Bringing professional responsibility back in

Research on how higher education institutions work with professional formation indicates that insufficient attention is currently paid to issues of professional responsibility and ethics. In the light of such findings, there is increasing concern about issues related to learning professional responsibility. This article concentrates on different meanings given to professional responsibility. Drawing on the idea of ‘social trustee professionalism’ and the recent rhetoric and practices of new public management, the concept of professional responsibility is deconstructed and discussed in light of the types of logic and implications generated by the use of the concepts of professional ‘responsibility’ and ‘accountability’. The analysis indicates that mechanisms of accountability seem to be ‘triumphing’ over responsibility in today’s governance systems. It is argued that we need to ‘bring professional responsibility back in’, to ensure that moral and societal responsibilities become the driving force for professionals while accounting systems support the overall purpose of professional work.