文摘
The Bologna reform process has given the debate on the relationship between theory and practice in academic education a new twist and a renewed relevance. Often enough, an orientation towards more “practice-is demanded of the universities. However, the empirical data presented in this article shows that practice orientation is a vague concept and open to different interpretations. Based on a theoretical elaboration of five levels of practical orientation by Wildt (2007), who distinguishes between Qualification, Professionalism, Key skills, Employability and Citizenship, this paper shows the often only implicitly voiced definitions of the concept in media and communication by different stakeholders. Three quantitative and qualitative studies were combined to analyze the perspectives of first-year university students, alumni and potential employers. While all of them see practical orientation as relevant for a university education, the results suggest that first-year students use a narrower definition than the other groups. In their majority they expect a professional training that prepares them for specific positions in the job market. Alumni and employers put more emphasis on key skills and employability.