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Background
For vocational and professional education to remain relevant, instructors need to keep developing themselves and their practices. Much of instructor learning happens on-the-job. Drawing on literature on teacher learning in the workplace, this article explores how structural and cultural conditions shape professional learning of instructors in departments for post-secondary vocational and professional education in western Canada.
Methods
A multiple case study approach was used to explore how instructors perceive departmental conditions as enhancing or inhibiting professional learning. Interview data, meeting observations, and program documentation was collected from 27 instructors from 5 departments in three institutes for post-secondary vocational and professional education. The educational programming in the five departments cover four industry sectors: two healthcare departments, one building trades, one business, and one social services department.
Results
Structural conditions reported to facilitate instructor professional learning at the department level include student feedback, job-rotation, coordinating work-placements, and whether participation in continuing professional development is a licensing requirement of the profession. Heavy workload and the way teaching is scheduled are most often reported as conditions inhibiting learning. Considering cultural conditions, three in-depth case descriptions illustrate how instructors draw on beliefs and practices prevalent in their original trade/profession when shaping their departmental culture as a learning environment.
Conclusions
The concept of sense-making proved useful to describe how instructors draw on elements of the occupational culture taught in the program when shaping their workplace as a learning environment. This influence of occupational culture could help explain previously observed differences in how instructors from various industry sectors engage in professional learning. Organizational support is warranted for facilitating organizational conditions for instructor learning including the development of departmental leaders’ capacity to influence workplace conditions for professional learning.
The need for investment and for a holistic approach to VET teachers’ and trainers’ professional development is at the heart of high-quality and inclusive VET.
Building on the findings of Cedefop/ReferNet thematic perspectives for EU Member States, Norway and Iceland, this synthesis report identifies recent trends and policy developments in Europe on the initial and continuous professional development of VET teachers and trainers.
The report points to the different types of VET teachers and trainers in Europe; their evolving and complex role in mastering new technologies, supporting the integration of refugees, identifying and supporting learners at risk of early leaving, and understanding changing labour market needs, to empower and equip students with skills for the future.
Their qualifications and opportunities for continuous professional development vary across countries but the challenges policy-makers face in supporting them are shared. The report concludes with key messages for designing effective policies in Europe.
Teachers and in-company trainers are central to vocational education and training (VET), as they support the school-to-work transitions of learners from diverse backgrounds. VET teachers develop learners’ skills in school-based settings, while in-company trainers support learners during their time in work-based learning. Countries use different strategies to ensure an adequate supply of well-prepared VET teachers and trainers. This report focuses on two aspects: entry requirements for the VET teaching and training profession to ensure quality and consistency; and initial education and training for VET teachers and trainers to ensure that they are well-prepared when taking up their role. It draws lessons from policies and practices in Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway for developing a skilled teaching and training workforce through entry requirements and training, while maintaining sufficient flexibility.
This paper summarizes the main findings of the UNESCO-UNEVOC trends mapping study, but also reflects upon its purpose, methods and conclusions. It points to future work to be done to provide a reliable evidence base and inspiring examples for designing effective digital skills policies and programmes.
This article briefly presents the legal position for inclusion in VET both from the international perspective and from the German educational policy perspective. It considers a broad definition of inclusion which regards not only persons with disability but all individual characteristics and abilities, followed by specific information on the German VET system and its heterogeneity. A particular focus is drawn on recent measures for the inclusion of refugees and persons with disability. These changes present challenges for VET teachers. This article discusses recent research projects analysing the attitudes and thoughts towards inclusion of VET teachers and the skills required for VET teachers in inclusive work at vocational schools. To end, initiatives of German universities which aim for better preparation of future VET teachers in inclusive education will briefly be presented along with perspectives for future research.
This Guide aims to assist ILO constituents and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) practitioners to strengthen the role of skills development policies and programmes in peacebuilding efforts through inclusive learning methodologies and the training of relevant core skills. Promoting Social Cohesion and Peaceful Coexistence in Fragile Contexts through # TVET - Guide for TVET practitioners En français. Promouvoir la cohésion sociale et la coexistence pacifique dans les situations de fragilité grâce à l’Enseignement et Formation Techniques et Professionnels (EFTP) @ilo
What happens to a person who leaves a vocation to enter the teaching profession? How are teacher competences developed? These and other related issues that summarising research on VET-teachers are highlighted in a study published in 2019 by the Swedish National Agency for Education.
This study concerns the continuing professional development (CPD) of vocational teachers. As a starting point, vocational teaching as a profession is based on a type of dual professionalism.
