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Amateurism and professionalism in work and learning

Amateurism and professionalism in work and learning Purpose – This article aims to explore the concept of amateurism as a form of critique and addition to the concepts of professionalism, professional work and education. Design/methodology/approach – This is a theoretically driven article based upon a review of the historical and sociological literature on amateur–professional relations in various work contexts. Findings – While amateurism is usually conceived pejoratively, the notion of doing something “for the love of it”, even if one is not formally qualified, opens up the possibilities for conceiving new forms of work, worker and sets of working relationships based upon different conceptions of expertise. Drawing upon historical and contemporary studies of the contribution of amateurism to professional work, and exploring the role of digital technologies in enabling amateurs to contribute to forms of professional practice, the article explores some of the challenges posed for work and learning, and suggests some lines of research to be explored. Originality/value – There has been little to no consideration of amateurism as a positive contribution to considerations of professional work, nor exploration of the expertise and learning of amateurs. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Workplace Learning Emerald Publishing

Amateurism and professionalism in work and learning

Edwards, Richard
Journal of Workplace Learning , Volume 26 (6/7): 12 – Sep 8, 2014
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References (47)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1366-5626
DOI
10.1108/JWL-08-2013-0059
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – This article aims to explore the concept of amateurism as a form of critique and addition to the concepts of professionalism, professional work and education. Design/methodology/approach – This is a theoretically driven article based upon a review of the historical and sociological literature on amateur–professional relations in various work contexts. Findings – While amateurism is usually conceived pejoratively, the notion of doing something “for the love of it”, even if one is not formally qualified, opens up the possibilities for conceiving new forms of work, worker and sets of working relationships based upon different conceptions of expertise. Drawing upon historical and contemporary studies of the contribution of amateurism to professional work, and exploring the role of digital technologies in enabling amateurs to contribute to forms of professional practice, the article explores some of the challenges posed for work and learning, and suggests some lines of research to be explored. Originality/value – There has been little to no consideration of amateurism as a positive contribution to considerations of professional work, nor exploration of the expertise and learning of amateurs.

Journal

Journal of Workplace Learning – Emerald Publishing

Published: Sep 8, 2014

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