VET teachers continuing professional development—the responsibility of the school leader

Abstract

ABSTRACT Continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in vocational education and training (VET) in Norway has largely been either the responsibility of each individual teacher or a by-product of teachers’ cooperation related to student placements. Additionally, VET teachers’ professional development is influenced by external drivers. These factors are assumed to shape teachers’ knowledge and learning; accordingly, we investigate how VET teachers perceive their opportunities for CPD and how principals and department heads facilitate this development. Through analysis of interviews with teachers and school leaders in two vocational schools in Norway, we find that external drivers are pulling CPD in a collective and general direction, and little attention is given to VET teachers’ specific needs. The development of vocational knowledge remains largely up to individual VET teachers and is connected to student activities, usually in cooperation with industry (in this case, the restaurant and food processing industry) while the school leadership carries out the authorities’ orders. We argue that school leaders must understand and facilitate CPD for VET teachers in a more nuanced way, tailoring it to their vocation. This implies an emphasis on working community competence, together with other knowledge domains, and the responsibility of school leaders to increase awareness of and facilitate CPD for VET teachers is underscored.