Placement as part of higher education

Many students in Britain, especially those training for the professions, do parts of their courses in the form of placements in the field. Most such placements are compulsory. During placements students are the joint concern of their tutors on the campus and their mentors in the field. The placements on the different courses seem dramatically different. For example, some placements are in primary schools, some in hospital wards, some in factory pharmacies and some in electrical power stations. This study shows, however, that despite such obvious differences in the placement settings, student feelings about placement can be remarkably similar. For staff whose courses include placement there are issues which they could usefully discuss in common.