02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)
Paper
Narcissism or Masquerade? Utilizing Selfies for Visual Communication in Vocational Education Classrooms
Janne Kontio
Stockholm University, Sweden
Presenting Author: Kontio, Janne
This study investigates the interactional aspects of selfies created on Snapchat by Swedish teenagers in a vocational school environment. Despite Snapchat's popularity among Swedish youth, discourse analytic perspectives on its use have been limited. By employing a discourse analytic lens, this study seeks to unravel the nuanced interactional aspects of selfies produced by Swedish teenagers on Snapchat within a vocational school context. Through the integration of video recordings and screen-captured smartphone interactions, we aim to shed light on the complex dynamics of this visual communication medium. Additionally, our examination encompasses broader cultural and social implications, emphasizing the significance of impression management in shaping self-presentation and identity construction within the realm of visual culture. Additionally, the concept of impression management, as proposed by Goffman (1990), is applied to analyze the processes of self-presentation within these visual interactions.
Data are drawn from 75 hours of video data concerning Swedish students in upper secondary vocational education engaged in smart phone usage in school. In line with previous research on selfies in educational settings, the study sheds light on the transformative potential of selfies as a tool for reimagining and enriching the educational experience.
Keywords:
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe present study examines interactional aspects of Snapchat use by Swedish teenagers in a vocational school setting, based on a combination of video recordings of classroom activity and screen-recorded smart phone use.
The data for this article is drawn from a larger collection of video and screen recordings of youths’ smart phone usage in Swedish upper secondary schools (“Uppkopplade klassrum”, VR/UVK, Dnr 2015-01044) and consists of approximately 75 hours of recordings of students in two upper secondary classes; learners of hairdressing and building- and construction work.
Larsen & Sandbye (2013) suggest that we need to “look at photos not just as images but as material and social objects that mould and create identity and social relations between people”. Thus, we approach the images and interactions in the data by applying a framework inspired by the works of Erving Goffman on impression management (Goffman, 1990); specifically concerning interactional aspects of self-presentation and processes of situated identities.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe results from this study gives us important insights into digital youth culture in general, and more specifically about the very image loaded lives youths live, in and through their use of smartphones. The study goes in depth to show how the use of images is done in actual practice and when it occurs in interaction in an institutional setting. The use of selfies among youths has often been described as narcissistic (Sorokowski et. al., 2015), but by showing when and how the actual production and consumption of images is done, this study aims to differentiate and make visible the different kinds of actions made by the users; self-presentations, self-representations and masquerade, thus emancipating the youths and giving them a certain amount of agency. More specifically, we note that the use of smart phone cameras and images mirrors different aspects present in these vocational classroom cultures, as have been found by previous research (Nyström, 2012), and the anti-school culture that can be seen in these vocational education data stands in stark contrast to what can be found in similar data concerning upper secondary schools preparing for ensuing studies.
ReferencesGoffman, E. (1990[1959]). The presentation of self in everyday life. London: Penguin.
Larsen, J., & Sandbye, M. (Eds.). (2013). Digital Snaps: The New Face of Photography (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003103509
Nyström, A.-S. (2012). Att synas och lära utan att synas lära : en studie om underprestation och privilegierade unga mäns identitetsförhandlingar i gymnasieskolan (PhD dissertation, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis). Retrieved from https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-21868
02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)
Paper
Students’ Creation and Perception of Meaningfulness in Different Learning Environments in Vocational Education and Training
Anne Katrine Kamstrup1, Vibe Aarkrog2
1University College Copenhagen, Denmark; 2Aarhus University
Presenting Author: Kamstrup, Anne Katrine;
Aarkrog, Vibe
The abstract concerns the results from a current project, “Creation and perception of meaningfulness in the transition from school-based training to workplace-based training” that is conducted within the Danish Centre for Knowledge about VET (CEVEU) Om Center for viden om erhvervsuddannelser - CEVEU in the period 2022-2024. In the project, we study students’, teachers’, and trainers’ perception of meaning related to the students’ transition from school-based education and training to the first period of workplace-based training in the Danish dual VET system. The focus is due to a significant part of the high dropout in Danish VET being located to the transition from school to work. (DEG, 2023; Aarkrog & Kamstrup, 2023).
The presentation of results from the project will focus on students’ perception of meaning and meaning making in the transition between school and workplace-based learning. Due to the high dropout rate connected to this transition it is interesting to explore what is meaningful to the student and what can cause the students to experience a lack of meaning in their vocational education at this point. The concept of meaning is highly inspired by self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci 2017, Ravn 2021). The project seeks to answer the following research questions: What do students perceive as meaningful in their education, both while they are in school and during workplace based training and what do students do to create meaningfulness, including meaningful connections, in the transition from school to workplace based training?
