Identity and placement learning

Student Accounts of the Transition Back to University Following a Placement Year

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4969017
AutoresTimothy Auburn (0000-0003-2682-9696, University of Plymouth, autor correspondente)
Ano2007
Volume32
Fascículo1
Páginas117-133
Data de publicação2007-02-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoStudies in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03075070601099515
OpenAlexW2057548331
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10
Referências citadas16

There has been an increasing emphasis on employability within the higher education curriculum. Supervised work experience, particularly in the form of a placement year, has been an established means of providing experiences which are intended to enhance employability. This study examines a relatively neglected but important aspect of supervised work experience, i.e. the return from the placement organisation to the final year of the degree programme. This transition was examined using a discourse analytic methodology. Recently graduated students (n = 9), whose principal programme of study was psychology, and who had undertaken a placement were interviewed. This interview data was analysed with the aim of identifying relevant linguistic repertoires which gave meaning to the experience of the return from placement. Two repertoires were identified: an 'acquired powers' repertoire and a 'two realms' repertoire. The first repertoire constructed the experience of placement learning in terms of a range of individual knowledge, skills or values acquired from the placement experience, and which were deployed in particular areas of the final year. The second repertoire constructed a separation between the academic and practical arenas, which was enforced by academic staff, who limited and controlled the opportunities for students to utilise their experiences of placement. These findings are discussed in terms of the shifting social identities of students, following a placement and alienated experiences of education, contingent on the subject positions occupied by students and academic staff. Acknowledgement I would like to thank Ann Ley for her original contribution to the project from which this article is drawn. I would also like to thank two anonymous referees for their very useful comments

Acknowledgement · Curriculum · Employability · Higher education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Repertoire · Sociology · Computer Science · Higher Education and Employability · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Innovative Education and Learning Practices · Psychology