This article reports on a literature review on empirical research investigating learning for vocations in the context of vocational education. We included 36 studies in which learning for vocations is empirically studied. Learning for vocations is characterised based upon prevalent research traditions in the field and framed from the perspective of vocational education and organised learning practices. This framing and characterisation directed the search terms for the review. Results show empirical data on vocational learning and illustrate how learning processes for the functions of vocational education - vocational identity development, development of a vocational repertoire of actions, and vocational knowledge development - actually take place. The review further shows that, empirical illustrations of learning processes that occur in the context of vocational education and organised learning practices are relatively scarce. The findings can be typified in relation to our theoretical framework in terms of three learning processes, that is learning as a process of (a) belonging, becoming, and being, (b) recontextualization, and (c) negotiation of meaning and sense-making. We argue that more empirical research should be carried out, using the functions of vocational education and the three learning processes to better understand vocational learning.
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The focus of the thesis is an exploration into students’ vocational knowledge in the context of Dutch vocational education and training (VET). The reason students’ vocational knowledge requires exploration is because there is no consensus among scholars in the field of VET about how to theorise the nature of students’ vocational knowledge; most (not all) scholars rely on dichotomous conceptualisations, such as theory versus practice, general versus specific or explicit versus implicit. However, such commonly used dichotomies are not very helpful to understand the complex nature of vocational knowledge. Vocational knowledge is more than putting bits of theoretical and practical knowledge together, it is characterised by sometimes-intimate relationships between knowledge and actions. As a result of the above-mentioned gap in the VET literature, there is little empirical research on how VET students develop vocational knowledge and the extent to which this is occupation-specific knowledge. To understand students’ vocational knowledge, four different aims are formulated and carried out in four studies. The aim of the first study is to identify powerful vocational learning environments to enable the selection of a case that represents high quality vocational learning and teaching. With an eye on analysing students’ vocational knowledge, the second study aims to conceptualise the nature of vocational knowledge that avoids dichotomies. Therefore, two conceptual frameworks are integrated; the idea of contextualising is introduced which is based on cultural-historical theory to highlight the crucial role activity plays in knowledge development and to understand the relationships between the mind (i.e., what people think (and feel)), and action (i.e., what people do). Secondly, the theory is supplemented with ideas from inferentialism, a philosophical semantic theory of meaning to provide a useful way to focus on students’ processes of knowing and to reveal students’ vocational knowledge in terms of ongoing reasoning processes. The third study uses the conceptualisation of vocational knowledge to explore how students develop vocational knowledge in occupational practice, and to illustrate the process of contextualising. The forth study aims to describe what characterises students’ vocational knowledge using an analytic framework that distinguishes between occupation-specific knowledge components and qualities. This thesis contributes to research scholarship in the field of VET and an understanding of students’ vocational knowledge in practice. The theoretical framework of contextualising supplemented with inferentialism provides an alternative way to focus on students’ processes of knowing and helps to reveal students’ vocational knowledge in terms of reasoning processes. The empirical explorations and illustrations of students’ vocational knowledge contribute to the scholarly literature and practice on understanding the nature of vocational knowledge, how students develop vocational knowledge and what characterises their vocational knowledge. The intention to introduce the idea of contextualising is not about reinventing the wheel but rather an attempt to understand how it turns and how it functions. The intention of this thesis is to encourage dialogue and move the debate about the nature of vocational knowledge further, and hence, to provide some “food for thought”.
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This study analyses the dilemmas and practical problems in implementing competence-based vocational education through 11 case studies. Schools seem to meet various fundamental issues, but it remains difficult in what way the acquisition and use of a way of knowing and thinking that is based on vocational theory can be stimulated. Reflection, authenticity and coaching seem to missing. In order to explain these results, the article also reflects on factors that account for the distance between promising concepts and actual teaching practice.
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The central aim of this thesis was to increase understanding of designing vocational learning environments at the school–work boundary. Four studies were conducted, focusing on learning environment designs at the school–work boundary and on design considerations of the actors involved in their construction, both from the world of school and the world of work.
