VET Again: Now as a VET Teacher

International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 2015

A new education program, Diploma of Vocational Pedagogy, has recently been implemented in Denmark to upskill vocational college teachers and improve didactics at VET colleges in general. Among many challenges, vocational college teachers have to adapt their pedagogy to a large number of students from backgrounds with no tradition for education. Despite historical changes, the education as vocational college teacher also struggles with the interplay between theory and practice in the program and great diversity among vocational college teachers. Based on empirical data from focus group interviews with students from the Diploma of Vocational Pedagogy program and concepts developed by Bernstein and Bourdieu, the article analyzes how these aspects might affect the development of new vocational didactics. We know that it is not easy to change the culture of educational institutions, and the analysis uncovers several factors that are expected to hamper the development processes.

2020

Both the Swedish and Finnish VET systems are school-based systems grounded on an educational system that formulates an integrative claim. No one should be disadvantaged because of a social background and an academic affiliation is guaranteed following a vocational school decision. In the current study from 2019, the personal goals and motivations of VET teachers to become teachers in both countries are considered and compared. In addition, Finnish and Swedish teachers were asked about the strengths and weaknesses of their VET systems and the objectives of vocational education. The cultural backgrounds of the countries that influence the education system as well as the economic structure and the history are described and considered in the analyses. It seems finally that the Finns are more critical with their VET system, while the Swedes are more satisfied overall, or at least they give fewer answers to the urgent need to improve key aspects of their VET system. In a further discussio...

Journal of Education and Work

Changes in working life require development in vocational education and training (VET) to retain industrial currency. VET teachers are key actors in VET, and their continuing professional development (CPD) in vocational subjects is central to the currency of VET. This study is situated in Sweden, with a mainly school-based VET system where VET teachers have the main responsibility for students' school-based and workplace learning, and they typically have a background in an initial occupation which they now teach their students. The study applies a situated learning perspective, with a particular focus on boundary processes between VET schools and working life, and how the modes of identification of engagement, imagination, and alignment are enacted and influence the identity formation and CPD of VET teachers. The findings are based on interviews with 30 Swedish VET teachers. The qualitative study shows how different forms of boundary encounter between VET teachers and working life, brokering of occupational knowledge, and reconstruction of occupational practices at schools provide opportunities for teachers' CPD and influencing vocational teaching. It is important for the quality of VET teachers' CPD to include and integrate the different modes of identification, to allow for updating of different aspects of the occupational identity.

2021

Very few comparisons on VET teacher education and their impact on the VET system exist (Barabasch & Fischer, 2019, p. 2). This paper aims to compare the main training and qualification pathways of teachers in VET schools in five European countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Germany, and Switzerland) according to pre-defined criteria, based on a previous study that compared two countries (Kaiser & Lindberg 2019). It wants to illustrate and contrast the main differences in VET teacher education (VET TE) at Universities and education isntitutions in these countries. The article shares first findings of the Erasmus project "VETteach", which animates the partners to share, compare, learn and disseminate their knowledge, experience and practice on academic VET teacher education.

Journal of Education and Human Development (New York), 2019

The aim of this paper is to present a historical and conceptual analysis of observations of a recent innovative approach to training of vocational education teachers in Norway. Since the 17th century, there has been a close link between industrialisation and vocational training in Norway. Consequently, there has been a similar relationship between vocational training (VT) and the training of vocational education teachers (VETs). The close relationship became more apparent during the collapse of Norway´s oil industry in 2015. An increasing number of technically skilled people with higher education lost their jobs. To avert the negative impact of the breakdown, the government requested University of Agder to develop a course designed to retrain unemployed technically skilled workers with higher education to become teachers at vocational schools. In this paper we present and discuss several aspects of the untraditional approach to vocational teacher training. A particular emphasis is given to the educational thoughts that gave birth to a new way of thinking about constructing and developing a transformative vocational teacher training program for untraditional target group. A brief historical account for development of VTCC in Norway is also presented to provide the readers some important information about the Norwegian context.

Facets and Aspects of Research on Vocational Education and Training at Stockholm University, 2019

2019

Vocational education in Finland and Sweden has many similarities, including the cultural values of Nordic welfare state action, school based system and VET teachers with a large experiences in work ...

2021

purpose: The paper discusses the tension between vocational and scientific knowledge, which often presents itself as a question of theory-practice transfer. The context of the study are VET programs in the initial teacher training in Tyrol, Austria. One dimension of the research question focuses on the students' perspective: How do they perceive and evaluate the different forms of knowledge? A second dimension concerns the integration of learning experiences into the process of professionalization. methods: Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, the paper analyses material from different sources (questionnaires, focus groups transcripts, observation protocols), in which a total of 21-29 students from three VET programs were consulted over a period of four years. findings: The findings display the students' expectations as well as their assessment of the relevance of theory. While the evaluation of scientific knowledge depends on the students (professional) back...

European Educational Research Journal

The age at which young people leave education for the labour market has increased in recent decades, and entering upper secondary education has become the norm. As a result, the diversity of the student population has increased, for instance in terms of students’ academic merits and achievements at school. Increased diversity seems to affect vocational education and training more than tracks preparing students for higher education, because entry into vocational education and training (VET) programmes is rarely selective. In this article we analyse a series of interviews with VET teachers regarding VET practices in upper secondary schools in Sweden and Iceland. We examine how policy plays out in practice in VET by looking at how VET teachers navigate the sometimes-conflicting educational goals of employability and civic engagement, while simultaneously teaching a highly diverse group of students. In both countries, pedagogic practices are dominated by individualisation with a focus o...

National Centre For Vocational Education Research, 2011

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) is an independent body responsible for collecting, managing and analysing, evaluating and communicating research and statistics about vocational education and training (VET). NCVER's inhouse research and evaluation program undertakes projects which are strategic to the VET sector. These projects are developed and conducted by the NCVER's research staff and are funded by NCVER. This research aims to improve policy and practice in the VET sector.