methodology: The study used a qualitative research design. This required five consecutive steps of (a) interviewing member services managers at four professional bodies (PBs); (b) systematic content analysis of codes of professional conduct (CPCs) and policy statements to identify constituent professionalism notions; (c) a systematic search of the literature to identify notions of professionalism mentioned in definitions and explanations of the construct; and (d) analysis of notions of professionalism using the constant comparison procedure to reveal key themes. The results in (a) through to (d) were used to advance a programmatic framework to construct professionalism in an MPB landscape. Research results: The construction of professionalism is linked to services rendered and competencies in the MPB landscape. The existing licensing regime encapsulates the increased importance of the MPB landscape, leading to a shift away from a conventional conceptualisation of professionalism in a single professional body (PB) setting. A total of 90 separate notions of professionalism were identified in the 192 scholarly papers included in our study. The identified theme within BRP professionalism (emphasising relational aspects) point to practitioner dealings with (i) clients (business rescue candidates); (ii) government and others; (iii) the PB; and (iv) oneself to gain the essence of occupation. There is fragmentation between the constructed conceptualisations of professionalism among PBs, leading to an incoherent and inconsistent expert accreditation regime. Practical implications and value: The findings of the study are useful in the integration of practitioner learning and development practices in the PBs whose members serve as BRPs. BRP is a regulated occupation and requires a distinct professional accreditation framework (PAF) to integrate multidimensional professionalism in the MPB landscape. Approaches to enhance accreditation should consider delineating BRP services and task from interview results from a community of practitioners. The PAF will structure the construction, investigation, and documentation of occupational professionalism required by the licensing authorities. It will also help delineate BRP as a discipline worth of academic and professional pursuits with known competencies.

Fit for purpose

Montessori Centre International's new professional accreditation framework is aiming to upskill existing practitioners and attract new recruits to its approach.

'Small Gold Mine of Talent': Integrating Prague Spring Refugee Professionals in Canada, 1968-1969

Following the August 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, 11,200 Prague Spring refugees were resettled in Canada. This movement included many experienced professionals and skilled tradespeople. This article examines how these refugees navigated language training and barriers to employment, including professional accreditation, and examines how this experience shaped bureaucratic and public views of refugee integration. The focus of this article is primarily on resettlement and integration efforts in Ontario, since roughly half of the Prague Spring refugees were permanently resettled in the province. The article outlines how, as part of its efforts to help the refu- gees with their economic and social integration, Canadian officials provided assisted passage, initial accommodations, help with securing Canadian employment, and English- or French-language training. Prague Spring refugees navigated professional obstacles, including securing accreditation of their foreign credentials and underemployment in their respective fields. Their successful resettlement and integration depended on intergovernmental cooperation between Canada and its provinces, and the assistance provided by local Czech and Slovak communities across the country.

A study on Chinese teacher education professional accreditation based on the standards comparison

By comparing with the American CAEP teacher education accreditation standard, we study the characteristics of Chinese teacher education professional accreditation (TEPA) and the differences between Chinese and American accreditation standards. The aim of TEPA, which is drawing lessons from the idea of engineering education professional accreditation, is to improve the overall quality of Chinese teachers team, ensure the quality of teacher education, make the quality of pre-service teachers cultivation institutions continue to improve, and meet the needs of the society for qualified and excellent teachers.