The Bologna process and harmonisation of education in Europe for a common labour market raises the issue of the employability of teachers. While there is much research done about the transition from higher education to work life in other areas (c.f. Abrandt Dahlgren et al., 2006, 2007; Johansson et al., 2007; Johnston, 2003; Teichler, 1999a, 1999b) and about teacher education per se (Hammar Chiriac, 2007) there are still less studies done on teacher students’ transition to work-life, i.e., from being a student to being a teacher (Andersson, 2005; Paulin, 2006). Especially the relationship between teacher education, teachers’ learning and professional practice has been pointed out, as a much needed area of research (AERA 2005). Teacher education in Sweden has during the last decades gone through a process of academisation. Academic scholarship, deep subject knowledge as well as personal development and practical teaching skills are emphasised in the intended learning outcomes of the programme. In Sweden, 80-90 percent of the teachers start their professional work immediately after graduation. Between 10-15% leave the teacher profession within the first year of professional work (Skoleverket 2001 a, b). Research indicates that newly graduated teachers experience the encounter with work life as a theory-practice shock. Some of the studies have pointed to the importance of support and collaboration, as well as the importance of creating possibilities for reflection on own learning in order to make the transition from teacher education to work life easier (Munthe, 2003; Flores & Day, 2006). It can be discussed to what extent the graduates are prepared to work in faculty groups and to collaborate with several actors within and outside the school when entering the working life? Do the teacher education prepare students for the professional responsibility for managing the every day life in school? ? The aim of this paper is to assess how student teachers and new teachers, view their educational programme and the professional work as a teacher with special regard to responsibility, collaboration and learning.

Ten student teachers at the end of the last semester at a Swedish university and 10 newly graduated teachers, alumni from the same university, were randomly included in the study. Data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews that were tape-recorded, transcribed, and subjected to a phenomenographic analysis (Marton & Trigwell, 2000). The results in the student group varied from a vague and unarticulated view of the concepts, to a beginning understanding of their relevance for the teacher role. The results in the teacher group varied from a weak connection of the concepts to the teacher role, to a multi-dimensional understanding of the complexity and the relationship of the concepts to the professional work.

The results indicate that even if the concepts of responsibility, collaboration and learning are emphasised in the teacher education programme, the student teachers seems to have difficulties relating them to the coming work as a teacher. It seems, as the concepts are first contextualised to the teacher role when some experience of professional work is obtained. Furthermore, an interesting finding was that all the participants had difficulties in describing the meaning of the concepts, seemingly reflecting a lack of professional language. The project can contribute with knowledge on the relationship between teacher education, teachers’ learning and professional practice.