Taken for granted : what does 'professional experience' mean?

Over the years and across different fields of practice and countries, students learning their professions undertake a supervised period of time in that chosen profession. This experience is called clinical experience, professional experience, field placements, practice teaching or practicum, among others. But what do these names really mean and do they mean the same thing to all stakeholders (students, qualified professionals and university staff)? Eight teacher educators involved with the professional experience programs in early childhood, primary or secondary teacher education courses at three universities (University of Canberra, The University of Newcastle and University of Western Sydney) participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews, to explore their understanding of the meaning of professional experience. The results revealed three key understandings: professional experience as ‘immersion in community, ‘process of learning’ and ‘integration’. What also became clear in the research is that teacher educators are often caught up with urgent matters that must be given immediate attention versus engaging in the important matter of developing deep, philosophical and shared understanding with those in the field. We conclude by raising two key questions which need consideration in charting future directions for the field.