Dissertation

Professional learning of vocational teachers in the context of work placement

Author: Na Zhou
Date: 01 March 2023
Links: Fulltext in Leiden University Scholarly Publications

Work placement as a professional development programme for vocational teachers has been widely implemented. This dissertation provides insight into vocational teachers’ learning process in this programme within Chinese vocational education.Specifically, the first study generalised vocational teachers’ learning activities and outcomes in all various contexts with a systematic literature review, four categories of learning activities and eight types of learning outcomes were summarised. Then, the second study focused on vocational teachers’ motivational beliefs and engagement toward work placement. A quantitative analysis of questionnaire data displayed a significant relationship between them. Next, the third study utilised interviews to investigate vocational teachers’ learning activities, goals, and outcomes during work placement. The findings showed that vocational teachers employed seven categories of formal and informal activities in this programme and obtained many benefits about cognition, behaviour, emotion, and institution. The fourth and fifth studies both examined factors influencing vocational teachers’ transfer of learning from work placement to school practice. There were three categories of factors captured.The findings mentioned above contribute to a comprehensive understanding of vocational teachers’ professional learning in work placement. This will inspire policymakers, school leaders, and vocational teachers themselves to consider how to promote their learning in this programme.