POWER, PROFESSIONALISM, AND COMMITMENT A Special Purpose Organization

Although traditional models of professionalism view professional and bureaucratic norms as incompatible, recent studies have found a direct relationship between the two sets of norms. This article reports on the results of research on the reactions of professionals to change in the distribution of power in an educational organization. Interviewed were members of three teacher training projects in which the traditional power and autonomy of professionals were considered inappropriate for innovation. Both amateurs and professionals who were highly committed to the organization supported greater sharing of power, suggesting that the relationship between pro-fessionalism, commitment, and attitudes toward power change in organizations is more complex than either the traditional or revised models of professionalism imply. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between professionalism, commitment to the organization, and attitudes toward the more equal distribution of power in an educational organization, CUNY (City University of New York) Triple T, one of whose goals was to reduce the formalization and hierarchical control frequently found in urban educational systems. The focus is on the reactions of professionals to change that would substantially reduce thei