ABSTRACT
The study of professional activity has long existed as a field of enquiry, particularly among sociologists. Before World War II, the emphasis was on the ennobling aspects of the professions, and especially their ethical values and their altruistic traditions. The way in which it relates to other writings on the professions and on professional education can best be explained in terms of the metaphor of an island, part of a small archipelago, sandwiched between two land masses. The largest land mass contains two related sets of inhabitants, focused on discussions of the professions in general and accounts of individual professions in particular. The second land mass houses two loosely connected groups, one dealing with the provision of continuing professional education and the other with studies of learning processes among professional practitioners. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
