From university to professional practice

students as journeymen between cultures of education and work

Madeleine Abrandt Dahlgren

Tone Dyrdal Solbrekke

Berit Karseth

Sofia Nyström

pp. 461-484

in: Stephen Billett, Christian Harteis, Hans Gruber (eds), International handbook of research in professional and practice-based learning, Berlin, Springer, 2014

Abstrakt

The overarching research problem addressed in this chapter is the relationship between professional/higher education and professional work. The chapter will discuss the relevance of university education for professional practice with a particular focus on professional identity formation and formation of professional responsibility. We discuss how different professional programs and their traditions and cultures shape different curricular structures that have an impact on students professional identity formation and transition to work. We will also discuss experiences with and learning of professional responsibility in the web of commitments within educational settings and how new multiple expectations emerge and lead to new learning experiences when entering work life. The argument of the chapter is based on the rationale and findings from an extensive international research program, conducted between 2001 and 2008.