“Being a Civic Practitioner; The Civic Literacy Component of Professional Practice”

21 October 2008

4.15pm to 5.15pm

Venue: J2 Lecture Theatre, 74 Epsom Avenue, Epsom Campus

Presenter
Phil Harington

Title
"Being a Civic Practitioner; The Civic Literacy Component of Professional Practice"
Paper presented to PEPE Conference, Edinburgh 2008

Abstract
A growing debate about the capacity for social services and professional practice to achieve civic or transformative goals has lead to an increasing interest in civic practice. There are initiatives to inspire and challenge organisations and practice communities to better achieve gains for individuals and groups that are not engaged in civic life and to work on the barriers and constraints that render civic participation intractable.

This presentation will look in particular at the prospect that civic literacy is a quality professional practitioners can use to shift the ways their practice responds to difference, support the emancipatory aspirations of communities and take positions that disrupt the ambivalence found in various sites to the civic aspirations of others. Drawing on material from recent literature on the ‘de’ and ‘re’ professionalisation thesis, the paper will refer to changing demographic structure of some professions, changes in the curriculum that guide the education of practice and the obligation of practitioners to have a research and policy role in addition to their work with any population. The paper draws on observations made from the sociology of professions and the use of evidence based practice as a basis for professional development.

Phil Harington
Principal Lecturer, CHSSWK
p.harington@auckland.ac.nz
Phone 623 8899 - Ext 48562