Session Information
02 SES 07 B, Teachers & Trainers III: Self-Reflection
Paper Session
Contribution
In Finland, the reform of vocational education and training was implemented at the beginning of 2018. In education reforms, the role of teachers is essential, as they are the ones who change or maintain the practices of the educational institutions, and thus also influence the implementation of the reforms (Bridwell-Mitchell, 2015). The ongoing VET reform influences vocational teachers’ work but also brings new challenges for teachers’ competence.
The concept of competence is multidimensional and it has been viewed from many different perspectives (Mulder & Winterton, 2017). The diversity of definitions is derived from linguistic differences as well as fundamental cultural differences in approaches to skill formation (Winterton, 2009). In this study, the competence of a vocational teacher, in other words, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed in professional roles and situations, is analyzed based on the holistic model of Le Deist and Winterton (2005). This theoretical model consists of conceptual and operational competencies that are linked to either occupational or personal skills. Conceptual skills related to occupation are described as cognitive competence, which consists of, for example, professional knowledge and understanding. Occupational operational competence is defined as functional competence that manifests itself as psychomotoric practical skills and experience. Person-related operational competence is described as social competence that manifests itself as cooperation skills, values, and attitudes. Conceptual skills related to the personality are seen as meta-competence that includes learning to learn skills. The meta-competence differs from the other three dimensions since it facilitates the acquisition of the other competences (Le Deist & Winterton, 2005).
The VET reform emphasizes collaboration and interaction between learning environments. Working life co-operation takes place at various levels, from the system and administrative level to the actor and individual level (Gessler, 2017; Sappa & Aprea, 2014). In practice, each teacher and educational institution implements working life cooperation in their own ways. So far, some challenges have been identified in working life cooperation. The vocational teachers’ work is based on dual professionalism (Andersson & Köpsén, 2015) and the teachers have traditionally represented professional experience, after which they have become teachers (Filander & Jokinen, 2004). Teachers have a role as experts in VET institutions, but at the workplaces the role has to be renegotiated: since the position of an expert in the workplace is basically given to the workplace instructor and other representatives of working life, teachers are forced to cooperate with working life from the position of a non-expert with regard to professional practices (Isopahkala-Bouret, 2010). However, the role of the teacher is to contribute to the creation of a close relationship between the educational institution and the working life. The relationships between working life and VET institutions have been modelled by Guile and Griffiths (2001).
The purpose of the study is to deepen our understanding about vocational teachers’ professional competence on the boundaries between education and work, as well as to bring new insights for vocational institutions to develop teachers’ competence and working life cooperation. The following research questions are addressed in this study: (RQ1) how do vocational teachers describe the competencies needed at work, and (RQ2) how do vocational teachers experience cooperation with working life?
Method
The research data consists of 13 semi-structured interviews with vocational teachers who work with both apprenticeship training and school-based VET in the social and health services sector (n=5), construction work sector (n=4), and business sector (n=4). The sectors were selected as they are the three largest sectors in VET in Finland based on student intake numbers (Education Statistics Finland, 2018). In addition, the differences between learning environments in these fields were taken into account (Virtanen, Tynjälä, & Eteläpelto, 2014). The research interviews were conducted in 2017. To answer the first research question, following questions were asked: What kind of areas of expertise are included in the profession of a vocational teacher? How would you describe the characteristics and qualities of a person who would perform well in this field as a vocational teacher? How would you describe your own professional skills at the moment: What are your strengths? What skills should you learn? To answer the second research question, deeper perspectives were sought after with the following interview questions: What kind of interaction do you have with the workplace? How would you describe co-operation with workplaces and your experiences of cooperation? What kind of skills do you need when cooperating with workplaces? Recorded interviews were transcribed to written form and analyzed based on thematic analysis (Joffe & Yardley, 2004; Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013; Braun & Clarke, 2006). The NVivo programme was used to manage the data. In thematic analysis, attention is drawn to the qualitative characteristics of the data. What matters rather than the amount is that the interview reaches something important in relation to the research questions (Joffe & Yardley, 2004; Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013; Braun & Clarke, 2006). In relation to the RQ1, the themes were structured deductively based on the holistic competence model of Le Deist and Winterton (2005). In relation to the RQ2, the final naming of the themes and subcategories was inductive.
