Springer Science and Business Media LLC

This paper identifies limitations within the current literature on understanding learning. Overcoming these limitations entails replacing dualist views of learning as either individual or social, by using a theory of learning cultures and a cultural theory of learning, which articulate with each other. To do this, we argue that it is possible and indeed necessary to combine major elements of participatory or situated views of learning with elements of Deweyan embodied construction. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and field are used to achieve this purpose, together with the use of ‘becoming’ as a metaphor to help understand learning more holistically. This theorizing has a predominantly heuristic purpose, and we argue that it enables researchers to better explain data. We also suggest that a cultural approach of the sort proposed here leads toward the asking of better questions about learning and its improvement and has high practical significance.

This study examines the influence of personality traits, goal orientation and self-efficacy on high school teachers’ participation in learning activities in the workplace (i.e. experimentation, informal interaction with colleagues, self-regulation and avoidance behaviour). A convenience sample of 95 teachers from six high schools in Flanders (Belgium) participated in this exploratory study. They completed a questionnaire consisting of different instruments to map their personality (NEO-FFI), goal orientation (adaptation of Achievement Goal Questionnaire), self-efficacy (Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale) and participation in learning activities (adaptations from different scales). Results of multivariate regression analyses indicate that conscientiousness, extraversion and openness have a positive effect on teachers’ participation in learning activities in the workplace. However, learning orientation and self-efficacy are found to be better predictors for participation in experimentation, informal interaction and selfregulation. Analysis using structural equation modeling reveals an indirect relationship between extraversion and self-regulation, mediated by self-efficacy. Learning orientation mediates the impact of conscientiousness on informal interaction. As teachers’ goal orientation and self-efficacy can be influenced, school policy makers should reflect upon ways on how teachers’ goal orientation and self-efficacy can further be enhanced.

This quasi-experimental study of self-regulated learning (SRL) in the context of primary teacher education emerged from the importance attributed to SRL for developing student teachers’ active and conscious learning. Contrary to earlier studies that focused on SRL within the initial teacher training, in this study we sought for the impact of increased SRL opportunities on student teachers’ motivation for learning in their workplace which is an important part of their educational program. The study focused on the way in which SRL opportunities for student teachers can be shaped in the workplace (research question one), the differences in perceived SRL opportunities between the experimental and the control condition (research question two) and the differences in motivation for learning between the experimental and the control condition (research question three). In answer to research question one, the earlier findings of SRL within the initial teacher program were combined with the insights and experiences of the stakeholders in practice. This resulted in a SRL approach for the workplace that was applied during one academic year by 12 primary teacher educators in cooperation with 45 primary teachers of 45 training schools. In answer to research question two, the training appeared effective because student teachers in training schools (N = 80) experienced more SRL opportunities than student teachers in the non-training schools (N = 51). In answer to research question three, student teachers in training schools demonstrated more motivational expectancy (i.e. control belief and self-efficacy for learning) compared with student teachers in non-training schools. This was in line with previous findings within initial teacher training. The importance of a gradual transition from teacher control to student control appeared vital.

The construct of career adaptability has recently gained importance in research on vocational development and has led to a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches. Alongside with vocational identity it has been theorised as the crucial meta-competency of modern career construction. Due to its roots in adolescent career development, career adaptability is not limited to the vocational adjustments of working adults, but is also highly relevant for the pre-occupational orientation processes of adolescents initially developing a vocational identity. Despite the recent increase in empirical research on career adaptability, the field of vocational education has been largely neglected so far. Therefore, a quantitative survey among nearly N = 400 commercial apprentices within the German dual system of VET has been conducted. This study focuses on the replication of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) among commercial apprentices within the German dual system, and its discrimination against alternative operationalisations of career adaptability. Furthermore, the relationship between career adaptability and vocational identity (operationalised as occupational and organisational identification) was explored. Results showed that the four-dimensional structure of career adaptability covered by the CAAS could be largely replicated in the dual system. In addition, it was found that the CAAS can in part be separated from alternative operationalisations. Finally, the results confirmed career adaptability positively predicts both foci of identification in a cognitive and affective manner. This indicates that career adaptability can be seen as a beneficial factor for vocational education and training as it fosters the vocational ties of apprentices in terms of their identity.

