The Professional Placement for Students: some theoretical considerations

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Abstract
Professional placements and sandwich courses are now a familiar feature of higher and further education in Britain. Approximately 8.0% of students in British universities now complete a placement as part of their degree course. To date, much of the research which has assessed and evaluated this curriculum development has been largely descriptive and atheoretical. This paper provides a more explicitly social psychological framework for examining the context, performance and satisfactions which students experience as a consequence of undertaking part of their degree courses in France and Germany. It should be noted, however, that the theoretical positions taken and conclusions drawn have relevance for the analysis of traditional placements in Britain. Particular attention is paid to psycho‐social transitional states, employment hierarchies and problem representation, and social and cultural skills learning.