Clinical Coherence in Professional Education: Aligning Academic and Professional Norms in Teaching and Social Work

• In Event: Learning Communities

Abstract

Coherence is imperative for professional education frameworks. Yet achieving coherence in professional education curricula remains challenging. Research highlights the institutional forces in higher education and workplace settings that sustain this challenge, but their influence on coherence has been minimally examined. This study explores how institutional norms of workplace and university shape coherence in professional education curricula in teaching and social work. Based on qualitative methods with 56 professional educators, we found more coherent curricula in social work education than in teacher education and revealed that this divergence is the product of professional and academic norms. We offer a new conception of clinical coherence and discuss implications for academic promotion and budgeting in professional disciplines and for professional policy.

Authors

• Ayelet Becher, The Open University of Israel

• Lily Orland-Barak, University of Haifa