Training for a profession as a vocational teacher: The transition from the course to the workplace

Abstract

A teacher training program is mandatory for vocational teachers, but vocational colleges decide how to support a transition from the course to workplace. Before 2010, the transition process was regulated by a ministerial order, but now the market has created variation in the training. The case presented here is four vocational colleges where teachers attend a teacher training course. The study is based on the documentary analyses, focus group interviews and observations. Using Evetts’ concept of professionalism, the analyses show different logics at vocational colleges. Managers implement the course at vocational colleges by choosing different strategies for organizational professionalism. However, the teachers construct other learning trajectories by moving between classroom teaching and teamwork, which in the article is perceived as part of occupational professionalism. These coinciding logics might influence the transition from course to workplace.