"A New Normal Of Practical Education"?

Author(s):

Karin Hoejbjerg(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

02 SES 11, Literacy Practices and Practical Education

Paper Session

Time:

2013-09-12

17:15-18:45

Room:

A-101

Chair:

Trevor Van Louw

Contribution

A New Normal of Practical Education?

Creativity and innovation have become increasingly desirable competences in both public and private sectors in Europe. The ability of doing things in new ways never seen before is said to be the key competence to improve nations’ competitive positions at the global market. In Denmark the emphasis on innovation is not only a political heritage from the former liberal government. When the social democratic government took over in 2011 the focus on innovation got a central position in the government’s platform[1],[2].

Creativity and innovation has a special importance in the public sector. The Nordic countries’ images as welfare states are crucial to national identities and with the financial crisis the welfare professionals such as i.e.teachers, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and midwives are put under pressure to perform innovatively so that welfare can be offered for less money.

At the same time as creative and innovative forces are asked to be empowered, the steering logic of New Public Management dominates the public sector in Denmark (Moos 2004, Hjort 2004). It also counts the field of education. Within nurse education (here used as case) 25 different nursing schools have been placed in 7 larger University Colleges. The different curricula have been replaced by one unifying national curriculum ([Ministry of Education]Undervisningsministeriet 2008). Learning objectives have been standardized both within the theoretical and practical part of the education. Formulation of study plans (general and individual) are mandatory (ibid). Both the hospital- and educational logic is under influence of NPM and the professionals must to a certain extend integrate the logic in order to position oneself beneficially. If both theoretical and practical education is offered the learning potentials must be different. The question is what kind of teaching practices emerge under these conditions? And how are the chances to empower creative thinking and innovative solutions?

A study of teaching practices has been done on the practical part of nurse education (Højbjerg 2011). The idea was to examine teaching practices and the embedded knowledge. Furthermore to examine the dominant values, ideals and norms of practical education at University College where clinical teachers are educated^{^[3]}.

The theoretical frame work was mainly taken from Pierre Bourdieu and his theory of practice. The concepts of capital, habitus and field were used to construct the dominant ways of teaching. Andrew Abbotts system of professions and his concept of jurisdiction was used to focus on the boundaries between the nurses with clinical teacher’s formal education and the nurses without the formal education. The concepts of system of knowledge were used to analyze the knowledge brought into play in the teaching practices.

Method

Methods and design. Ethnographic field studies were conducted at two different hospital wards and at the University College where the local clinical education was offered. Initially two clinical teacher in spe (one from each ward) were observed while they had teaching functions but no formal education on days where they were together with a nurse student. The same clinical teachers in spe were followed when participating the same class at clinical teacher education. Finally I followed them when practicing after they had finalized the education as a clinical teacher. Furthermore two experienced clinical teachers were followed in each hospital ward. All in all I followed two “new” clinical teachers and two experienced clinical teachers at each of the two hospital wards in a period of around 8 months also including formal interviews with the clinical teachers, head clinical teachers, the charge nurse, the leader of the clinical education and the six students involved.

Expected Outcomes

Results. When practicing teaching the clinical teachers seem to enter into a tacit alliance between the abstract, theoretical knowledge and biomedical treatment knowledge. The practical situations were dominantly used as an opportunity to bring these types of knowledge into play. Both sorts of knowledge are the most prestigious within their respective fields but also suitable for systematics and structures as requested from the national curriculum. The more structured a teaching practice was planned and described (i.e. reflection sessions with the use of PBL in classes, “pedagogical days” with homework and theoretical preparation) the more clearly was the demarcation and marking of own jurisdiction, which could explain why these kinds of teaching seemed more attractive to the clinical teachers. However practical knowledge is characterized by being unclear, changeable, unpredictable, specific and personal. In other words the practical situations with the patients and collegues were a perfect space for performing creativity and innovation in the meaning “Creativity is the process of cultivating the good idea which afterwards can lead to utility–and then become the innovation” ([my translation],Tanggaard 2009:104). In this way the traditional knowledge hierarchy was reproduced, and the creative and innovative perspectives were blurred.

References

ABBOTT, A. 1988. The System of Professions. An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor, Chicago and London, The University of Chicago Press. ABBOTT, A. 2005a. Linked Ecologies: States and Universities as Environments for Professions [Online]. [Accessed 23:3]. ABBOTT, A. 2005b. Ecologies and Fields [Online]. Chicago University. [Accessed 19.4. 2011]. BOURDIEU, P. & P. J.C. Passeron. 2006. Reproduktionen, København, Hans Reitzels Forlag. BOURDIEU, P. 2002. Distinction - A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London, Routledge. BOURDIEU, P. & WACQUANT, L. J. D. 1996. Refleksiv sociologi, København, Hans Reitzels Forlag A/S. BRANTE, T. 2005. Staten og professionerne. In: ERIKSEN, T.R. og JØRGENSEN, A. M. (ed.) Professionsidentitet i forandring. København: Akademisk Forlag. BROADY, D. 1998a. Kapitalbegreppet som utbildningssociologiskt vertyg. Skeptronhäften / Skeptron Occational Papers, nr. 15. Uppsala, ILU Uppsala Universitet. CZIKZENTMIHALYI, M. Where is Creativity. I: Czikzentmihalyi, M.: Creativity. The Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. Harper Perennial. HJORT, K. 2005. Professionaliseringen i den offentlige sektor, Frederiksberg, Roskilde Universitetsforlag. HJORT, K. 2008. Moderniseringen af den offentlige sektor. Frederiksberg, Roskilde Universitetsforlag. MOOS, L. 2004. Relationsprofessioner - hvem er de? In: MOOS, L. et al. (ed.) Relationsprofessioner - lærere, pædagoger, sygeplejersker, sundhedsplejersker, socialrådgivere og mellemledere. København, Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitets Forlag. TANGGAARD, Lene ( 2008). Kreativitet skal læres. Når talent bliver til innovation. Aalborg Universitetsforlag. 1. http://www.stm.dk/publikationer/Et_Danmark_der_staar_sammen_11/Regeringsgrundlag_okt_2011.pdf 2. Governemental innovationstrategy, downloaded 24.1.13 from: http://fivu.dk/nyheder/temaer/2012/innovationsstrategi/vision 3.Education of Clinical teachers within the middle range health educations are offered by the University Colleges. The education equivalents 9 ECTS. The education is a post graduate education for nurses, midwives, radiographs, bioanalytics, occupational- and physiotherapists according to the executive order from Ministry of Education, Bekendtgørelse om uddannelse af kliniske vejledere til de mellemlange videregående

Author Information

Karin Hoejbjerg (presenting / submitting)

Aalborg University

Philosophy and Education

Copenhagen

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