Practice based education is an integral part of enabling trainee speech and language therapists (SLTs) to become competent and confident professionals (RCSLT 2006). Traditionally this has been achieved through a partnership between experienced SLTs as clinical educators working in typical clinical settings and university tutors. There are increasing signs of tensions in providing high quality and innovative clinical education for SLTs throughout the profession both in the UK and internationally (McAllister 2005). Whilst there are clearly agreed competencies and skills expected of trainees during practice education we have limited knowledge of trainees’ perception of responsibilities and expectation of learning during practice education placements (Sheepway 2011). Further little is known about whether trainee expectations align with those of clinical educators and university tutors. Exploring participants’ understanding of the critical features that contribute to learning in practice placements could provide a valuable foundation for developing innovative approaches to practice development.
