Biographic, Program, and Transitional Coherence

• In Event: Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: Cross-National and Cross-Profession Analyses of Coherence in Educating for the Professions

Abstract

1. Objectives
It is a general trend that vocational education programs like social work, nursing, pre-school and primary school teaching have become more formalised and that school based teaching has increasingly been emphasised at the expense of more work based qualification models. The difficult relationships between theoretical knowledge and practical skills concern the very core of professional education (Sullivan 2005). This paper examines the extent to which biographic, program and transitional coherence impact students’ development of professional competencies in terms of theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

2. Theoretical Framework
It is suggested that the term coherence is an appropriate way to bring into focus the complexity of meaningful interrelationships between the heterogeneous body of professional knowledge and skills. Coherence is closely connected to meaning, but it should be emphasised that such connectedness also implies conflicts and tensions. Research has mainly been focused on programme coherence (Grossman et al. 2008). To understand the development of professional competence, however, a longitudinal approach is essential (Eraut 2010). Inspired by life history analysis (Olesen 2007) biographic coherence is included to capture the importance of pre-enrolment experience. Moreover, transitional coherence is included to explore the lifelong learning perspective focusing on the relationships between professional competences acquired during education and competencies developed at the workplace as newly qualified professionals.

3. Methods
In the analyses, social work, nursing, pre-school and primary school teaching students and newly qualified professionals are compared and a longitudinal perspective is emphasised. Data are analysed by means (Figures) and linear regression (OLS Tables).

4. Data Sources
Data are drawn from a longitudinal Database for Studies of Recruitment and Qualifications in the Professions in Norway (StudData). This database consists of survey-data from students newly enrolled in professional education, students at the end of their education (3rd year), as well as three and six years after graduation. The present paper is based on data from students in the end (Wave 2) of their studies as well as three years after graduation (Wave 3). The analyses include 1748 students from wave 1 (234 preschool teachers, 470 school teachers, 505 nurses and 539 social workers) and 1162 from wave 2 (130, 301, 388 and 343 respectively).

5. Scientific Significance
Our analyses confirm the importance of biographic, program as well as transitional coherence on the development of professional competencies. Drawing on the perspectives developed in The Carnegie Foundation’s study of professional education as well as the literature on coherence, the comparative and longitudinal perspective applied in this paper extends our understanding of the meaning of coherence. Moreover, the Norwegian context is a sound basis to explore these issues given the significant policy focus on research based knowledge as well as practical skills in professional education.

Authors

• Jens-Christian Smeby, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences

• Kaare Heggen, Volda University College