Via DennisOwen1
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Teachers and trainers are among the “key actors” (CEDEFOP, 2022a) involved in providing relevant and meaningful learning experiences to learners in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). They are seen to be “central” to TVET (OECD, 2021) and they work in a challenging context characterised by innovation, globalisation, advancing technology and a changing society (CEDEFOP, 2022a).
In recent years, disruptions caused by technology, climate, migration[1], political instability and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic have affected the economy, labour markets, and hence education. TVET does not exist in a bubble and has also been affected, making the work of teachers and trainers, who are entrusted with the future of millions of students around the world, more challenging.
In 2015, the United Nations (UN) member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to provide “a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future” (UN, 2015)[2]. SDG 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Of relevance to TVET are Targets 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5, which directly reference vocational education, hence making the role of TVET teachers and trainers crucial to the achievement of this ambitious agenda.
Being key actors in, and central to TVET, teachers and trainers are often discussed by policymakers, academics, researchers, TVET leaders and professionals, industry partners, students and the general public. Some recurrent themes of these discussions include: their required knowledge, skills, competence and attitudes; the working tasks they carry out; the effectiveness of their work with students; the need for their professional development and learning; their readiness to adapt to continuous changes; and the impact of their work on the quality of TVET.
This article examines different profiles of TVET teachers and trainers at a global level and provides an insight into the TVET teachers at the centre of the ongoing discussions and reforms. It provides a context for the important discussions on these key actors in TVET. The article presents some data on the population of TVET teachers and trainers according to criteria such as: job title; gender; age; career stage; global region; vocational area; level of education; pre-service training; in-service training; involvement in industry; and dual professionalism.
This study aims to analyze the pedagogical competence needs of vocational lecturers. Learning development problems and needs related to the preparation of vocational lecturers can produce skilled vocational lecturers.
eachers have described the importance of competence which was not developed during teacher training. Instead, important competences were often developed in the previous profession or informal teaching activities. Vocational teachers seem to value and utilise their previous occupational worker identities to a high extent. This should be considered when teacher training or in-service training is designed to support individuals in developing their (new) teacher identity.
Social media is significantly paving its way in the classroom and it could be useful for effective instructional delivery of Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes. This study was carried out in Enugu State , Nigeria to determine Social media as a platform for effective instructional delivery of TVET programmes in Public Universities in Enugu State. Survey research design was employed for the study. The population consisted of 97 TVET lecturers teaching in the two public universities offering TVET programmes in Enugu State. The entire population was used. Therefore, no sample was drawn because of the manageable size of the population. Two research questions were answered by the study and two null hypotheses tested at .05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that social media is a useful platform for effective TVET delivery but TVET lecturers utilize social media to a low extent. From the findings of the study, the researchers recommended among others that TVET lecturers should update their skills in the use of social media and also, TVET institutions should upgrade social media facilities in their various institutions for effective utilization in TVET delivery.
This report presents the results of the UNESCO-UNEVOC trends mapping study on progress and challenges in TVET teacher and trainer digital skills development before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study’s findings – in terms of data, policy trends and identification of good practice examples – offer guidance to governments and TVET institutions that wish to improve teachers’/trainers’ acquisition of digital skills, as well as their capacities and propensities to apply digital tools, services and technologies to deliver quality, learner-centred education and training. The study will also inform UNESCO-UNEVOC’s work in support of TVET teachers and trainers.
The purpose of the study was to explore Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers learning through Work Integrated Learning (WIL), specifically to establish the nature of their learning and determine how the lecturers understood their learning.
Teaching profession reform in the Indonesian education system began with the enactment of National Law on Teachers and Lecturers. An exception to the productive vocational high school teacher competency standard in the government regulation is identified to be a problem in the vocational teacher professionalism development system. This article reviews in what way it is missing and what the effects are. Comprehensive analysis on the vocational high school teaching context indicates the importance of occupational-specific competency standard for vocational teachers. This article reviews how the missing standard affects the vocational teacher professionalism development programs in the national education system.
This chapter addresses the professional learning needs of teachers in the vocational education and training (VET) sector under the changed circumstances of internationalization and international student mobility. International education is Australia's largest service export, contributing over 16 billion dollars to the national economy annually. Australian VET teachers are facing significant professional challenges to engage with pedagogical issues in teaching international students. However, there has been a lack of research on how teachers are equipped to effectively cater for international students and respond to the demands of internationalization in VET through professional development. Drawing on empirical research and positioning theory, this chapter analyzes the impact of the presence of international students on VET teachers' professional learning needs and practices.
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