Veronica Bjurulf

Experiences of Educational Content in Swedish Technical Vocational Education: Examples from the Energy and Industry Programmes

Abstract In this study, teachers and workplace supervisors in two vocational programmes at a Swedish upper secondary school were interviewed about their experiences of what is important to teach and learn during vocational education. The interviews were analysed thematically by the qualitative method analysis of narratives concerning what the informants talked about concerning the educational content. The told experiences of educational content concern five themes: basic knowledge, assessment, different educations, interest and integration of theory and practice. These themes relates to different levels of knowledge, from basic knowledge to learning to learn.

Transfer as an Iterative Process Between School and Work

This chapter explores the nature of transfer between school and work, based on results from a three-year project called the LISA-project (Learning in Several Arenas) conducted between 2009-2012. The LISA-project focused on teaching and learning at a vocational school and at different workplaces, especially in the Energy Program and the Industry Program at the upper secondary school level in Sweden.

Transfer of learning in Swedish technical vocational education: student experiences in the energy and industry programmes

Abstract 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.