Education for social responsibility: Preconditions in retrospect and in prospect

What are the purposes of professional education? One is to educate professi onals to honor their social responsibilities. However, education for social responsibility is impossible without important preconditions. Three storie s help identify them. They also provide an examining lens for the field. Th is lens is focused on the field's social organization as both a discipline and a profession; and, in turn, on the relationship between this social org anization and the orientations of university faculty, students, and practic ing professionals. Two of the most important preconditions are socially res ponsible faculty and field integrity. Socially responsible faculty act as s ocial trustee, civic professionals and perform academically based community scholarship. Unfortunately, these faculty are vanishing. The field has los t its integrity as faculty self-interest has driven the development of one kind of academic discipline. The field's integrity can be restored through reunification and transformation. The Academy can provide leadership.