Transition from school-based to workplace-based training: Student, teacher, and trainer perceptions of the interrelation of school-based and workplace-based training

Vibe Aarkrog; Anne Katrine Kamstrup

doi:10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.2616251

Authors

Vibe Aarkrog Aarhus University, Denmark https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9370-513X
Anne Katrine Kamstrup University College Copenhagen, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9729-898X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.2616251

Keywords:

transition, interrelation, school-based training, workplace-based training, student, teachers, trainers

Abstract

This article examines students’ transition from school-based training to workplace-based training in vocational education and training (VET). We analyse how students’ experiences of this transition are shaped by perceptions of the relationship between school-based and workplace-based training among the students themselves and their teachers and workplace trainers. The theoretical framework includes the concepts of narrative, repertoire, and horizon. The empirical material consists of interviews with students, their teachers, and workplace trainers. The analysis identifies two student narratives during school-based training: ‘I want to use the knowledge I have acquired at school during workplace-based training’ and ‘I want to put school behind me’. During workplace-based training, these are mirrored by two narratives in which school-based training becomes either more or less meaningful. Two teachers’ positions and two workplace trainer positions are also constructed, reflecting divergent views on the relevance of school-based education and training. By juxtaposing student narratives with teacher and trainer positions, the analysis highlights conditions shaping either smooth or more disjointed transitions. By examining how students’ narratives are shaped through encounters with teachers’ and trainers’ positions, the study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of meaning-making processes in transitions between school-based and workplace-based training in VET.

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