Planning education and the field of practice: a Bourdieusian analysis

In the context of change and pressures to reconfigure formal planning education, the article draws on Bourdieu’s field theory to frame the experience of graduates in initial planning education in the UK. The research situates education in a contested professional context. The findings hold import for the profession given that relevant knowledge is expanding and core knowledge must be retained and instilled early, while training about specific policy or process can be maintained over a longer run. Greater integration and coordination of education and training must be developed if the profession is to maintain quality and integrity, as well as relevance.