1.Introduction
Vocational teachers play an important role in supporting their students to prepare for future careers (Andersson and Köpsén, 2018; Dymock and Tyler, 2018). To maintain in-service vocational teachers’ work-life competence and its integration in their school practice, work placement has been implemented in several countries, such as England, Sweden, France, and China, using different labels, like industry release and extended work placement. In our study, work placement is defined as a continuing professional development programme, in which vocational teachers improve their understanding of the industry world through authentic experience.
In China, work placement has been a mandatory programme for in-service vocational teachers since 2016 (Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2016). All vocational teachers are required to undertake work placement for at least one month annually. In the past years, the Chinese government, school leaders, and vocational teachers, in particular, have invested a lot in the process of work placement. However, the effect of work placement on teachers’ practice in school is still unclear. In this study, we aim to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of how vocational teachers’ learning experiences with work placement support their practice in school.
2.The effect of learning experience on teachers’ school practice
As the literature on the effect of work placement on vocational teachers’ practice in school is limited, in this section, general teachers’ changes in practice related to other kinds of learning experiences will be reviewed.
2.1Teachers’ changes in school practice
Previous research has mostly employed either teachers’ intended changes or actual changes in practice resulting from learning experiences, with an assumption that teachers’ intentions for practice align with their actual practice. Nevertheless, there is increasing evidence that inconsistencies often exist between teachers’ intended changes and their actual changes in practice. Bakkenes et al. (2010) argued that a possible explanation of this gap could be that for actualising behavioural changes, a longer time span is needed.
In addition, teachers’ changes in practice are related to a variety of forms. In the interconnected model of professional growth, Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002) approach forms of practice as ‘the domain of practice that is conceived as encompassing all forms of professional experimentation, rather than just classroom experimentation’ (p. 950). Still, most previous studies have concentrated on teachers’ classroom practice, while neglecting the other possible changes in practice within school.
2.2Factors facilitating or hindering teachers’ changes in practice
Although teachers might always expect that their learning experiences could support their practice in school, various factors have been examined, which may facilitate or hinder teachers in making use of their learning experiences. For example, Chaaban (2017) identified five barriers that prevented English teachers from implementing the issues learned from school-based support programs in their classrooms, such as time restraints and students’ limited language abilities.
To understand the factors influencing teachers to perform changes in practice, the conceptual framework of transfer of learning can be employed. Making changes in practice after learning experiences can be understood as transferring what teachers have learned to their school workplace. The factors affecting individuals’ transfer of learning have commonly been classified into three domains, including the learner characteristics, intervention design, and work environment (Blume et al., 2010; De Rijdt et al., 2013).
Based on the previous research, to obtain an in-depth understanding of vocational teachers’ professional development during work placement, we propose two research questions:
Q1. What are vocational teachers’ intended and actual changes in their school practice based on work placement?
Q2. What factors do vocational teachers perceive as facilitating or hindering for implementing their changes in school practice?