Interpreter-mediated Communication as Part of the Education of Public Sector Professionals in Norway

PhD project exploring to what degree interpreting is a part of the education of Norway’s future nurses, police officers and social workers.

To what degree is interpreting part of the curriculum for relevant bachelor programmes? What could be learned from their narratives about public sector interpreting?

To explore whether students are prepared for communication with non-Norwegian speakers they will encounter in their future careers, I investigated key welfare professions. The jumping-off point was seeing if interpreting was on the agenda at all. In most cases it was not. I went on to select bachelor programmes in nursing, social work and police work where learning material was present. I examined curricular texts, observed educational activities and interviewed students and educators.

Through critical analysis of learning material and other documents, reflective logs and transcriptions of learning activities and interviews, practitioner tales were developed. Three main narratives emerged about the interpreting profession. How are these narratives influencing public sector service providers in their professional encounters with multilingual citizens?

Maria Wattne’s publications (nva.sikt.no).

Supervisors