Understanding vocational teachers’ professional development in work placement: learning goals, activities, and outcomes

ABSTRACT This study provides an insight into the professional development of vocational teachers within the context of work placement, a continuing professional development programme situated in the industry. Learning goals, activities, and outcomes have been described based on vocational teachers’ learning experiences in this programme. We conducted interviews with 27 secondary vocational teachers from China and 5 of these participants completed digital logs. Seven categories of learning activities were identified, of which learning from others with and without interaction were the most common categories, while mentoring was more frequently perceived as an important category than others. Moreover, there were 8 types of learning goals and 12 types of learning outcomes reported. The participants preferred teaching and working knowledge and skills as their learning goals more than beliefs and attitudes with respect to learning from work placement. Intentions for teachers’ practice were concentrated on the school, collegial, and classroom practice levels. Regarding the perceived relationship between learning activities and outcomes, mentoring and learning from others with interaction were connected with all or almost all learning outcomes. The occupational knowledge and skills were frequently generated from all identified activities except reflecting. Limitations and theoretical and practical implications are discussed.