Innovative practices amongst academics working within a VET institution: A grounded theory approach

Abstract

Innovative processes within an organisation are essential to drive operations forward. These can be driven by individual employee innovation actions and innovative work behaviour. Within educational settings, such academic-driven innovations are important as they tend to enhance both the quality and outcome of the learning process (Messmann and Mulder 2011). The factors that influence innovative behaviours in academics within an educational sphere have been categorised by Thurlings, Evers, and Vermeulen (2015) into three core categories. These comprise demographic, organisational, and individual factors. The need for innovation within Vocational Educational Training (VET) providers is high although challenging when it comes to implementation (Toner 2010), since VET colleges and educators must be significantly responsive to changes in societies and workplace. This provides the learners with optimal learning opportunities and job preparation (Nieuwenhuis, Nijhof, and Heikkinen 2005). Through a preliminary review of literature, a gap was identified in terms of research studies that specifically address and seek to explain the complexity of innovative behaviours adopted by VET academics. This qualitative research project aims to address and contribute to filling inthis gap in literature to identify the key factors that affect innovation in educational settings. The study looks into the innovative behaviours and practices being adopted by academics working within a national vocational college in the small island state of Malta. The research question guiding the investigation and the respective supporting objectives are the following: How do academics within a vocational college make use of innovative practices to enhance their students learning process?