Yrkesfaglæreres profesjonelle kompetanse: En kvalitativ undersøkelse med Norge og Japan som kontekster

The purpose of this article is to explore the characteristics of vocational teachers’ professional competences. Norway and Japan were chosen as contexts in the hope of finding possible contrasts and new perspectives. Grounded theory (GT) was used to generate concepts and theory from data collected through observations, interviews, and written sources. The results were summarized in two main categories: professional development and professional competences. The survey concludes that professional competences of vocational teachers are shaped by national culture, content of education, professional career and globalization. Furthermore, it was found that vocational teachers in Norway and Japan have different educational and vocational backgrounds, and their professional practices differ in autonomy and career development. Significant difference on vocational students’ completion rate in Norway and Japan was found. However, it is difficult to say how these differences are related to the competences of teachers. Professional ethics became a particularly interesting field to study, but also difficult considering the cultural differences. It is recommended to do further studies on this theme.