Konservointityön professionalisaatio

Abstract

Tutkimus on ammattikuntaan kohdistuva tapaustutkimus, jossa tarkastellaan konservointialan kehittymistä ammatista professioksi. Tutkimus kohdistuu Suomen konservaattorien ammattikuntaan, jonka professionaalisen profiilin kartoitus muodostaa tutkimuksen empiirisen osan.

Konservaattorien ammattikunnan kehitystä tarkastellaan historiallisena ja yhteiskunnallisena prosessina nojautuen professioteoriaan. Tutkimuksessa sovelletaan uusweberiläistä professioteoreettista tutkimusta. Professionaalista profiilia tarkastellaan konservaattoreille keväällä ja kesällä 1998 tehdyn survey-tutkimuksen pohjalta.

Euroopassa moderni konservaattorin ammatti syntyi 1800-luvulla. Suomessa se muotoutui 1800- ja 1900-luvun vaihteessa kansallisuusaatteen siivittämänä. Ammatillinen murros kesti 1930-luvulta aina 1960-luvulle, jolloin konservaattorit järjestäytyivät ammattialajärjestöönsä. Professioon kuuluva korkeakouluopetus aloitettiin vasta vuonna 1994 Espoon-Vantaan ammmattikorkeakoulussa. Eurooppalaisella tasolla ammattikunnalla on teoriapääomaa ja eettiset koodit ja se pitää konservointia itsenäisenä tieteenalana, jolle on muotoutunut oma teoriansa. Suomessa ammattikunta ei kuitenkaan vielä ole saavuttanut professionaalista statusta.

Professioteoriaa hyödynnetään empiirisessä survey-tutkimuksessa, jolla kartoitetaan konservaattorien professionaalista profiilia. Konservaattorit edustavat museomaailmassa omaa erikoisosaamistaan suhteellisen autonomisin työtehtävin, mutta heillä ei ole professionaalin asemaa. Tutkimuksesta ilmenee, että ammattikunnan on panostettava laaja-alaisesti statuksensa kohottamiseen pyrkiessään professioksi ja saadakseen sille kuuluvan aseman.

The Professionalization of Conservation Trade

This research is a case study of conservation trade, investigating the development of the conservation work from a vocation to a profession. The subject of the research is the trade of conservators in Finland. A survey research on the profile of Finnish conservators establishes the empirical part of the research.

The development of conservation trade was studied as a historical and social process based on profession theory. The new Weberian view point on the theory was applied. It is based on the principle of social closing considering the historical and social context in the formation of a profession. The survey research on the professional profile was carried out during spring and summer 1998. The collected data contains responses from 99 conservators.

The purpose of this case study was to define the phenomen widely and from various aspects. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied. The qualitative analysis was applied when researching the professionalization of conservators. The empirical survey research and analysis were applied when studying the professionalization experienced by conservators themselves.

The modern conservation trade in Europe emerged in the eighteen hundreds. The formation of the trade in Finland dates back to the turn of the 20th century when it was supported by the idea of nationality. The period of vocational formation lasted from the 30s until the 60s. A turning point in the development was the establishment of an organisation for conservators. Education on a higher polytechnic level started as late as in the year 1994, at Espoo-Vantaa Polytechnic.

On the European scale the profession of conservators has its own theory capital, the code of ethics and it considers conservation science an independent discipline. The conservators in Finland do not yet have a professional status. There is no academic post-graduate education in this field, and there is a lack of research activities and tradition. Low esteem of conservators within the field of professions does not correspond to the status belonging to a profession.

Profession theory served as a useful tool in the operationalization of the phenomen for the empirical survey research on the professional profile of conservators. Although conservators possess a special knowledge and the expertise in the field of museum work, and they work relatively independently, they do not have the position of professionals. A conclusion from the results is that the conservator has to strive significantly to elevate the status of the trade, to bring it up to the professional level, and to gain a recognised position.