Susanne Köpsén

Vocational teachers’ identity formation through boundary crossing

Vocational teachers’ prior occupational experiences are construed as those that will guarantee high-quality teaching in vocational education, although individuals are no longer required to have formal teaching qualifications to be employed as teachers in Sweden. This lack of strict requirements raises the issue of the preparedness of vocational teachers to teach their subject matter. Drawing on a socio-cultural understanding of identity, and based on twenty semi-structured interviews with vocational teachers in different subject areas, this article addresses vocational teachers’ identity formation through boundary crossing; these individuals cross boundaries between the community of the prior occupation’s practice, the teaching occupation and the community of teacher training. The analysis illustrates how teachers who manage to balance their teacher identities with their occupational identities by maintaining their participation in the different communities seem to be the best prepared to teach their vocational subjects. As many of those we interviewed do not manage to keep such a balance, we argue for the need for in-service training for vocational teachers to help them keep up to date with, participate in and continue to belong to the communities of their former occupations.

How vocational teachers describe their vocational teacher identity

Given the current demands of Swedish vocational education and the withdrawal of the requirement for formal teacher competence in vocational subject teachers, the aim of this article is to develop knowledge of what it means to be a vocational subject teacher in an upper secondary school, i.e. how vocational subject teachers describe their vocational teacher identity. Drawing on a sociocultural perspective, this study analysed data from 22 interviews. The vocational subject teachers describe their relationship with students and the fostering work of teaching for studies, life and work as distinctive characteristics of vocational teacher identity. The fostering work is focused on students’ behaviour, i.e. the relational and normative aspects of a social practice. The study results suggest that the identity of vocational teachers includes guiding students towards memberships in various social practices. The benefit of both high-quality teacher competence and vocational competence in vocational teachers is discussed.

Qualification paths of adult educators in Sweden and Denmark

The qualification of adult educators is a central aspect of the quality of adult education. However, within current policy discourses and adult education research on the professional development of prospective adult educators, little attention is paid to teacher qualification when compared to other fields of education and training. In this study, we analyse the qualification paths, or learning trajectories, of prospective adult educators in Sweden and Denmark. The analysis is based on narrative interviews with 29 students in training to become adult educators. The career paths of adult educators are often long and winding roads. Becoming an adult educator could be their primary desire, but it could also be their ‘Plan B’, a second choice. Individual motives and external demands interact in the professionalisation process. A shift in focus from teaching subject and methods to teaching context and the relation to the learners is part of the professional development. Finally, we argue that both academic studies and hands-on work in the adult education community are crucial parts of the adult educators qualification path.

Reformation of VET and demands on teachers’ subject knowledge – Swedish vocational teachers’ recurrent participation in a national CPD initiative

ABSTRACT This study investigates continuing professional development (CPD) of vocational teachers, with a focus on recurrent participation. Vocational teachers need to be competent as teachers and in relation to their vocational teaching subject. Reformation of Swedish vocational education in order to strengthen the working-life connection imposes demands on teachers to have up-to-date knowledge about the vocations related to their vocational subjects. To support the reform, vocational teachers have been offered to participate in a new national CPD initiative targeting their vocational competence. The study concerns participation in this initiative. Drawing on a socio-cultural perspective, vocational teachers’ CPD implies boundary-crossing between school and working-life. Theory concerning adults’ participation in education is considered relevant to understand conditions for such boundary-crossing, and learning, among vocational teachers. The article specifically investigates patterns in vocational teachers’ recurrent participation, which is expected to clarify the factors influencing further participation in professional development. The strongest predictor of recurrent participation, when adjusting for the influence of other factors, is the type of municipality that the teacher comes from, with low populated municipalities having the lowest likelihood of participation. Furthermore, recurrent participation is more likely by participating teachers from adult education or from privately owned schools, and by male teachers.

The practice of supervision for professional learning: the example of future forensic specialists

Supervision intended to support learning is of great interest in professional knowledge development. No single definition governs the implementation and enactment of supervision because of different conditions, intentions, and pedagogical approaches. Uncertainty exists at a time when knowledge and methods are undergoing constant development. This situation affects professions with high demands on precision and safety, and thus supervision and learning. The aim of this article is to explore the practice of supervision for learning professional knowledge of forensic specialists. The context is the Swedish National Laboratory of Forensic Science internal training program, which focuses on learning in daily work when the forensic trainee is assigned a supervisor. Ethnographic studies of supervisors and trainees in different forensic specialties were conducted. Practice theory is used to understand how supervision is planned and implemented to support professional development. Findings show that supervision by seasoned professional forensic specialists is significant for trainee learning. However, supervision is arranged, and performed differently, indicating various conditions for learning. Furthermore, the material set-ups of the professional practice prefigure the practice of supervision. Supervision is an area of expertise that needs to be cultivated and learned to maintain highly specialized professional knowledge in current time of change and uncertainty.

Learning for renewal; learning in a trade union practice

AbstractPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze learning in a Swedish trade union board in aworkplace, according to contemporary challenges in working life and conditions, of decentraliza ...