Public Professions & Professionalism ― A Routledge Research Handbook

Although there are a growing number of books on professions and professionalism, they are either thematically specialized, or limited to specific sectors. In this book, prominent international scholars explore and debate the critical themes and changing nature of public professionalism, and challenge the assumptions which have previously limited the analysis of the field.

Unlike existing work in the field, this unique collection brings diverse disciplinary perspectives together, connecting fields and networks across public administration, public management, and organizational sociology and goes beyond the traditional dichotomous perspectives, emphasizing the hybridization and reconfiguration of occupational/professional/organizational logics. Where traditional research approaches have tended to divide between the theoretical and the practical, either taking highly specific focus on single sectors, or abstract overviews which ignored practical application, this book strikes a new balance. Above all, it proposes future directions for both practical organizational issues and academic research.

By challenging mainstream assumptions and approaches, this comprehensive handbook provides a unique and significant assessment of public professional work, management and organization in contemporary society.

Mirko Noordegraaf is a full Professor of Public Management at the Utrecht School of Governance (USG), Utrecht University,NL. He studies public management and public professionalism, with particular emphasis on the hybridization and reconfiguration of professionalism in domains like health care, welfare, law, policing, and education. He is chair of the executive board of USG and chair of the research group Public governance and management within USG. He has published inter alia in Public Administration, Administration & Society, Organization Studies, Public Management Review.

Justin Waring is a Professor of Organizational Sociology at Nottingham University Business School. He focuses on public policy and management, sociology of professions and medical sociology, with particular emphasis on the renewal of public service organizations and the management of professional work, especially in health care settings. He has published inter alia in Social Science & Medicine, Public Administration Review, Health Policy, BMJ, Organization Studies, Public Administration, Health Policy.