Et rkesdidaktisk aksjonsforskningsprosjekt om ungdom som har falt ut av skolen, men som velger lærekandidatordningen mot fagbrev i salgsfaget gjennom et læringssenter

Abstract

Students dropping out of vocational upper secondary education has been an issue in Norway for many years and there is a great need to attain knowledge about the causes and to provide appropriate examples in order to support the affected students with the most fitting follow-up and training for the individual. My background for starting a practical action research project was 17 years as a teacher at upper secondary school as well as in the position of youth worker in a voluntary organization. It has been central to elucidate which societal obligations the education system has in terms of differentiated instruction and inclusion to meet the needs of students in vocational education. I have used Goodlad's (1986) theory of curriculum analysis and Bronfenbrenner's system theory (1979) to describe the systems around the students who are connected to the learning center. The dissertation's contribution to knowledge is a synthesis of a model and theory of a learning center, and a proposal for a learning center didactics. This dissertation's research aim is to contribute new, research-based knowledge of a learning centre, apprenticeship training agency (opplæringskontor) and the training candidate scheme (lærekandidatordningen) as an alternative learning and competence development arena for vocational students who are at risk of dropping out of the educational system, within the sales module and more generally in society.. The theoretical basis is strongly grounded in the vocational didactics and the didactics relationship model (Hiim & Hippe, 2001), and experiential learning (Dewey, 1938) through comprehensive vocational training (Sund, 2005; Haaland & Nilsen, 2020). In order to create motivation and commitment, it was necessary to use a new approach in relation to learning and methods. The target group was young people between the ages of 18 and 23. Through training in the sales profession, basic key competences and psychosocial support, the goal for the students was to achieve a career in the sales profession. Freire's (2005) liberating pedagogy and critical theory from action research contribute to guidance for participation, reflection and democratic processes (Carr & Kemmis, 1986). The problem statement for the PhD thesis is: Which vocational didactic, psychosocial and organizational conditions are needed to develop and run a learning center adapted to students who have dropped out of school, aimed at giving them the opportunity to become apprentice candidates in the sales profession? Based on this problem statement, there are three research questions I attempt to answer: 1. Which central vocational didactic conditions must be met in order to achieve meaningful, experience-based and relevant training in sales at the learning center, apprenticeship training agency and in the relevant training establishment? 2. What are the psychosocial conditions needed in a development process for young people who have dropped out of school to participate in vocational training aimed at giving them the opportunity to become apprentices? 3. How can the learning center organize cooperation with the relevant parties such as the apprenticeship training agency, participating establishments, NAV, voluntary organizations and various support systems to create good learning conditions for young people who have dropped out of school? My research approach is educational action research inspired by Educational Action Research in the UK, as well as practitioner research (Hiim, 2010). The approach is based on a desire to develop knowledge about educational activity in collaboration with those involved in the activity, through a form of practical "experiments". The action researcher, with his professional expertise, participates in the process himself in dialogue with the users and others who are active in the research area. The project's issues are wide-ranging, and the research questions concern participants with diverse roles: the learning centre, the participating establishments and the young people themselves as well as other supportive participants involved. In addition, inputs from schools, health institutions and Nav, and the collaboration between these are included. It is important to emphasize the system perspective in order to make society's responsibility visible. It is also central to show what role the organization has in ensuring that young people's opinions are taken seriously through their active participation in the process of personal agency (Shier, 2001; Bandura, 2006). Inclusion features strongly in the Education Act, for example through practice-based adapted education (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2017). The data collection was done in the form of logs and notes from observations and conversations in the learning center and the training establishments. In addition, results from student assignments, group discussions with the students and minutes from meetings of companies constituted important material. By combining these methods, it became possible through the researcher’s own presence, observation and participation in the actions to gain an insight into how the work and training in the learning center and the training establishments actually took place, and to find justifications for the choice of measures. My main finding demonstrate that there is a need for a learning center. The organizational framework for a learning center must facilitate long-term follow-up with smaller groups, professional vocational didactics training, a workshop, and close cooperation with training establishments and voluntary organizations. My research also highlights the necessity for a new learning center didactics that focuses on social support, psychosocial challenges, work inclusion and vocational didactics. The practical organization is proposed to be carried out through four phases which was carried out in the project. The first phase provides an opportunity to get to know each other and gain an interesting and meaningful view of learning through exercises that bring joy, inspired by play and exploration. At the same time, through autonomous choices, we try to turn the motivation for further education from a forced, extrinsic motivation to an intrinsic motivation, by letting the students work on hobbies or professional tasks they are interested in (Ryan & Deci, 2000), and by developing self-efficacy in several different areas through mastery experiences, model learning, imitation learning and guidance (Bandura, 2006) together with practical exercises in the sales profession. The second phase, through interest differentiation, focusing on the importance of social competences and knowledge of the sales profession must be present in order to get a job. If the content is geared towards holistic learning processes in collaboration with an organization, students will see that the subject is not fragmented exercises without context. The third phase focuses on close cooperation with the practice establishments to achieve a work practice that is relevant and meaningful for all parties. With such close cooperation, the young people become a resource instead of a burden. The fourth phase can be carried out in various ways, but must be based on the young people's wishes, further plans for their lives, and the opportunities that have been created in the interprofessional collaboration. Through the learning center didactics, a learning center will also work with training in coping with life and provide help with psychosocial problems. The didactics must contain a breadth and variety of tools, which must be individually adapted to meet the individual young person. Important concepts such as resilience, learning resistance and awareness of daily life challanges can help to find focus and put into words some challenges and opportunities (Rutter, 2006; Illeris, 2012). The main aim of the project has been that the pupils should strengthen their independence, and that through vocational didactics training the students can develop a basic, overall vocational competence in sales (Sund, 2005; Haaland & Nilsen, 2020; Hiim, 2013).