ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on professional programmes of three to four years in duration following the concurrent model where periods of coursework at college or university are interchanged with practicum periods. The central point is that the theory-practice relationship in professional education is a complex challenge with several causes and several solutions. Classical models such as 'the application of theory' and 'the reflective practitioner' proposed one correct basic approach to the relationship between theory and practice in professional education. The concept of life-mode is a theoretical construct that is difficult to operationalise, so it does not make sense to try to conduct statistical analysis to demonstrate that students with a background of a certain life-mode tend to have a certain theory-practice preconception. The author illustrates the general point discussing two life-modes, wage earner and career bound individual and their approach to the theory-practice relationship in professional education and work.
