In the Netherlands, and also in other European countries, there is a growing trend to merge vocational and secondary (teacher)education, including those for vocational and general secondary education teachers (e.g. Graus, 2024; Inspectie van het Onderwijs, 2025; Novotný, 2025). This consolidation risks producing “one-size-fits-all” generic  education that may neglect the specificity of individual occupations (Novotný, 2025). We can also see this one-size-fits all trend in vocational teacher training programs (Inspectie van het Onderwijs, 2025) 

Scholarly work in vocational education underscores why this risk is particularly acute in the VET context: Klatter and Van der Klink (2021) argue that in vocational education the occupational context is crucial and that this demands a distinct, occupation-oriented didactic approach rather than a generic pedagogy. 

The core research question for this sub-study is: What do we gain or lose when occupational context disappears from a teacher-education track? 

The objective is to provide insight into how the disappearance of profession-specific context in teacher education impacts vocational teachers’ professional identity, professional preparation, and to articulate a viable alternative in the form of a context-driven teacher education design. 

We ground our conceptual framework in the notion of “signature pedagogy” (Lucas et al. 2012) which posits that each profession has its own traditions in ways of thinking, knowing, doing, and being shaped by the profession’s knowledge base, values, norms and practices.  

Furthermore, we draw on literature on vocational teacher education and VET teacher induction, in which it is argued that initial teacher education (ITE) for VET teachers should not only impart generic pedagogical skills, but also has to integrate occupational expertise, inclusive pedagogies and responsiveness to changing occupational demands (e.g., digitalization, sustainability) for long-term teacher retention and relevance (Psifidou, 2025).  
In essence, this is about developing a professional identity: which encompasses factors such as views, attitudes, norms, and values (Beijaard et al., 2004; Schaap et al., 2009). 

In vocational education, this identity formation can be characterized as a process of belonging-becoming-being (Koopmans et al., 2025). This process takes place through participation in the professional culture, by building up a repertoire of professional actions, and by developing professional knowledge. According to Koopmans et al. (2025), it is essential that future craftspeople have role models around them who know this process from the inside. Generically trained teachers and teacher trainers cannot be adequate role models. 

By combining these perspectives: signature pedagogy, professional identity formation, and VET-specific ITE needs, we situate our project within both educational theory and vocational education policy. Given the dynamic and transnational nature of labor markets, this has clear European relevance: a generic, merged teacher–education system risks undermining the alignment between VET teaching and occupational needs across different (inter)national and regional contexts. Designing context-driven ITE programs may better serve Europe’s VET policies around skills shortages, labor mobility and quality assurance. And may also contribute to the job satisfaction of subject teachers. 

To situate this sub-study within the larger research agenda, it is important to note that the question explored here forms part of a broader inquiry: the design of an occupational-context-driven teacher training trajectory. While this particular study examines what is gained and lost when occupational context is removed from teacher education, the overarching aim of the full project is to conceptualize, develop, and critically evaluate an integrated teacher-training model that preserves occupational context as its core pedagogical driver. These framing underscores both the theoretical and practical relevance of our work and points toward future phases of research and design. 

This study uses a qualitative research design. Specifically, we conduct semi-structured interviews with different stakeholder groups: Experienced VET teachers who originally come from the occupational field (e.g., technicians, process operators). Professionals who retrained or converted from a vocational occupation into a teaching role (“second-career teachers”). Teacher-education program staff and didactic experts involved in designing or delivering teacher training. Representatives from the occupational fields (industry professionals, employers, sector associations) who act as “critical friends” during curriculum and program design. The interviews explore participants’ experiences and perceptions regarding professional identity before and after teacher training; perceived relevance of their occupational background in teaching; experiences teaching with generic vs. occupational-context pedagogies; motivations for entering and staying in VET teaching; and perceptions about the value of embedding occupational context in teacher education. The interviews will be analyzed deductively, using codes for professional identity, professional repertoire, and professional knowledge, based on Koopmans et al. (2025). These codes will be refined with subcodes, if necessary, during the analysis process. The coding will be conducted by two researchers independently, after which inter-coder reliability can be determined. The results of these interviews are available during the conference. The insights into what it means when the professional context disappears from a teacher training program and form the basis for the ignite talk, in which we will explore further together what we are losing or gaining with the disappearance of the professional context.

Using a deductive analysis framed by the codes professional identity, professional repertoire, and professional knowledge (Koopmans et al., 2025), our initial findings suggest that the integration of occupational context in VET initial teacher education (ITE) fundamentally shapes how vocational teachers understand and enact their professional roles. When ITE is based on general pedagogical methods that are detached from the professional context, participants consistently describe a weaker professional identity, characterized by a reduced connection to their professional field and uncertainty about their role as vocational education teachers. In these programs, teachers report a limited professional repertoire, relying on abstract instructional strategies that feel misaligned with the practical demands and values of their trade. Moreover, their professional knowledge tends to emphasize general teaching concepts over occupation-specific know-how, resulting in a gap between what is taught and what is valued in workplace settings. Conversely, when teacher education is anchored in the occupational culture, values, and practices of the profession, participants demonstrate a stronger professional identity, reflected in a deeper sense of belonging to both the occupational and educational community. These teachers articulate a richer professional repertoire, integrating pedagogies that resonate with core occupational practices (e.g., safety culture, craftsmanship standards, procedural logic). Their professional knowledge is likewise grounded in the specific norms and work-process logics of their field, enabling them to make pedagogical decisions that align with authentic workplace demands. Collectively, these preliminary insights indicate that context-driven ITE supports more authentic professional socialization, strengthens teachers’ identity and practice, and may enhance the attractiveness and relevance of vocational teaching. This has implications for addressing teacher shortages and for the design of policies and programs that better align VET teacher preparation with labor market needs.

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