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The focal point of this conceptual paper will be students' implicit criteria for their evaluations of semi-professional education. The issue will provide a basis for discussion of empirical data (from Norway) at a later stage in a project in progress. To some extent, the evaluations from students in a given program will be a function of their experiences in practice periods during the program, and/or experiences from working in relevant institutions before entering the program.An important perspective for their evaluations will be their understanding of the character of the work and the workplace (cf, e g, Fessler and Christensen 1992; Johnson 1990)- number and characteristics of clients in the work setting - structure and characteristics of collegial relations - position in institutional hierarchy. The main traits of these characteristics can be outlined as followsNurses could be labelled middle-level care-takers working close to colleagues in a hierarchy, relating to singular clients with relatively serious problems. (Cf Bjerknes 2004.)Pre-school teachers are often in charge of a section of a pre-school, they are middle-level pedagogical administrators in a somewhat egalitarian structure, relating to groups of very young clients most of whom do not cause serious problems in the interaction with the professional. (Cf Bergsvik et al 2004.)Teachers can be seen as lower level pedagogues in a somewhat egalitarian structure working in varying degrees of collegiality, with groups of clients who increasingly (with age) may cause problems in the interactions with the professional. Similarly, the basic perspective that students may take with regard to their theoretical subjects will vary. Nurses are to a great extent given courses in subjects they have not studied in school, and may consider many of these subjects as instruments or as an important important background for functioning as a nurse. Pre-school teachers and teachers will mainly be given courses in subjects they have studied in school, except for educational theory, which they may see as an instrument for future activities as a teacher. Also, method courses, which in Norwegian teacher education are in principle integrated into subject courses, will be seen as instruments in this regard. Riksaasen (1998:178) has suggested that these two forms of teacher education will vary with regard to classification and framing, with teacher education offering a program that is seen as strong along these dimensions, and preschool teacher education seen as weak. The former is labelled a visible pedagogy, the latter an invisible pedagogy. This may imply that also the degree of integration of methods components in school subjects will vary, with prospective teachers being offered academic subjects with some practical components added (but to a varying degree), whereas prospective pre-school teachers being offered more integrated training in subjects.The interaction of these perspectives will imply that the three groups, namely - middle level care-takers provided with a somewhat instrumental education in fields they knew little about from school - middle level administrators provided with a somewhat integrated education in fields they had studied in schools - lower-level pedagogues provided with a somewhat academic education, also in fields they had studied in schools may differ in their evaluations of their education.Increasingly, in their first years in regular jobs, evaluations will be influenced by the demands of the situation- nurses deal with issues that may imply life or death for their clients, in close interaction with colleagues - pre-school teachers deal with clients with limited problems, and are often in charge of a group of colleagues - teachers deal with clients that may cause problems, at times as members of teams, often on their own.The paper is based on review of literature; only some references are included here This kind of reasoning can be utilized in both the daily work of institutions of teacher education and other fields, in more systematic reform efforts in these institutions, and in induction efforts. With regard to induction activities, pilot projects for new teachers were established at two institutions (Bjerkholt 2002; Stålsett 2002), and are now being implemented on a larger scale. This reflects similar developments in Europe (Tickle 2000, Eurydice 2002; O'Brien el al 2003, Lindgren 2003). The discussions of the structure of the workplace, and the character of the students' perspectives and experiences during training, may be of more general interest: Even though structures and programs will differ between countries, trends in evaluations of programs in the same field may reflect problems of similar kinds, possibly related to the structure of the work and the workplace, and traditions in training of semi-professions, whose basic traits may not vary much across borders. Bergsvik, E, Grimsæth, G & Nordvik, G ( 2004): I hvor stor grad reflekterer lærerutdanningene den praktiske hverdagen nyutdannede lærere møter? (To which degree does teacher educations reflect the every-day practical work that new teachers meet?) Paper presented at the 32nd Congress of the Nordic Educational Research Association, Reykjavik, Iceland, March 2004. Bjerkholt, E (2002): Veiledning av nyutdanna allmennlærere 1998-2001. Sluttrapport 2002. (Mentoring of new teachers for compulsory school. Final report 2002.) Notodden, Norway: Høgskolen i Telemark. Bjerknes, M S (2004): Newly graduated nurses' entry into nursing - how nurses deal with expectations of their professional role. Paper presented at the 32nd Congress of the Nordic Educational Research Association, Reykjavik, Iceland, March 2004. Eurydice European Unit (2002): Key topics in education in Europe, vol 3: The teaching profession in Europe: Profile, trends and concerns, Report 1: Initial training and transition to working life, general lower secondary education. Brussels: Eurydice European Unit. (ISBN 2-87116-341-3). Fessler, R & Christensen J C (eds) (1992) The teacher career cycle: Understanding and guiding the professional development of teachers. Needham Heights, Mass: Allyn & Bacon. Johnson, S M (1990): Teachers at work. New York: Basic Books. Lindgren U (Ed) (2003): Mentoring for learning and development. Umeå, Sweden: Umeå University, Dept of Swedish and Social Sciences, Teacher Education, Didactica Umensis no 5. O'Brien, J, Draper, J & Christie, F (Moray House School of Education, Univ of Edinburgh) (2003): Confirming competence or early CPD? The new induction arrangements for Scottish teacher. Paper presented at ECER 2003. Riksaasen, R. (1998): Visible and invisible pedagogies in teacher education. NTNU (Univ of Trondheim), Dept of Sociology and Political Science, doctoral dissertation. Stålsett, U (2002): Pilotprosjektet oppfølging av nyutdannede lærere. (The pilot project mentoring of new teachers.) Oslo: Høgskolen i Oslo. Tickle, L (2000): Teacher induction. The way ahead. Buckingham/Philadelphia: Open University Press.national journal
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