TY - JOUR AU - Haugen, Hilde Kjærnet AU - Haugli, Ketil Hegerstrøm PY - 2016/03/16 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Betydningen av ekstern praksis i tannteknikerstudiet: [The relevance of internships in the dental technology program] JF - Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training JA - NJVET VL - 6 IS - 1 SE - Peer-reviewed research articles DO - 10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.166176 UR - https://njvet.ep.liu.se/article/view/3215 SP - 76-97 AB - <p>Dental technology is a health profession that manufactures individualized dental prostheses. Production primarily takes place in privately run dental technology laboratories. The Bachelor’s degree program and professional identity link to a scientific and craftsmanship tradition. The program organizes a period of 16 weeks internships undertaken at external workplaces. To obtain internships is challenging, specifically because the companies receive no compensation for lost production while supervising the students. This also hampers requirements of formal competence for teaching guidance in the industry. In 2014 lecturers from the program conducted interviews at former training businesses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the profession relevance of external business practices in the study program, and how the supervisors in the companies perceived their training responsibilities. The results indicate that external practical internships give students a real life experience in a daily professional practice that can’t be imitated on the educational institution. Recruitment of potential labour is a clear motivating factor among dental companies for accepting student interns. The educational institute must continuously secure the relevance of the program, and the students’ prerequisites to utilize external practices. Some mutuality in cost-benefit perspective stimulates the professional field.</p> ER -