ABSTRACT
Being ‘professional’ when engaging with placement opportunities can be challenging as it often depends on a variety of factors such as student confidence, the ability to be assertive, clarification of expectations and support from the setting. Additionally, the motivations, experience, and aptitudes of individual students also contribute to expectations and ideas about professionalism. This chapter explores aspects of professionalism, alongside ideas related to being professional, noting the contradictions in expectations and understandings between students and practitioners. It uses the concept of ‘Communities of Practice’ to frame some of the tensions experienced by undergraduate students.
