Conference Agenda

Learning from errors is a central yet context-sensitive component of professional learning in practice-based phases of training. Trainee teachers, resident physicians, and trainee lawyers, are required to perform complex tasks under conditions of high responsibility (Gensch & Waltenberger, 2006; Referendariatskommission, 2025; Rothland & Walter, 2023). Errors are therefore a common feature of everyday work and training, often associated with substantial consequences. At the same time, research on workplace learning and error management emphasizes that errors can constitute important opportunities for learning when they are identified, reflected upon, and addressed constructively (Cannon & Edmondson, 2005; Hetzner et al., 2011).

This contribution examines learning from errors across professional training contexts using a cross-professional comparative perspective. Rather than employing comparison to describe differences between professional groups, the study conceptualizes comparison as an analytical strategy for examining how social and organizational learning conditions relate to error competence across different contextual configurations. The central research question is how feedback-seeking behavior toward supervisors and colleagues and psychological safety at supervisory and team levels are associated with error competence, and to what extent these relationships vary across professional training contexts.

The study focuses on three practice-based training contexts in Germany: teacher training in the preparatory service, postgraduate medical training during the first year of residency, and the legal clerkship. These contexts share key characteristics relevant to learning from errors, including workplace-based learning, close supervision, and high performance demands, while differing in institutional arrangements such as hierarchical structures, evaluation practices, and feedback cultures.

Conceptually, the study draws on research on informal workplace learning, psychological safety, and error orientation. Learning at work is understood as largely informal and socially embedded, relying on participation in work practices, interaction with others, and engagement with concrete work experiences (Stenström & Tynjälä, 2009). Feedback and reflection have been identified as central mechanisms of informal workplace learning, particularly in complex and evaluative contexts (Ellström, 2001).

Feedback-seeking behavior is conceptualized as a proactive and goal-oriented activity through which individuals monitor or inquire about information to reduce uncertainty, correct errors, and develop competence, while simultaneously considering potential social costs such as loss of face and interpersonal risk (Ashford & Cummings, 1983; Brown, 2014).

As engagement in such learning activities is shaped by interpersonal relations, the study draws on the concept of psychological safety, defined as a shared belief that speaking up, asking questions, and admitting mistakes is possible without fear of negative consequences (Edmondson, 1999). Prior research highlights the role of leadership behavior and everyday interactions in shaping perceived interpersonal risk and participation in learning-related activities (Nembhard & Edmondson, 2006).

From an error management perspective, orientations toward errors are linked to learning and adaptation in complex work environments (Frese & Keith, 2015). Research on error orientation conceptualizes dealing with errors as a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing cognitive, behavioral, and emotional aspects (Huish, 2011; Rybowiak et al., 1999). Building on this conceptualization, the present study operationalizes error-related competence using selected scales of the Error Orientation Questionnaire (EOQ) and examines how psychological safety and access to feedback are associated with error competence across professional training contexts.

Internal lateral mobility is a key feature of European labour markets, particularly in large organisations seeking to support reskilling, internal employability, and workforce adaptability in response to economic and technological change. While lateral job transitions are often framed as opportunities for growth, they entail substantial learning demands, as employees encounter unfamiliar work practices, social dynamics, and performance expectations without the formal onboarding typically associated with vertical transitions. Within European policy and organisational discourse, internal mobility is increasingly positioned as a mechanism for lifelong learning and sustainable employability, yet limited empirical attention has been given to how learning is actually supported during lateral transitions. This study focuses on the dynamics of learning in the absence of formal onboarding during internal lateral transfers.

The research examines informal learning during the year following an internal lateral job transition, with particular attention to how employees’ learning practices develop over time and how workplace affordances shape these practices. Situated in the domain of workplace and adult learning, the study responds to calls for process-oriented, empirically substantiated accounts of learning as it unfolds in everyday work activity.

Drawing on well-established European and international traditions in workplace learning research, the study is theoretically grounded in situated learning theory, which conceptualises learning as participation in social practice, and in the concept of workplace affordances, which highlights how organisational arrangements and social relations enable or constrain learning opportunities. From this perspective, learning during a lateral transition is understood as a negotiated process shaped by access to people, tasks, tools, and guidance, alongside employees’ agency in engaging with these opportunities.

The purpose of the study is to describe how informal learning practices emerge during internal lateral transitions and how peers and managers influence these practices through the provision of workplace affordances. The study addresses the following research questions:

1. Which informal learning practices do employees report using during the first year after an internal lateral job move, and how do these practices change across different phases of the transition?

