What Makes a Course Vocational? School-Based Work-Related Programmes in Canada in Dialogue with a Community of Practice

Autor/inn/en	Higham, Jeremy; Farnsworth, Valerie
Titel	What Makes a Course Vocational? School-Based Work-Related Programmes in Canada in Dialogue with a Community of Practice
Quelle	In: Journal of Education and Work, 25 (2012) 4, S.443-471 (29 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1363-9080
DOI	10.1080/13639080.2012.708728
Schlagwörter	Vocational Education; Secondary School Curriculum; Courses; High Schools; Communities of Practice; Case Studies; Foreign Countries; Vocational Education Teachers; Teacher Role; Professional Identity; School Business Relationship; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; Kursangebot; High school; Oberschule; Community; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Ausland; Ausbilder; Lehrerrolle; Kanada
Abstract	The paper discusses five work-related secondary school courses in Canada, providing an empirical account through which a new way of conceptualising vocational education is developed. Using a case study approach, we identify the mutually reinforcing dimensions of education--from policy to the course experience--that supported the enactment of an education-industry dialogue. We propose that, by constructing a metaphorical bridge between school and work, such a dialogue with a vocational community of practice is what made these courses "vocational". The concept of dialogism allows us to characterise vocational education in a way that accounts for the flexible and dynamic qualities of the enacted curricula which were observed and interpreted across the case studies. In this conceptualisation, the teacher with prior industry experience embodies the dialogue and constructs a dialogic curriculum. The analysis builds on existing research which highlights the importance of teacher identity and background by situating the mediational role of teacher identity within a multi-dimensional framework. The different dimensions of a course, such as pedagogy and assessment are not lost in this conceptualisation, but rather become the "loci" for the dialogue. The potential implications of this conceptualisation for vocational education are discussed in the conclusion. (Contains 1 table.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10