Learning to collaborate: a study of nursing students’ experience of inter‐professional education at one UK university

Collaborative working has been part of official government policy for some time and whilst a great deal has been claimed about its benefits, in terms of better quality services and improved outcomes, it would seem that translating policy intentions into practice has hitherto proved a challenge. Moreover, evidence concerning the effectiveness of collaborative working in education, health and social care remains limited and thinly spread. One response to this dilemma has been to introduce shared learning opportunities through the incorporation of inter‐professional education (IPE) modules into the curriculum of professional training programmes. This paper presents the findings from a study to evaluate the experience of a cohort of students from a range of different nursing specialities, undertaking a collaborative working module as part of their professional training at one UK university. The module aimed to critically analyse the philosophy of collaborative working and to encourage role appreciation and the values of different nursing, health and social care cultures. The module used shared learning during lectures, small group work and presentations in order to promote collaborative working within the educational setting. Using a mixed method design, incorporating a pre‐ and post‐survey and semi‐structured interviews, it was found that students revealed a strong commitment to collaborative working despite awareness of the problems that frequently have to be overcome. The major barriers identified from the survey were professional tribalism along with status and power differentials. These themes were explored in greater depth during the interviews where the module was seen to have enabled students to develop greater confidence in applying their professional knowledge, alongside developing improved communication and teamwork skills. The study offers some fresh insights into the most effective way of training nurses for collaborative working and the importance of promoting critical models of collaborative practice.     

The Swiss Willensnation at risk: teachers in the cultural gap during the First World War

As a neutral and multilingual country, Switzerland struggled with major domestic political conflicts during the First World War due to the two cultures of the French-speaking and German-speaking parts of the country. The divided cultural loyalties (‘fossé moral’, ‘Röstigraben’), consisting of Swiss-Germans supporting Germany and Swiss-French supporting France, were discussed intensively in both of the main teachers’ journals in Switzerland. Teachers felt the need to react and to promote unity from the beginning of the war. Despite the fact that the cantons are responsible for public education and, therefore, for the education of their students, teachers considered themselves called to educate their students to be national citizens rather than to be members of a language group. This threefold citizenship – communal, cantonal and national – was not scrutinised, but national unity became crucial due to the critical political circumstances. How did teachers promote and constitute citizenship for themselves and for their students in a nation united by free will during the First World War, a time of severe internal political conflicts?     

Books in review

THROUGH NAVAJO EYES: AN EXPLORATION IN FILM COMMUNICATION AND ANTHROPOLOGY. By Sol Worth and John Adair. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972; pp. 286. $12.50.

VAGINAL POLITICS. By Ellen Frankfort. New York: Quandrangle Books, Inc., 1973; pp. 250. $6.95.

POWER AND INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS. By Wally D. Jacobson. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1972; pp. 190. (paper) $3.50.     

Library and Informatics Skills Competencies Statements from Major Health Professional Associations

Every major health profession now provides competency statements for preparing new members for their respective professions. These competency statements normally include expectations for training health professions students in library/informatics skills. For purposes of this article, searches were conducted using various sources to produce a comprehensive 32-page Compendium <https://repository.unm.edu/handle/1928/15363> that inventories library/informatics-related competency statements. This compendium should aid readers in integrating their library/informatics skills training into various health professions education curricula.     

The Unopened Door: Virtual Reference and the Caribbean Academic Library

The Internet is the research tool of first choice among today's library users. Libraries are responding by introducing a number of Internet-based reference services to meet the needs of these techno-literate users. Focusing on an academic library in the Caribbean, this article discusses the issues that privilege traditional over virtual reference and examines issues such as student information research skills, the physical format of the collection, levels of staffing, and the role of culture.     

Situated trajectories of learning in vocational training interactions

This paper investigates smaller-scale transitions that are part of the longer-term processes of subjective transformation and adaptation to new professional competencies for learners in the field of vocational education. On the conceptual level, it proposes to view transitions as intermediate states in situated trajectories of learning. The notion of trajectory aims to capture that (a) learning occurs through situated and highly contextualized micro activities and (b) that these activities occur within historical sequences of events, which come to form over time dynamic trajectories. The ingredients constitutive of a trajectory of learning are first defined. The notions presented are next applied to the empirical analysis of one sequence of learning, in which we show the transitions undergone by one object of knowledge as it is being taught to different apprentices in a workshop. On the theoretical plane, the paper thus proposes to view transitions as microdynamics of change. On the methodological plane, it contributes to identifying possible empirical sources and methodological frames to study micro-transitional phenomena.     

Stichwort: Transmigration und Bildung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Stichwort: Professionalisierung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The influence of context,timing, and duration of risk experiences for the passage from childhood to midadulthood

This study investigated the long-term effects of social disadvantage on academic achievement and on subsequent attainments in adulthood. The study drew on data collected for over 30,000 individuals born 12 years apart, following their development from birth to adulthood. The pathways that link social disadvantage to individual development across the life course were analyzed in a developmental-contextual systems model. The results showed that the influence of risk factors associated with socioeconomic disadvantage depended on the developmental stage of the individual, the experience of long-term or continuous disadvantage, and the overall sociohistorical context. Early risk had a moderate influence on the formation of individual competences. The greatest risk was associated with persisting and accumulating experiences of socioeconomic disadvantage throughout childhood and adolescence. Material conditions improved for the later-born cohort, yet pervasive social inequalities existed that affected outcomes during childhood and were consequently reflected in adult attainment.