Using sociocultural views of learning to investigate the enculturation of students into the scientific community through work placements

Abstract: Cooperative education (co‐op) is a strategy of education that includes a requirement for successful completion of both formal classroom work and work placements in order to gain a qualification. The work placement immerses the student in relevant, productive work, and is seen as an integral part of the educational program. There is anecdotal and research data in the literature about the success of co‐op programs in securing career jobs for students. However, little theorizing and research about learning in placements has been published that could help us understand how undertaking work placements in science can assist students to make the transition into the scientific workplace. Sociocultural views of learning that depict learning as a mediated, situated and participatory activity within a socially and culturally determined community of practice provide a theoretical perspective for investigating the enculturation of science students into the science community through work placements. This pape...