Expected Outcomes
Vocational teachers’ professional skills are based on cognitive, functional, social and meta-competences (see Le Deist & Winterton, 2005). Some aspects of the work of vocational teachers, such as guidance and working life collaboration, were described through the skills located in all of the four areas of competence. In this study, vocational teachers appeared as negotiators, developers, and learners in relation to working life, but also as coordinators of the needs of students and work communities. In some cases, teachers felt that they can influence the learning environment in the workplace. At the best, working life cooperation was described as development of the learning environment in the workplace. On the other hand, in some cases, teachers found it difficult to intervene in the learning environment at the workplace, even if some problems occurred. Some teachers thought that it was always the student who would suffer in case they would challenge the employer. When comparing the results of this study to the model of Guile and Griffiths (2001), it seems that vocational teachers’ experiences of cooperation with workplaces vary individually and in relation to each workplace.
References
Andersson, P., & Köpsén, S. (2015). Continuing professional development of vocational teachers: Participation in a Swedish national initiative. Empirical Research in Vocational Education and training, 7(7), 1–20. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 29(3), 77–101. Bridwell-Mitchell, E. N. (2015). Theorizing teacher agency and reform: How institutionalized practices change and persist. Sociology of Education, 88(2), 140–159. Education Statistics Finland. (2018). Vipunen database. Joint application to vocational education and secondary education. Student selection register maintained by the Finnish National Board of Education. Helsinki: The Finnish National Board of Education. Retrieved from https://vipunen.fi/fi-fi/_layouts/15/xlviewer.aspx?id=/fi- fi/Raportit/Ammatillisen%20koulutuksen%20ja%20lukiokoulutuksen%20yhteishaku%20- %20koulutusala.xlsb. Filander, K., & Jokinen, E. (2004). Tekemällä oppimisen kokeita – Ammattiopettajat työssäoppimisen kentillä. Toimintatutkimus Opetusalan koulutuskeskuksen (OPEKO) kehittämishankkeista. Loppuraportti. Tampere: Tampereen yliopistopaino. Gessler, M. (2017). The lack of collaboration between companies and schools in the German dual apprenticeship system: Historical background and recent data. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), 4(2), 164–195. Guile, D., & Griffiths, T. (2001). Learning through work experience. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 113–131. Isopahkala-Bouret, U. (2010). Vocational teachers between educational institutions and workplaces. European Educational Research Journal, 9(2), 220–231. Joffe, H., & Yardley, L. (2004). Content and thematic analysis. In D. F. Marks, & L. Yardley (Eds.), Research methods for clinical and health psychology (ss. 56–66). London: Sage Publications Ltd. Le Deist, F. D., & Winterton, J. (2005). What is competence? Human Resource Development International, 8(1), 27–46. Mulder, M., & Winterton, J. (2017). Introduction. In M. Mulder (Eds.), Competence-based vocational and professional education. Bridging the worlds of work and education (ss. 1–43). Switzerland: Springer. Sappa, V., & Aprea, C. (2014). Conceptions of connectivity: How Swiss teachers, trainers and apprentices perceive vocational learning and teaching across different learning sites. Vocations and Learning, 7(3), 263–287. Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T. (2013). Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing and Health Sciences, 15(3), 398– 405. Virtanen, A., Tynjälä, P., & Eteläpelto, A. (2014a). Factors promoting vocational students learning at work: Study on student experiences. Journal of Education and Work, 27(1), 43–70. Winterton, J. (2009). Competence across Europe: Highest common factor or lowest common denominator. Journal of Industrial Training, 33(8/9), 681–700.
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