Professional education in physical therapy occurs as a social practice in a challenging and precondition-rich field of tension. In addition to structural problems in the health care system, there are, among other things, the very outdated regulations for professional licensing, the inconsistency of training modes throughout Germany, the lagging behind of European and worldwide standards for health care professional qualifications, deficiencies in the professional self-image of the practical training personnel and sustained political delays in decision-making. There is also a lack of differentiated and modern pedagogical-didactic concretizations in the occupational licensing regulations, which leads to very large differences in the practice of school-based and practical training.

The research project is dedicated to the question of how the social practice of vocational training in physiotherapy is represented from the perspective of different actors. It is based on the initially open approach of grounded theory methodology. A theory-building exploration of the hitherto little considered field is aimed at. Empirical data from explorative interviews with very different actors is brought into dialogue with theories of various sensitizing concepts of institutionalization, the integration of skills and knowledge, and the concept of biography.

In the core of the empirical work, both trainees and students in the field of physical therapy have their say, but also specialist and university graduates, specialist and university teachers, as well as practice supervisors, school directors, study program directors, senior physical therapists and instructors of continuing vocational education.  In the interweaving of the different perspectives, insights into the social practice of professional education in physical therapy are elaborated and implications are derived.

Processor: Maria Rilling