Kåre Heggen

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.

Social workers, teachers and nurses – from college to professional work

The article elaborates and discusses the relation between professional college programmes in social work, nursing and primary school teaching and professional work in institutions, hospitals and schools. Empirical data from bachelor students in the beginning (first year) and the end (third year) of their programmes and from candidates three years after finishing college are analysed. Data from the three different professions are compared. The discussion focuses on why academic knowledge is valued relatively low in some of the professions and why it seems to be a gap between what competence professional workers need in their practice and what they have acquired in their college education.

Nurses’ perceptions of patient participation in hemodialysis treatment

The aim of this study is to explore how nurses perceive patient participations of patients over 75 years old undergoing hemodialysis treatment in dialysis units, and of their next of kin. Ten nurses told stories about what happened in the dialysis units. These stories were analyzed with critical discourse analysis. Three discursive practices are found: (1) the nurses’ power and control; (2) sharing power with the patient; and (3) transferring power to the next of kin. The first and the predominant discursive practice can be explained with an ideology of paternalism, in which the nurses used biomedical explanations and the ethical principle of benefice to justify their actions. The second can be explained with an ideology of participation, in which the nurses used ethical narratives as a way to let the patients participate in the treatment. The third seemed to involve autonomous decision-making and the ethical principle of autonomy for the next of kin in the difficult end-of-life decisions.

Marginalisation: on the fringe of the periphery — Youth as a risky life stage?

In youth theory of the 90s, one frequently encounters the terms i~adi2~ieltialisation, risk, and reflexivity. More than in previous social systems, youth scenes in post-industrial societycan be characterised by terms such as dissolving traditions, diversity, individual solutions, uncertainty and risk. Roberts (1995) claims that while a railway journey might have been a suitable metaphor for youth in modern society, a drive in private

The next of kin of older people undergoing haemodialysis: a discursive perspective on perceptions of participation

AIM This paper is a report of a study conducted to explore how the family members of older people who will undergo haemodialysis treatment for the rest of their lives perceive participation. BACKGROUND The rights of families to participate in treatment and health care are supported by international law, and by national law in Norway since 1999. METHOD This study, which employed an explorative qualitative approach, was carried out in Norway in 2008. Data were derived from transcribed interviews with seven family members underwent critical discourse analysis. FINDINGS Three discourse practices about the next of kin perception of participation were found: (1) to care and take control, (2) to struggle for involvement, and (3) to be forgotten and powerless. The next of kin said that they had no dialogue with the healthcare team, and some fought to be included in the decision-making process. CONCLUSION The dominant part of the discourse as expressed by the next of kin seems to be a paternalistic ideology. Thus, finding ways to enable the next of kin to participate in the decision-making process seems to be a major challenge for the healthcare team in the dialysis units.

Negotiating Identities: Patterns of Self-presentations among Socially Integrated Cannabis Users

Our aim is to analyze how stories on drug use, present life situation and earlier experiences structure cannabis users’ self-presentations—as this is presented in interviews with young adults. The interviewees’ identity work takes place within a narrative terrain including both a restrictive, official story about drugs and a liberal, subcultural story about cannabis. We identify four dominant narratives about cannabis users: the burnt user, the irresponsible user, the responsible user and the cannabis prophet. Some of these stories put the narrator at greater risk of condemnation, and the analysis shows how the interviewees negotiate between the different stories. The ambiguous position of cannabis use makes it a rich, but also equivocal, resource for identity work. Attentiveness to the individual’s present situation is essential for understanding how individuals make sense of their past, as well as their expectations for the future.

Child welfare workers use of knowledge in their daily work

The debate continues on what constitutes core knowledge in professional work in child welfare and child protection. The aims of this article are to examine what different sources of knowledge social workers report to use in their daily work and to determine the importance of different knowledge sources in relation to their work experience, educational background and type of employment (caseworker/manager). Data were obtained from a survey completed by 390 social workers in municipal child welfare services in Western Norway. Social workers answered questions regarding their use of different knowledge sources in their daily work. The information they obtained in a particular case and their personal experiences were the most frequently used sources. Factor analysis revealed four subgroups of knowledge sources: The most frequently used were: (a) Colleagues and Supervision and (b) Personal Experience, followed by (c) Social Work Education, Courses and Municipal and State Documents, with (d) Journal Articles, Textbooks and External Sources being the least frequently used. The most important source for social workers with less work experience was Colleagues and Supervision, whereas the factor Journal Articles, Textbooks and External Sources was more often important for social workers with a master’s degree than for those without this level of education. Overall, social workers seem to rely mostly on personal experience and their colleagues as sources of knowledge in their work.

Contextualisation and learning: a comparative study of student teachers and student nurses

This article uses an activity–theoretical perspective on context to explore final-year student nurses’ and student teachers’ perceptions of learning in their professional programmes. We analyse focus group interviews about critical aspects of teaching and nursing preparation and articulate processes of learning within and across coursework and fieldwork training. The comparative analysis reveals particular differences between students’ perceptions whereas student nurses, especially in the final year of their programme, experience that both college teachers and practice supervisors help them to contextualise theoretical and practical forms of knowledge so as to enhance their learning, student teachers portray their four-year programme as largely disconnected from the school setting with significant negative learning effects. We discuss possible explanations for these differences and argue that situated approaches should be expanded to better explain and facilitate the process of meaningful learning and thinking.

New Policies, New Options: Learning from Changing Student Transitions at Two Ends of the World.

Abstract The transitions of young people into adult life in most Western nations have been significantly transformed as a result of the new economic and education policy settings. In both Norway and Australia these changes have been the subject of extensive analysis, and quite independently researchers from each nation have identified new patterns of student transitions that have much more than limited national significance. This article examines both the commonalities and the differences in the separate national research findings, pays particular attention to urban/rural differences and varying patterns of choice across different post-compulsory education settings, and draws conclusions about the broader implications for further educational research. The evidence suggests that if we are to make sense of the impact of change, our research will need to adopt a more critical approach to the outcomes of new policy frameworks, promote more detailed reappraisals of which structural factors continue to exert in...

Placement schools as professional learning communities in teacher education

Abstract This article investigates how schoolteachers’, school leaders’ and college teachers’ involvement affects placement schools as professional learning communities. Norwegian teacher education is used as a case. The first part builds on a survey among schoolteachers and mentors at 111 placement schools in Norway. It documents great variety in the level of engagement. Interviews with mentors, school leaders and college teachers reveal how cooperation between colleges and placement schools, as well as the school leaders’ commitment, influences the quality of placement. The school leaders’ role proves to be important in developing the schools as professional learning communities, and they seem to have a significant impact on the work of the mentors. The data also show that there is a need for a more substantial cooperation between college teachers and mentors about the student teachers’ professional development as well as a need for a more systematic integration of learning in the two learning contexts.