Taking a sociological approach that stresses the dynamic interaction between teachers and students, Brian Heraud, in his book Training for Uncertainty (originally published in 1981), explores the process by which students are prepared for a professional role.

At the heart of this process, he argues, there are numerous uncertainties, expressed primarily in terms of the often-polarised objectives of students and staff. He traces the development of social work education and goes on to analyse the disparate attitudes among staff, the way in which these influence the selection of students, and their manifestation in the subsequent conflict in role-playing and choice of role models experienced by those students. The final part of the book is devoted to showing how students overcome such conflicts and prepare themselves for the transition from education to profession. This volume will be of interest to students and researchers of sociology and social work.