Session Information
02 SES 06 B, Teachers & Trainers II: Perceptions & Reflections on Learning
Paper Session
Contribution
This presentation focuses on perceptions that educators have towards their professional roles when working with adult migrant students in Finnish vocational education. Analysis of interviews with educators in Finland reveal that VET educator profession is facing a period of significant change related to the effects of globalisation, particularly with respect to socio-demographic shift; re-shaped work and organisational cultures; and new knowledge and competence demands (Asikainen et al., 2010:3).
The overall aim of the study behind this presentation is to deepen understanding of the nature of educators’ work when engaging with cultural and linguistic dimensions of diversity. The study contributes to answering the following research questions:
- How do VET teachers in Finland perceive and understand their roles when working with adult migrant students?
- What types of competences do VET educators in Finland identify in order to effectively support adult migrant students in fulfilling their learning needs?
In the study diversity relates to the differing life and work experiences and histories of adult migrants, ethnicity, and language found in contemporary VET due to a variety of socio-political factors (Guo and Jamal 2011). This is resulting in a pressure for VET educators to adapt and change their traditional professional roles. Educators are increasingly expected to work effectively with students from different social and cultural backgrounds, who may have low levels of proficiency in first language of the environment.
Achieving quality outcomes in such a setting requires a specific set of educator competences. For example, in 2007, Pihkola (2007) observed that teachers need a much broader scope of skills than just basic individual expertise to manage in diverse settings. Keurulainen, Miettinen & Weissmann (2014), Paaso (2010) and Teräs (2007) describe further the broad set of skills that VET educators need to fulfil the emergent needs resulting from the context. In these authors’ views the contemporary VET teacher is no longer expected to be a field specialist who teaches and guides the study pathways of students. Now there is a shift towards broadening this role to include the ability to respond to students’ needs and welfare which may not be directly linked to the VET area of study.
The complexity of the contemporary VET teacher profession alongside dynamic changes observable in working life and societies at large require teachers to be adaptable and multi-skilled. In addition to knowledge of a vocational field, Finnish VET teachers benefit from having good interaction, social, communication, media, project management, entrepreneurship, and working life skills, as well as the ability to handle administrative tasks. The VET teacher may further benefit from approaching teaching and learning situations with enhanced skills usually attributed to social work and psychology, and the insights of a skilful coach, mentor, counsellor and supervisor (Keurulainen et al. 2014.) The situation in Finland is also being reported in other countries (Ümarik & Rekkor, 2013; Cort, 2010).
Recognizing the new dimensions in contemporary VET, teachers have requested more pedagogical expertise for working with culturally and linguistically diverse students (Keurulainen et al. 2014). In the spirit of lifelong learning, it can be said that in Finland, as clearly in other countries, the professional identity of VET educators is undergoing considerable change due partly to migration (Guo and Jamal 2011).
Teaching in VET programmes invites contradictory emotions among teachers. The work of VET educators is often described as being inspiring, multi-faceted; wide-ranging; and challenging at the same time. It is also reported as providing a possibility to development individually as an educational professional (Keurulainen et al. 2014, Kärkkäinen 2017).
Method
The study is based on 13 individual, semi-structured interviews with educators of one adult education institute in Finland (12 teachers from different vocational fields and the institute Director, who also had extended experience of working as a VET teacher). The group of interviewees was heterogeneous in terms of experience of teaching in different vocational fields, age, gender, and experience of working with migrant students. The group comprised experience of Social and Health Care (practical nursing), Cleaning Services, Hotel and Catering Services, Wood Processing, Audio-visual Communication, Business and Commerce, Safety and Security, and Construction. While some of the interviewees had experience of more than 20 years working with migrant students, others had far more limited experience. Most of the data (in the form of individual interviews) was collected during 2014. Two interviews were conducted during a piloting phase in 2012. Most of the interviews took place at the adult education institute. Data was analysed inductively, adhering to the principles of qualitative content analysis (Tuomi & Sarajärvi 2009, Schreier 2014). The data transcriptions were first analysed with respect to emergent patterns. One of these concerned the perception of VET teachers on how they engaged with dimensions of diversity, and their role in helping adult migrants with challenges and opportunities they faced. Further, parts of the transcriptions relating to reporting of teachers work roles were coded. The codes were reviewed and categorised (subsumed) into different categories and subcategories. The subcategories were further divided or combined if needed (Schreier 2014.) Analysis was completed with assistance of Atlas.ti.
