Amid changes and uncertainties, the landscape of teaching and learning in VET is changing. VET teachers need to struggle to keep abreast of new pedagogical approaches, technology and vocational field realities (OECD, 2021). However, the emergence of new problems has not lost the old ones. It might be said that in addition to skills and knowledge VET teachers also are mediating the trends of the labour market and global world. Therefore, it is important to understand VET teachers’ understanding of the labour market, the global world and the way they try to widen the horizon of students.

In the changing context, the external determinants may be overemphasized or vice versa, these will remain ignored. However, despite the changing structures, the responsibility for individual professional activity (teaching and learning) is increasingly determined at the individual agency. The notion of agency is understood as a practice-based process of action and behaviour that individuals enact through influencing, making choices, and taking stances in their work (Eteläpelto, 2017, 186). However, the agency is not purely a matter of maintaining and reproducing behaviour, but rather active behaviour with transformative influences (ibid.), related to social relations and contextual factors (Billett, 2008). However, the agency is in a changing context, based on the individual capacity for recognizing and responding to trends and challenges. Moreover, one way to understand agency is to investigate differences between the present and previous state of individual practice (e.g. Eteläpelto, 2017). Since individual behaviour is related to the way how individuals make meaning of their context and wider environment, the agency should be viewed in relation to the individual’s mindset. Although the concept of the "global mindset" is traditionally applied to studies related to the institutional leaders or management, the concept is relevant for teachers who are the leaders. In addition, they play a role in shaping the student's perception of the world.

The conceptual framework applied in this paper comprises the concepts of agency, on the one hand, and mindset on the other. We understand agency as a practice-based and transformative action (Eteläpelto, 2017) and mindset as a view needed for strategic decisions. We implement the Global Leadership Mindset model developed by Davis, et al., 2008. According to the Global Leadership Mindset model (Davis, et al., 2008; Cseh, Davis, Khilji, 2013), there are three dimensions integrated by the learning/performance process: 1) orientation - which includes elements of awareness, openness and others; 2) knowledge - related to analysis, reasoning, thinking, perception; 3) behaviour - an enactment of orientation and knowledge, cope with changes.  

In the present study, we are focusing on VET teachers agency and behaviour in a challenging context, related to the perceived understanding of contextual and/or environmental circumstances. To support VET teachers’ workplace activities and learning, it is necessary to understand how VET teachers themselves perceive and reflect the challenging context, individual behaviour and motives to cope with intense demands and challenges.

The purpose of the paper is to enhance the understanding: 1) how VET teachers perceive changing context of the environment, labour and vocational education; 2) how VET teachers implement their agency to meet challenges  3) which motives are perceived as a major force for transforming own practice?

The research is based on narrative life history interviews, conducted with 22 vocational teachers. By nature, a narrative is a story, as while narrating an individual connects the past and present (Riessman, 2008) In addition narrative captures the contextual influences (Bold, 2012). Interviewees included builders, pottery workers, cooks, mechanics, electricians, woodworkers, etc. From a total of 22 interviewers, 9 interviewees were female, and 13 were male. Most of the interviewees (17) were older than 45, seven were turning 60 or older. In analysing the interviews we applied the thematic analysis approach. We identified key themes that were related to an individual’s reflection on changing circumstances. Then we identified parts that were related to an individual reflection on one's understanding of changing world and professional practice, awareness of one's responsive role; the way of behaviour (agentic, passive). Then we transformed selected thematic parts into codes and then, alongside discussion, we created the units and the content units into categories. Finally, we integrated the categories into themes and selected illustrative quotes. In doing so we were inspired by the Global Leadership Mindset model, proposed by Davis, Khilji, Cseh, Yarr and Abou-Zaki (2008). Thus, although we applied an inductive approach, the theoretical knowledge had a role in the discussion about units. We distinguished the following themes and categories: Orientation and openness to the world (awareness of one's role, openness to changes, awareness of student's situation); Knowledge about the changing circumstances (environment, unconventional families, immigrants, digitalization), Agentic behaviour (agentic, occasional, passive).

We assume that vocational teachers’ behaviour and individual agency are related to their orientation and knowledge of the context. Secondly, we suggest that VET teachers’ mindset reveals teachers’ attitude about VET teachers’ professional work, and professional self and gives some understanding of how they cope with changes. Our study shows that VET teachers are thinking about global issues and circumstances and that they share their views with students in different ways.

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