Learning to Practise

How does one become a professional? This interdisciplinary collection offers new insights into that fundamental question. Employing a wide variety of approaches and methodologies, the original and thematically linked essays discuss such problematic issues as the most appropriate site for professional education, the proper focus and content of the initial and on-going preparation of professionals, and the nature of both continuity and change in professional education. In the process, they raise challenging questions about the development of professional education in Canada and elsewhere from the early 19th century to the present day, in fields as diverse as the health sciences, law, engineering, social work, theology, and university teaching. An essential resource for those studying the professions, this book will also appeal to practitioners, professional associations, administrators, and faculty in professional schools, and to all those interested in the past, present, and future state of their professions.

Published in English.

Ruby Heap is a professor of history at the University of Ottawa, whose teaching and research focus on the history of women in the professions and the history of education in Canada.

Wyn Millar is an independent scholar living in London, Ontario, In 1989 she co-founded the journal Historical Studies in Education, for which she is both co-editor and managing editor.

Elizabeth Smyth is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning at the OISE. Among her recent works is the co-edited Wisdom Raises Her Voice: The Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto Celebrate 150 Years. Dr Smyth is a founding member of the Women and Professional Education Network.