Expected Outcomes
The data analysis enabled the identification of the roles through which the interviewees described their work as VET educators of adult migrant students. In addition to being responsible for teaching vocational content, teachers reported that they had other complementary roles due to the context. These included acting as a language teacher, cultural mediator, integration support person, study counsellor, collaborator, as well as an innovator and initiator of new pedagogical practices. The interviewees commonly asserted that their primary role was as a VET educator in a specific field. In addition, there was a view that issues relating to re-location and integration should be managed by those persons responsible for integration programmes, and Finnish language teaching, and not primarily the VET teacher. Some interviewees suggested that there was an assumption that adult migrant students in VET do not need specific forms of extra support and guidance related to their everyday lives in Finland. The reflection of other interviewees showed that it is often not possible to restrict their role as only a VET educator who teaches a specific subject in this situation. These individuals reflected on their role as teachers of adult migrants in relation to the broader social context. In this case, the VET teacher is viewed as a first contact person for migrants when they face difficulties with managing their everyday matters in Finland. In this position, these interviewees consider that they act as prototypical Finnish citizens who have a key role in facilitating adult migrant student understanding of their new socio-cultural context, language and communication. Another widely-held view by interviewees was the need for professional development through the introduction of innovative educational processes by which to provide optimal support for students who have moved into Finland from other countries.
References
Asikainen, T., Bertaux, P., Frigols Martin, M., Hughes, S., Marsh, D. & Mehisto, P. 2010. Talking the Future: CCN Foresight Think Tank report on Languages in Education, Jyväskylä. CCN. Cort, P. 2010. Synthesis of findings on CVET teachers and trainers. In S. Kirpal (Ed.), Changing roles and competences of VET teachers and trainers. Final Report / Vol. II: National summaries of interview results (pp. 55–58). Germany: University of Bremen. Guo, S. & Jamal, Z. 2011. Toward inclusive education. Embracing cultural diversity in lifelong learning. In S. Jackson (Ed.), Innovations in lifelong learning. Critical perspectives on diversity, participation and vocational learning. Routledge: London and New York. Keurulainen, H., Miettinen, M. & Weissmann, K. 2014. Ammatillinen opettaja liikkeessä - syitä ja seurauksia [Vocational teacher on the move – reasons and consequences]. In H. Jokinen, M. Taajamo & J. Välijärvi (Eds.) Pedagoginen asiantuntijuus liikkeessä ja muutoksessa - huomisen haasteita [Pedagogical expertise on the move and in the process of change – the challenges of tomorrow]. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, Finnish Institute for Educational Research, 25-36. Kärkkäinen, K. 2017. Learning, teaching and integration of adult migrants in Finland. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä. Paaso, A. 2010. Osaava ammatillinen opettaja 2020: tutkimus ammatillisen opettajan tulevaisuuden työnkuvasta [Competent vocational teacher 2020: A study on the job description of the future vocational teacher]. Rovaniemi: Lapin yliopisto. Acta Universitatis Lapponiensis 174. Pihkola, M. 2007. Opinpolulla monikulttuurisuuteen. Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu. Ammatillinen opettajakorkeakoulu. Teräs, M. 2007. Intercultural learning and hybridity in the culture laboratory. Helsinki: University of Helsinki, Department of Education. Tuomi, J. & Sarajärvi, A. 2009. Laadullinen tutkimus ja sisällönanalyysi [Qualitative research and content analysis]. (5th ed.) Helsinki: Tammi. Schreier, M. 2014. Qualitative content analysis. In U. Flick (Ed.) The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis. London: Sage, 170-183. Ümarik, M., & Rekkor, S. 2013. Diversification of students and professional roles of vocational teachers: Teachers’ individual approaches to negotiate work identities. In J. Mikk, M. Veisson, & P. Luik (Eds.), Change in teaching and Learning, 5 (pp. 9−26). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
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