In this paper, we explicate individual training decisions. For this purpose, we propose a framework based on instrumentality theory, a psychological theory of motivation that has frequently been applied to individual occupational behavior. To test this framework, we employ novel German individual data and estimate the effect of subjective expected utility (SEU) from continuing vocational training (CVT), the effect of restricting factors, and the effect of personal characteristics on the willingness to pay for CVT. Our results imply that SEU is generally the main driver of training decisions. In contrast, financial restrictions are most decisive for persons who are more likely to participate in training (i.e., training tendency). Time restraints also help explain why some individuals are entirely unwilling to participate. Moreover, regional infrastructure is a crucial training determinant. We also find that age and vocational qualifications do not directly affect training decisions. However, persons in specific occupational settings (e.g., low occupational status, overly challenging workplace situations) do exhibit a lower training tendency. Additionally, the training behavior of these persons appears to be more rigid, making them less likely to react to changes in their cognitive attitudes to training.

Initial vocational training (VT) in high school consists of short-term programs leading to employment in a skilled trade. To better align training with employment opportunities and to encourage students to stay in the programs until they graduate, most programs include traineeship. Since traineeships involve acquiring skills directly on the job, they require greater involvement of supervisors to guide the trainees. Given the importance of on-the-job guidance in achieving traineeship objectives, this study examines the potential influence of three dimensions of guidance provided by traineeship supervisors –planning, support, and training– on students’ job perception (i.e., occupational image) and traineeship satisfaction. Overall, the results provide mixed results, partially supporting the mediation hypothesis suggested by the results of previous studies. Indeed, the results reveal that the quality of the training offered by the supervisor affects subsequent students’ satisfaction with traineeship experience. Training has an indirect effect on satisfaction via the occupational image held by students. However, the expected indirect links between the other two dimensions of supervisor guidance –degree of planning and support perceived by the student– and the students’ image of their chosen occupation could not be confirmed. The results support the importance of providing quality on-the-job training to students during their studies.

Giáo viên dạy nghề cần khẩn trương tiếp tục học tập trong suốt sự nghiệp của họ. Tuy nhiên, phát triển chuyên môn truyền thống (PD), chẳng hạn như các khóa học và hội thảo, mang lại chuyển giao hạn chế đến nơi làm việc vì nó không phù hợp với cách mà các chuyên gia học tập tự nhiên ở nơi làm việc. Nghiên cứu được thảo luận ở đây báo cáo về việc học tập chuyên môn của các giáo viên dạy nghề trong một viện giáo dục nghề nghiệp kỹ thuật ở Tây Canada. Bảy giảng viên và năm trưởng chương trình từ năm chương trình khác nhau đã được phỏng vấn về việc học tập chuyên môn trong các bộ phận của họ, mức độ mà việc học tập này được tăng cường thông qua việc triển khai cách tiếp cận ePortfolio, và các yếu tố đã góp phần hoặc cản trở việc học tập này. Phân tích của chúng tôi cho thấy cách tiếp cận ePortfolio đã tăng cường một số hoạt động học tập chuyên môn bao gồm thiết lập mục tiêu, ghi chép sự phát triển, thảo luận với đồng nghiệp và phản ánh. Phân tích xuyên trường hợp cho thấy việc học tập chuyên môn được gắn kết trong các thực hành nghề nghiệp và không thể hiểu được bằng cách xem xét các yếu tố cá nhân tách rời khỏi môi trường bộ phận. Dựa trên nghiên cứu của chúng tôi, chúng tôi có thể đưa ra ba kết luận: i) sự tương tác giữa các văn hóa trong nghề nghiệp gốc và bộ phận giáo dục nghề nghiệp là duy nhất trong bối cảnh giáo dục nghề nghiệp và cần được khám phá thêm, ii) vai trò của trưởng chương trình trong giáo dục nghề nghiệp là vô cùng quan trọng đối với việc học tập chuyên môn của giảng viên, và iii) các phát hiện của chúng tôi chỉ ra rằng các thực hành học tập chuyên môn của giảng viên không phải là tĩnh và có thể và nên được cải thiện. Các nghiên cứu và thí nghiệm bổ sung về các phương pháp toàn diện để hỗ trợ việc học tập chuyên môn của giáo viên dạy nghề là cần thiết và đã trễ.