A Grounded Theory Approach on Professional Development of Vocational Teachers

Abstract

Professional development of vocational teachers is perceived as an integral part of their professional activity. A lot of research has been conducted which has examined and evaluated the forms and strategies used to enhance vocational teachers’ professional development, its performance and effectiveness in different contexts, mostly by applying quantitative research methods. A grounded theory approach was employed to develop a framework of the professional development process from the vocational teachers’ perspective. The qualitative research design was based on five semi-structured group interviews with 48 vocational teachers from vocational education and training institutions in Lithuania. The findings show that vocational teachers feel the imperative for their professional development, which is caused by the progress of the technological and labour market, teacher generation change, and motivation. It occurs within the context of complicated financial distributions, careful planning and supervision, by adopting various means and forms for the PD (for example, occupation-related competence development). The learning strategies are influenced by the intervening factors such as the outdated training methods and the lack of continuity of the process. The main result of the PD of vocational teachers is sharing knowledge and helping colleagues.