Eight important PD reasons

In Aotearoa New Zealand, we are beginning to entwine Western, Māori and Pasifika models of practice in career development. PD becomes even more important for us so we can measure and maintain practice standards, adapt to new models, and ensure that we practitioners are well-equipped to meet the diverse needs of Aotearoa (Hay et al, 2022). It is expected that lifelong learning will ensure that we practitioners remain competent and responsive to those evolving standards (Fenwick, 2009). 

To carry on our exploration (earlier posts here) as to why continuing professional development - CPD or PD - is important in career development, here are eight reasons:

• Collaboration: establishing long-term and enduring communities of practice is important for the future of career development in Aotearoa. What is also interesting is that if we use practice logs collaboratively, we can use our recorded impressions to learn from each other (Glennie et al., 2017), but collaboration need to be long-term to be effective. We need sustained PD investment to ensure that we practitioners are truly prepared for the evolving demands of our profession (Hay et al., 2022).
• Cultural competence: we expect career practitioners in Aotearoa competence in working with Māori, to reflect our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We need PD in order to develop and maintain our cultural responsiveness, and to integrate Māori practice models - such as Te Whare Tapa Whā (here) - or Pasifika models - Kakala (here) - in our work as New Zealand society continues to evolve.
• Training & supervision: training is a key component of career development practice, giving our new practitioners expert, supported hands-on experience. It appears that field trainers in social work often lack formal training in adult learning and teaching principles (Hay et al., 2022) and I am pretty certain that career development is similar. Industry supervisors also require ongoing PD in order to supervise ākonga appropriately, to use current and proven training techniques such as problem-based learning, creativity strategies, and real-world applications (Glennie et al., 2017).
• Professional identity: our career practitioner professional identity is important, often acheived via a professional organisation. Networking is particularly important for academic and industry supervisors, who may feel isolated or undervalued. We all need to connect with our people; to feel normal; to share similar experiences and to ask important questions during PD sessions.
• Changing work: our profession faces significant challenges, including high workloads, limited resources, and the need to balance client delivery against ākonga supervision. PD can provide solutions for field supervisors and practitioners to more effectively balance both (Hay et al., 2022). Using practitioner logs was found effective to help embed practice changes amongst STEM teachers via reflection (Glennie et al., 2017). This areas also encompasses policy change: where we see the world of work getting out of step with governmental policy, we need to advocate for our profession (Glennie et al., 2017).
• Innovation: the dynamic nature of the world of work requires practitioners to stay abreast of new research, methodologies, and sound practices. Seeking technology aids, ideas, practices and frameworks from fields outside our own can provide new applications for existing models. PD helps us to integrate new practice knowledge, encouraging innovation and improving client outcomes.
• Rules: our professional organisations (CDANZ and CATE) either mandate or encourage CPD. CDANZ uses a stick by auditing member PD logs every three years or so: CATE uses a carrot by organising member PD alongside with a lunch throughout the year. However, reflection should remain a key tool for ensuring that our practice benefits from the PD we undertake (read more here)
• Risk Management: PD plays a key role in maintaining practice standards, developing quality measures and keeping us awake to both clients and practitioner safety: collectively these assist us to navigate complex ethical and legal issues, manage risks, and effectively respond to challenges (Glennie et al., 2017; Hay et al., 2022).

We must remain competent, culturally responsive, and capable of providing high-quality and innovative services to the diverse populations we serve (Glennie et al., 2017; Hay et al., 2022). When we invest in ourselves via PD, our profession is better able to address current challenges, foster innovation, and uphold its commitment to social justice, decent work, and enable our workers to contribute to the knowledge-economy (Glennie et al., 2017).

All important. 

Sam

References:

Fenwick, T. (2009). Making to measure? Reconsidering assessment in professional continuing education. Studies in Continuing Education, 31(3), 229-244. https://doi.org/10.1080/01580370903271446

Glennie, E. J., Charles, K. J., & Rice, O. N. (2017). Teacher Logs: A Tool for Gaining a Comprehensive Understanding of Classroom Practices. Science Educator, 25(2), 88-96. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1132090.pdf

Hay, K., Chilvers, D., & Maidment, J. (2022). Chapter 13: Aotearoa New Zealand Field Education Practice. In R. Baikady, S. M. Sajid, V. Nadesan, M. R. Islam (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Field Work Education in Social Work (pp. 203-218). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032164946-17