Umeå universitets logga

Based on four articles, this compilation thesis examines how professionalism is understood, taught, and assessed withinhigher education programmes preparing students for “people professions”. Focusing on medical, social work, and policeeducation, the study addresses a central challenge in professional education: the complexity and ambiguity surroundingwhat it means to act professionally, and how such capabilities can be meaningfully developed through educational practice.The thesis is grounded in the observation that professions such as the medical profession, social work, and police work arecharacterized by morally charged, relational work with significant societal responsibility. These professions operate within a“social contract” with society, requiring practitioners not only to possess specialized knowledge and skills but also todemonstrate ethical judgment, empathy, and situational sensitivity in complex and often unpredictable contexts.Consequently, higher education has increasingly emphasized the development of students’ professionalism alongsidedisciplinary knowledge. However, this emphasis introduces pedagogical challenges, as professionalism is a multifaceted andcontested concept that resists clear definition and standardized assessment.Adopting a practice-theoretical perspective, particularly the theory of practice architectures (TPA), the thesis conceptualizesteaching and assessment as socially situated practices shaped by cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-politicalarrangements. This framework enables an analysis of how educational practices both enable and constrain the developmentof professionalism. Empirically, the study is designed as a comparative multiple-case study across three educationalprogrammes. Data were collected through document analysis, interviews, observations, and stimulated recall. The analysisfocuses on three research questions: (1) what ideas of professionalism are expressed by actors within educational practices;(2) how teaching and assessment of professionalism are enacted; and (3) what arrangements condition these practices.The overall findings show that, despite differences in educational traditions, programme structures, and professionalmandates, there is a high degree of similarity in how professionalism is understood across the programmes studied.Professionalism is characterised by two interrelated dimensions: an interpersonal dimension, encompassing self-awareness,empathy, and relational competence; and a contextual dimension, involving role awareness, ethical responsibility, andsituational judgement. This conceptual plurality influences both teaching and assessment. Educational activities oftenemphasize reflection and simulation, aiming to bridge theoretical knowledge and practical judgment. At the same time, thestudy identifies tensions between teaching and assessment practices, where what is valued in teaching is not always what isformally assessed. Furthermore, the results highlight that teaching and assessing professionalism are resource-intensiveand highly dependent on contextual conditions, including institutional structures, time constraints, and disciplinarytraditions. The analysis demonstrates how these conditions shape what becomes possible in educational practice,sometimes limiting opportunities for deeper learning.The thesis contributes theoretically by advancing a practice-theoretical understanding of professional education and bydemonstrating the analytical value of TPA for studying teaching and assessment as intertwined practices. Empirically, itprovides comparative insights into how professionalism is enacted and negotiated across different professional fields.Practically, the findings highlight the need for greater alignment between curricular intentions, teaching activities, andassessment practices, as well as for increased cross-professional dialogue in the development of professional education.