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Collaborative learning in a culturally diverse secondary vocational education. By K. Tielman (Fontys), P. den Brok (ESoE), S. Bolhuis (Fontys) and R. van de Sande (Fontys) This contribution discusses a descriptive study on the experiences of students and teachers in secondary vocational education regarding collaborative learning (CL) in a culturally diverse context. The study bridges two domains of research: research on culturally diverse learning environments - which has mostly concerned primary and general secondary education (e.g. de Haan (2005), Hajer (1996), Radstake (2007) and studies on CL. The present study adds to the existing literature not only by integrating these two domains, but also by its specific focus on Dutch secondary vocational education and by focusing on multiple sources of evidence (both cognitions and actions; both student and teacher perspectives). The study analyzes current practices and perceptions of teachers and students with CL in a culturally diverse, competence-based learning environment. The sample consisted of 27 students (with 12 different cultural backgrounds) and two of their teachers (a mentor and a coach/tutor). Teachers and students were followed while working on a project-based series of lessons. Data collection consisted of two steps. In the first step, small groups of students and their teachers were observed and videotaped (allowing for simultaneous analysis of both verbal and non-verbal behaviors) during collaborative learning tasks. Based on these observations, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 groups of 3 students and the two teachers, focusing on topics of collaboration, communication, participation, coaching and conflicts, all of which derived from CL characteristics mentioned by Johnson & Johnson (1994). In the second step, video-stimulated (recall) interviews were conducted with both teachers. The interviews were based on a-priori defined moments selected by the teachers themselves and/or the researcher. The data was qualitatively analyzed in an interactive process between theory and data using the computer program Atlas-Ti. Codes were partially based on CL characteristics from the literature (Johnson & Johnson, 1994) and partially on focal points emerging from the observations/interviews. To establish reliability of the coding process, parts of the data were coded by a second researcher, leading to an inter-rater reliability (Cohen's kappa) of 0.87, and a percentage of agreement between both researchers of 81.5 on 54 valid fragments. The findings suggest three major themes behind the data: 1) individual accountability of the students; 2) the importance of the teacher/coach role; and 3) the aspect of (absence of) cultural consciousness. The results of the study suggest that on the one hand students are mostly focused on their individual performance and that there is poor collaboration among classmates while working on collaborative learning tasks, while on the other hand teachers seem unaware of their own role in affecting students' behavior and the influence of cultural backgrounds of students in the CL process. Despite the limitations of this study (a small number of participants, one single school and only one sector of secondary vocational education), the results of the study suggests that teachers of culturally diverse classrooms of the secondary vocational education must become more aware of their own roles as adaptive coaches and models and of the influence of multiculturality on CL. The full paper discusses the results and suggestions in detail.
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Educational institutions and vocational practices need to collaborate to design learning environments that meet current-day societal demands and support the development of learners’ vocational competence. Integration of learning experiences across contexts can be facilitated by intentionally structured learning environments at the boundary of school and work. Such learning environments are co-constructed by educational institutions and vocational practices. However, co-construction is challenged by differences between the practices of school and work, which can lead to discontinuities across the school–work boundary. More understanding is needed about the nature of these discontinuities and about design considerations to counterbalance these discontinuities. Studies on the co-construction of learning environments are scarce, especially studies from the perspective of representatives of work practice. Therefore, the present study explores design considerations for co-construction through the lens of vocational practice. The study reveals a variety of discontinuities related to the designable elements of learning environments (i.e. epistemic, spatial, instrumental, temporal, and social elements). The findings help to improve understanding of design strategies for counterbalancing discontinuities at the interpersonal and institutional levels of the learning environment. The findings confirm that work practice has a different orientation than school practice since there is a stronger focus on productivity and on the quality of the services provided. However, various strategies for co-construction also seem to take into account the mutually beneficial learning potential of the school–work boundary.
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Symposiumbijdrage conferentie EARLI SIG 14, 11-14 september 2018, Genève Learning across the contexts of school and the workplace is highly relevant to the VET-sector. This contribution analyses these cross-contextual learning processes with three key issues in mind: (1) guidance by vocational educators, (2) assessment of students’ development and (3) design of VET-learning environments. Guidance, assessment and overarching VET-curriculum designs form the basis for constructive alignment as an approach to optimize conditions for high quality cross-contextual learning processes. We used the theoretical framework of boundary crossing to clarify the complex, multilevel nature of these key issues.
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One of the most important issues in vocational education is the interaction between learning at school and at different workplaces. Students need to transfer what they have learned in and between these different learning arenas. However, little agreement exists among researchers on how to conceptualise and empirically study transfer of learning. This article aims to enhance our understanding of this process in technical vocational education by adding a new perspective on transfer: the phenomenological lifeworld approach. Eleven interviews with students enrolled in the Energy and Industry programmes at a Swedish upper-secondary school were conducted. Three transfer themes emerged from the data: learning for new situations, variation and integration of theory and practice. The student perspective, based on the lifeworld approach shows that the different learning arenas – the school and workplaces – can complement each other. The learning arenas offer different opportunities for learning, and learning in both arenas is necessary in order to prepare for an unknown future, according to the students in this study.
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In this article the idea of contextualising vocational knowledge is theorised to understand the nature of vocational knowledge and this process of contextualising is illustrated with empirical examples from culinary education.
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This article reviews 24 articles in order to get a structured view on student's learning processes when dealing with a combination of school-based learning and workplace learning in vocational education. It focuses on six main themes: students' expertise development, students' learning styles, students' integration of knowledge acquired in school and workplace, processes of knowledge development, students' motivations for learning and students' professional identity development.
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