NATED track 4: Higher Education and Professional Learning

In this a central perspective concerns the way in which higher education as an institution is transformed in the context of the socio-economic and political dimensions of the knowledge economy and the efforts to build a “Europe of knowledge”. A related perspective is how these transformations influence teaching and learning processes in higher education institutions and the role of higher education institutions in organizing, producing, safeguarding and warranting knowledge and competencies. A third core perspective has to do with how professional learning is challenged and transformed as a consequence of emergent ways of producing, distributing and validating knowledge in today’s society.

The starting point for the activities offered by track 4 is that universities and colleges are still the main institutions through which accumulated knowledge on advanced levels is produced, and where the (initial) skills and competencies needed for the future labour force are transferred in teaching and learning processes. Further, learning in and for professional work is currently subject to changes which reflect the increasing complexity of society. While professionals previously operated in relatively stable communities whose practices were constituted by more or less established disciplines and routines, they are increasingly facing more dynamic and learning-intensive environments. These trends alter the relations between professional education and work and underline the importance of enhancing learning throughout the life span.

Joint PhD courses and workshops for all students connected to this track focus on state of the art theories, core concepts and perspectives on the institutional dynamics at all levels in higher education, as well as on contemporary conditions and challenges for learning in the professions.