Undergraduate Co-ordinator
Information Studies
Curtin University of Technology
Perth, WA
Australia
Margaret Pember will be presenting on The Six Classic Attributes of a Profession: Does Recordkeeping Qualify? on Wednesday
Recognition of an occupation or field of endeavour as a profession is associated with higher status and higher rewards for practitioners, and can lead to greater interest in joining the profession. While professional associations for recordkeepers exist in many countries, membership of these associations is seldom required for practice in the field. Is recordkeeping, then, a profession? More precisely, to what extent can recordkeeping be considered a profession?
Six classic attributes of a profession were derived from the literature (trait theory):
Characteristics of the recordkeeping field were then mapped to these attributes. Data for the mapping process were collected from a content analysis of recordkeeping advertisements, from official documents available from recordkeeping professional bodies, and educators, and from surveys of recordkeeping employees, employers, recruitment consultants, educators and trainers, regulators, the professional bodies and the public, as well as relevant websites and the professional literature.
Recordkeeping does not yet meet satisfactorily, all these criteria for recognition as a profession. Although professional associations exist, and there is broad agreement on the knowledge and skills necessary for practice in the field and an emerging research agenda, the field remains divided with different associations representing records managers and archivists and with employers and practitioners recognising a clear distinction between operational and more professional levels of practice. Even at the higher levels of practice, the associations do not require a domain-specific university qualification for professional status.
The professional associations have a key role to play in raising the level of recordkeeping to that of a profession. Issues to resolve include differentiation between professional and non-professional members, the need for domain-specific education for professional membership, and the separation between records managers and archivists. The greatest challenge to further professionalisation of recordkeeping may well be resistance from the associations themselves.
