"Natürlich möchte man es auch gern im Lebenslauf stehen haben...": Bedeutungen des Praktikums für Studierende

Die Frage nach der Bedeutung von Praktika steht auch im Mittelpunkt des folgenden Beitrags. Auf der Basis von problemzentrierten Interviews mit Studierenden an unterschiedlichen Hochschultypen zu ihrem Studienverlauf wird gezeigt, aus welchen Motiven heraus sie Praktika absolvieren, wie sie Studium und Praktika miteinander verbinden, und welchen Wert sie diesen für ihren späteren Berufseinstieg zu messen. (HoF/Text übernommen). The curriculum reforms in the context of the Bologna Process aim at promoting students' employability. Regardless of the actual reflection in the curriculum, normative claims are made that define employability as a question of individual responsibility and effort. Internships are the cornerstone of students' strategies for improving their labour market opportunities. On the basis of problem-centred interviews with students from traditional and reform universities, this article analyses how students - the ones primarily affected by the reforms - qualify themselves for the labour market. A key finding is that the current call for "employability" only postulates what students have been practicing for a long time: they have made efforts to improve their employability on their own. Moreover, internships are not just related to qualification efforts, but are intertwined with a wide range of interests. This clearly points to the limits of efforts aimed at regulating students' practice of improving their employability. (HoF/text adopted).