1. How do managers and peers enable or constrain these learning practices through workplace affordances?

1. How do employees exercise agency in seeking, negotiating, and sustaining informal learning opportunities during the transition?

The paper draws on qualitative interview research with employees who have recently undertaken an internal lateral transfer within a large organisation. A qualitative panel design is employed, involving semi-structured interviews conducted at specified points during the first year following the move. Interviews focus on participants’ everyday work activities, challenges encountered, sources of support, and strategies for learning to perform in the new role. Supplementary interviews with managers provide additional perspectives on expectations, support practices, and learning conditions.

Data are analysed using an iterative coding process informed by constant comparison, with attention to learning practices and workplace affordances across different phases of the transition. The analysis focuses on identifying patterns of change in how learning is enacted and supported over time.

The study explores how informal learning during lateral transitions shifts from early reliance on social support and observation towards more selective, agentic, and context-specific practices embedded in everyday work. It highlights how work arrangements, access to colleagues, and managerial involvement shape learning trajectories, and how misalignments between role expectations and available affordances generate tensions in the learning process. By examining how employees negotiate participation, expectations, and responsibility over time, the study provides empirical insight into the relationship between learning and identity development during lateral moves and contributes to understandings of learning as participation in practice during organisational change.

Initial teacher education (ITE) is pivotal for preparing future teachers to navigate increasingly complex educational environments shaped by curriculum reforms, digital transformation, student diversity, and evolving professional expectations (Stevenson, 2023; Heinz, 2024; Darling-Hammond, 2017). Within this framework, the practicum constitutes a core component of teacher education, enabling situated learning, professional socialization, and the integration of theorethical knowledge with school-based practice (Scorţescu et al., 2024; Flores, 2018; Zeichner, 2010). Research has consistently highlighted the importance of supervision, mentoring and school-university partnerships in supporting student teachers’ learning and professional development (Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Goldshaft, 2024; Ambrosetti et al., 2017). Nevertheless, the perspectives of those who directly accompany student teachers in their practicum contexts, namely supervisors and cooperating teachers, remain underexplored (Clarke et al., 2014; Puroila et al., 2021; Shaker, 2023). Giving visibility to these professional voices is essential to understanding how practicum models operate in practice and how they may be strengthened in response to contemporary educational challenges (Russel & Russel, 2011; Bjørndal et al., 2024).

This study examines supervisors’ and cooperating teachers’ perceptions of student teachers’ practicum experiences in Portugal, focusing on three dimensions: perceived learning experiences, challenges faced during the practicum, and suggestions for improvement. By foregrounding these perspectives, the study seeks to contribute for a more empirically grounded understanding of teacher education processes and to inform reflective discussion on curriculum design, supervision practices and institutional collaboration. The study is part of a broader PhD research project entitled “Teacher Education in times of change and the role of the practicum in building professional knowledge: a mixed-methods study”, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and conducted in a Portuguese higher education institution. This project comprises a longitudinal study that follows six student teachers throughout their practicum year to examine the development of professional knowledge, competences and professional identity over time. This paper focuses specifically on the perspectives of the professionals who accompanied these students during their practicum.

A qualitative design was adopted, based on semi-structured interviews with five supervisors from the higher education institution and six cooperating teachers from placement schools. Participants supervised student teachers from different subjects’ areas, including History, Portuguese and Informatics. All participants provided informed consent. The interviews gathered biographical and professional information and explored participants’ views on students’ practicum experience, namely their preparation, the strengths and weaknesses, learning outcomes, challenges, and suggestions for practicum and ITE programme improvement. Data were analysed through qualitative content analysis, allowing the identification and organization of recurring themes across interviews and participant groups. For the purposes of this paper, analysis focused on three overarching dimensions: (i) learning experiences perceived by the supervisors and cooperating teachers; ii) challenges faced during the practicum; and (iii) suggestions for improvement.

By examining supervisors’ and cooperating teachers’ perspectives, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how practicum experiences are enacted and interpreted in practice, highlighting convergences and tensions between institutional structures and school realities. The findings aim to inform curriculum development and decision-making in ITE, particularly in contexts undergoing curricular restructuring and policy reform such as Portugal, providing insights applicable to European and other educational similar systems.Moreover, the study offers insights that contributes to international discussions on teacher education, regarding teacher professionalization, practicum organization, the role of supervision and mentoring, and the alignment between university-based education and professional practice. As a part of an ongoing longitudinal study, this study will be complemented by further analyses integrating additional data and participant perspectives. A more systematic and in-depth examination of the full dataset will enable a deeper understanding of how practicum experiences contribute to the development of professional knowledge, competences and professional identity over time.