ERIC Number: EJ1264791
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1559-0151
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Available Date: N/A
The Professionalization of Honors Education
Smith, Patricia Joanne
Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, v21 n1 p3-18 Spr-Sum 2020
Honors education in America has undergone a process that sociologist Theodore Caplow describes as professionalization. Caplow identifies four stages whereby a developing profession transitions to a professional association: organizing membership, changing the name of occupation from its previous status, developing a code of ethics, and after a period of political agitation, beginning a process by which to enforce occupational barriers. Each of these defined stages present new challenges to honors educators. This paper examines honors education in the context of specialization, considering both the origins and growth of honors education in the last century and contemporary discourse relating to certification and systematic program review. While controversy over certification has abated in recent years, Caplow's theory suggests that the issue is likely to resurface.
Descriptors: Honors Curriculum, Professional Recognition, Occupations, Specialization, Certification, Professional Associations, Educational History, Educational Change, Ethics
National Collegiate Honors Council. 1100 Neihardt Residence Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 540 North 16th Street, Lincoln, NE 68588. Tel: 402-472-9150; Fax: 402-472-9152; e-mail: nchc@unl.edu; Web site: http://nchchonors.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A