Professional practice is embedded in complex dynamics of knowledge that are present within, but reach beyond, local work. Knowledge is generated from a manifold of sources, and further developed and circulated in professional communities as practitioners are confronted with non-routine problems. Drawing on the work of Karin Knorr Cetina and her…

Professionals' knowledge and decisions influence all facets of modern life. Some might argue that professionals' learning and work are not terribly different to other vocational practitioners. The authors are among those who accept, first, that professional practice is a particular domain of vocational learning and work, and second, that…

The paper discusses the challenges individualisation and detraditionalisation represent for professional learning and commitment. We point to the fact that integration via human bonds, face-to-face interaction and stable communities has become increasingly less effective in modern society, and to the need for professionals to establish modes of…