Introduction

The labour market and job descriptions are characterized by a manifold change and goes along with the changes of social as well as economic requirements (Georg 1993; Beck 2010). Coping with the increasing individualization and flexibility of one's own education biography is the task of pupils, so the importance of vocational orientation grows (Hurrelmann 2014; Sennett 2006). In this process, young people have access on personal and institutional guidance, which will help them, among other things, in terms of their knowledge of the labour market, as well as in the ability to reflect their own abilities. At the first passage, in the transition from general to vocational education, a decision by the young people is required by the education system for or against learning a profession, a further school attendance or the taking up of studies (Bührmann/Wiethoff 2013; Benner/John 2011)

Research subject

If this passage is not mastered by the pupils, many find themselves in the pre-vocational programs of the system named “Übergangssystem – transitional system” (Euler/Reemstma-Theis 2010). Regardless of the reasons that have hampered the beginning of vocational training, occupational orientation has a thematic focus in these programs. Within the vocational orientation, not only occupational contents such as the specific requirements of a professional field are relevant, also the social and personal competencies of the young people are decisive for the positive transition into the labor market. Furthermore, the activity of the transitional system will be further enhanced by studies and research, described how challenging e.g. the heterogeneous target group or the objectives of the educational measures for the teaching teachers are (Bylinski 2009; Hecker 2015; Dreer 2013). Within the VET teacher training for vocational schools at universities there is a discussion of this area, in addition to the fact that the frameworks for programs provide only a rough idea and, in the rarest, lesson plans. This raises questions about the way in which the teachers deal with the demands placed on them and the structure of the programs, as the objectives of the programs focus on the inclusion of disadvantaged young people in the labor market.

Research questions:

How do teachers at vocational schools meet the requirements within the pre-vocational programs of the transition system?

What specific requirements are placed on teachers in the pre-vocational programs of the transitional system?

What influence do these demands have on the work of the teachers?

In order to be able to answer the question comprehensively, a mixed methods procedure within the qualitative research is accelerated, which is carried out as a specialization design (Hug 2001). Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, existing theoretical assumptions can be examined and theories generated (Brüsemeister 2000). In the present research project, the qualitative research paradigm is dominant, the quantitative questionnaire survey is only used as a preliminary study for the interview procedure and thus is complementary to the actual research question (Mummenday/Grau 2014). The results of the first survey are included in the second and can be supplemented in the evaluation, analysis and interpretation. In order to relate the challenges/requirements in the professional literature to the reality of the teachers mentioned in the scientific literature, these should be collected and compared by the first survey. As a basis for the thematic structure of the questionnaire, the Berlin model according to Heimann, Otto and Schulz is used. This is due to the fact that the condition and decision fields, which are considered in didactic processes, can be transferred to contents as well as framework conditions of the research field and are also familiar to the target group of the teachers (Euler/Hahn 2007). In the second step, the method of semi-structured expert interviews is used. The preparation of the guideline is based on the one hand on the theoretical basics, on the other hand, the results of the questionnaire survey are included in order to inquire more details. Another added value of the upstream questionnaire survey and the mixed method research design applied is the possible limitation of the guide to the challenges and content within the career orientation. Thus, results that are of particular importance can be included in the interviews. Furthermore, it is possible to classify the results of the interviews or the statements obtained in parts into the overall context with regard to the general statements from the questionnaire survey (Kruse 2014; Friebertshäuser et al. 2013). Here, the experiential knowledge of respondents, their routines of action can be ascertained in everyday life, and one speaks of "practical expert knowledge" (Meuser/Nagel 2013). As an evaluation method, the qualitative content analysis according to Mayring is used, since this is a primarily communication science technique (Hussy et al. 2010), and a content-analytical approach is recommended for the evaluation of guideline interviews, to which the expert interview can be counted.

The results of the first survey will make it possible to reconcile the requirements that are considered relevant in theory with the actual requirements actually met in practice. In addition to the content generated by the questionnaire, a theoretical sampling for the second survey of expert interviews is derived by collecting the sociodemographic data. So not all respondents need to be interviewed again, but it is possible from the small group to close the whole. Obtaining an overview of the job-oriented content in the programs of the transitional system is another expected result, as well as the action strategies and professionalization paths of the teachers involved. It is also possible to derive recommendations for the curricular structure of the programs as well as those for training and further education of teachers at vocational schools. A special focus will be on the inclusion of disadvantaged young people, which possibilities and methods are there to introduce the target group to the labor market and to integrate them into it. Since the above-mentioned courses have been taking place at vocational schools for some time, subject to constant change due to eg target group or education policy framing and the scientific literature already presents various challenges and aspects within the vocational orientation, the aim is to present the actual state of the vocational schools.

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