Jens-Christian Smeby

Disciplinary differences in university teaching

ABSTRACT Several studies indicate that there are differences between fields of learning which impact on both teaching and research. Data from a survey to all regular faculty members at Norwegian universities show significant field differences in the time spent on teaching and preparation, and in the distribution of time between different types of teaching and teaching levels. Some, but not all, of these differences may be due to genuine characteristics of disciplines.

Connecting to professional knowledge

Studies of students’ educational outcomes tend to be based on rather simple input–output models. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that more informed theoretical perspectives are appropriate to analyses of quantitative data on professional learning processes. It is suggested that ‘connection to knowledge’ and ‘wanting structure’ are appropriate concepts in this respect. Results from a study of college students show that their expected educational outcomes, in terms of specific knowledge, practical skills and reflexivity, when they enrol are positively related to their connection to the respective aspects of knowledge in the final term of study. The analysis also points out that students’ experiences of a lack of professional knowledge should not only be interpreted as displaying weaknesses in educational programmes, but that it could also indicate that they have developed a ‘wanting structure’, and that they have realised the need for continuous improvement of their professional knowledge.

Coherence and the development of professional knowledge and skills

It can be difficult for students to relate theoretical knowledge and practical skills when making the transition from the classroom to professional practice. The concept of coherence has been suggested as an appropriate way to address how the relationships involved (i.e. between theoretical knowledge and practical skills and between classroom teaching and professional practice) affect the development of professional knowledge and skills. Three types of coherence are addressed in this paper: (1) biographical coherence: pre-enrolment experience; (2) programme coherence: the extent to which the theoretical and practical parts of the curriculum are integrated in teaching and placement, respectively and (3) transitional coherence: the relationship between learning outcomes in education and the first few years as newly qualified professionals. Four professional groups are examined: primary school teachers, preschool teachers, nurses and social workers. Data are drawn from a longitudinal survey in which students answered a questionnaire at the end of their studies and at three years after graduation. Results indicate that all three types of coherence have a significant impact on students’ and newly qualified professionals’ outcomes in terms of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Moreover, programme coherence is an important factor not only in classroom teaching but also in placement.

National Quality Assessment Systems in the Nordic Countries: Developing a Balance Between External and Internal Needs?.

The article compares national quality assessment systems of higher education in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The intention is to study whether there is a balance between internal institutional and external societal needs in the design and organisation of quality assessment systems. The study shows that the systems are highly adjusted to each countrys specific governing strategy for higher education, and that these procedures so far have resulted in very incremental changes in the existing power structures of higher education.

Recontextualising professional knowledge – newly qualified nurses and physicians 1

This article examines the discrepancy between newly qualified nurses’ and physicians’ assessment of acquired knowledge in education and their assessment of the knowledge demands in occupational practice. Knowledge learned in educational institutions is traditionally conceived as general and decontextualised with great potential for transmission transcending different contexts and situations. The gaps between knowledge learned in higher education and knowledge demands in professional practice are, however, not merely a failure in the delivery of knowledge. It is argued that the concept of ‘boundary‐crossing’ is an appropriate way of reconceptualising the theory–practice gaps because it focuses on the challenges as well as constructive processes graduates face in their first years in professional work. The empirical material is based upon questionnaires handed in by students in their final semester 2001 and three years after graduation in 2004.

Contract arrangements in the Nordic countries—solving the efficiency/effectiveness dilemma?

Steering higher education through the establishment of a “contract” between the state and the individual higher education institution is becoming an increasingly popular way of regulating the relationship between the two actors in the Nordic countries. This article addresses some theoretical foundations for this approach derived from principal/agent theory and analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of established contract arrangements in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. The article discusses the potential of using such arrangements in relation to the efficiency/effectiveness dilemma. It is emphasized that trust is vital in solving this dilemma and that the balance between the need for public accountability, the efficient regulation of higher education, and institutional change must be given high priority in refining existing contractual arrangements.

Same-gender relationships in graduate supervision

A reviewing of the research literature revealsarguments that both support and contradict theassumption that female supervisors are important forsupporting academic careers of female graduatestudents. The present study supports the claims thatgender matters when supervisory relationships areestablished. Data from a survey among all regularfaculty members at Norwegian universities show thatthere is a significant same-gender tendency ingraduate supervisory relationships, and that thistendency is stronger among women than among men. Thetendency varies between fields of learning and betweendepartments with different proportions of femalefaculty members. The results are discussed in relationto different explanations of same-genderrelationships.

Professional training and knowledge sources

The aim of this chapter is to examine professional learning among novice professionals focusing on nurses and teachers. Our point of departure is that professional learning is not just a matter of individual motivation to learn or how occupational training and learning is organised and managed.

The significance of professional education

One of the key characteristics of professions is that they are based on a body of abstract codified knowledge obtained in some kind of university or university-like institution. While there are different and conflicting perspectives and definitions of professions and professionalism, this characteristic is not contested.

Professional Development and the Profession

Lifelong learning and ongoing professional development is part of being a professional. By completion of higher education a newly qualified teacher, engineer or nurse is certified for entering professional practice. Yet, they are not fully qualified for independent professional practice. Local practices in schools, industry and the health sector often require both contextualisation and recontextualisation of knowledge that was acquired in higher education. Another challenge is learning new skills, coming to terms with local work cultures and organisational structures, as well as customer, client or user relations. To what extent these requirements of learning and re-learning are recognised and valued, and how learning in the workplace is organised, varies across professions. Professional competence is grounded on theoretical knowledge which is general in nature, but in professional practice needs to be acted upon in professional contexts, under certain conditions and often in relation to unique individuals. The chapter explores what implications these aspects of professional expertise might have for the understanding of professional development and learning in the professions. Recognising the diversity of professions and the diversity of workplaces where professionals are employed we will focus on three diverse professions (teachers, nurses and engineers). What is the potential impact of the variation in the object or content of work (or the social context in which professionals work) and the valuing of and organisation of professional development?