Recent developments in vocational education (i.e. competence-based education) make that learning in authentic learning environments becomes increasingly important. Learning in authentic learning environments prepares students better on their future role in the labour market and furthermore, students that start in their first job will experience less teething problems (Wesselink, 2010; Biemans et al., 2004; Biemans et al., 2009). And authentic learning environments are expected to increase the motivation of students to finish their study programmes (Wesselink, 2010; Biemans et al., 2004; Biemans et al., 2009). Authentic learning environments exist in many manifestations and these have increasingly found a prominent place in vocational education (Herrington and Herrington, 2006). In creating authentic learning environments it is tried to break away from traditional, teacher-centred approaches in vocational education, and the aim is to create learning environments where students are motivated to learn in rich, relevant and real-world contexts (Herrington and Herrington, 2006).

In the Netherlands institutions for agricultural (vocational) education (pre-vocational, senior vocational, university for applied sciences and university level) are increasingly making use of a form of authentic learning environments which are called ‘regional ateliers’. Regional ateliers try to enlarge the amount of authenticity in study programmes by means of letting both students and teachers participate in realistic assignments that are relevant for the region. The main aim of regional ateliers is to face complex geophysical and societal issues (e.g. reducing CO2 emission, social and economic decline) on a regional level. In the regional atelier a relevant group of stakeholders from government, private institutions, entrepreneurs, NGO’s, inhabitants, research and education cooperate in real life authentic assignments to realize sustainability on regional level (Foorthuis, 2005). Regional ateliers are unique because students and teachers are cooperating with a variety of stakeholders in the region, the assignments that have to be done contribute to regional development and educational institutions from different levels of agricultural vocational education cooperate.

All institutions for agricultural vocational education in the Netherlands are participating to some extent in regional ateliers. Some educational institutions pretend they are participating in regional ateliers, while other institutions hesitate by making that claim while they are actually participating: it is not clear what is meant by participating in regional ateliers and this causes confusion. There is a need to distinguish between educational institutions that participate to a large extent and institutions that do to a lesser extent; especially to manage the mutual expectations (between the different stakeholders and the educational institutions and between the educational institutions). Therefore the main goal of this contribution is to distinguish between levels of participation of educational institutions in regional ateliers. First question therefore is: 1) what means participating in regional ateliers for educational institutions and 2) what are the consequences for educational institutions if they participate in regional ateliers?

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