Using transition as a theoretical concept (inspired by Ågren 2023 and Holmegaard, Madsen & Ulriksen 2014), we analyze how students perceive meaning in the transition from school to workplace-based learning. Students' experiences of meaning in a current situation are influenced by the experiences they carry with them and their imaginaries of the future. In the transition from one place to another, students may see their experiences in a different light, or they may encounter something that affects their ideas about the future. In other words, experiences of meaning may change when students are in transition and move from one place to another or simply progress in their education. It is this movement that the concept of transitions captures in terms of highlighting when students' sense of meaning strengthens and weakens. Transition does not only occur from the day students leave school to the next day when they show up for training. The transition begins from the beginning of the school journey where notions of the workplace shape the student's experiences of meaning, and it continues in training, where students' experiences from school similarly influence their sense of meaning.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe results are based on case studies following four students from five VET programmes during the transition. The empirical data includes interviews with a group of students and interviews with their teacher(s) just before the students begin their first work-based training and interviews with the same students and their trainers sometime after the students have begun the work-based training.
The purpose of interviewing the students before and after they have made the first physical transition to the workplace is to explore if their perception of meaning changes in this process. The interviews with students while they were still in their school period have been conducted as focus group interviews (Morgan 2010). In these interviews the students have been presented with several photos representing different aspects of their education and future vocation. The students have been asked to pick two photos each that showed what they perceived as meaningful aspects of their education. In the interviews the students have also been asked about their expectations of and ideas about their future training. The interviews with students at the workplace have been conducted as individual interviews since the students have been placed at different workplaces. Most of the interviews have taken place at the workplace involving the students showing the interviewer around at the workplace. During these interviews the students have been asked questions about what they perceive as meaningful in their training at the workplace and how their expectations and imaginations have been met.
The interviews have been recorded, transcribed, and coded based on the theoretical framework i.e. Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) and inspired from previous research about the interrelation of school-based and workplace-based training (Aarkrog & Wahlgren 2022; Louw & Katznelson, 2019). As part of the analysis the data from interviews with students at schools and workplaces have been compared to explore how the transition affects the students’ perception of meaning.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe analysis of the results has yet to be completed so the following expected results. However, the analysis seems to show that the transition from school to first workplace based training is important to the students perception of meaning.
The analysis will reveal what students identify as meaningful in their education when they are at school and during their training. One aspect of meaningfulness concerns the relation between theory and practice. Regarding this aspect, the students emphasize that what they learn in school should be applicable in practice. In interviews with students during training, most of them experience that they can indeed apply what they have learned. Learning in the training period appears to be meaningful when the trainers have patience with the students and introduce them to assignments slowly. Another aspect of meaningfulness concerns social relations. The students emphasize that social relationships at school are meaningful as part of the training as well as outside training. They expect or hope to establish similar social relationships with their colleagues during training. During the training, it seems that social relationships with colleagues continue to be perceived as meaningful, playing a crucial role in students' well-being during their training.
Furthermore, the results include differences in the students’ ideas about the vocation and workplace-based training while at school compared to their actual experiences in the workplace-based training. The results are expected to show that the students while at school create various envisions of the daily life during the workplace-based training. They talk about different rumors they have heard about what it is like to be a student in their vocation or workplaces. Depending on the type of rumors they hear, these rumors will positively and negatively influence the students' transition into training.
ReferencesAarkrog, V. & Kamstrup, A-K. (2023) VET Students Perception of Meaningfulness. In C. Nägele, N. Kersh, & B. E. Stalder (Eds.), Trends in vocational education and training research, Vol. VI. Proceedings of the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Vocational Education and Training Network (VETNET) (1-7) 2023, Glasgow.
Aarkrog, V. & Wahlgren, B. (2022) Sammenhæng mellem teori og praksis i erhvervsuddannelserne. Pædagogisk Indblik 18. Aarhus Universitet.
DEG, (2023) Frafaldsanalyse https://deg.dk/nyheder/analyse-frafaldet-paa-erhvervsuddannelserne-er-stoerst-ved-grundforloeb-2
Holmegaard, H., Madsen, L. M. & Lars Ulriksen (2014). “Når forventningerne ikke stemmer overens med virkeligheden. En undersøgelse af de studerendes valg og strategier i overgangen til de længere videregående teknatuddannelser.” Dansk universitetspædagogisk tidsskrift 9.16: 44–57
Louw, A. & Katznelson, N. (2019). Transfer and reflection in the Danish dual model: Findings from development projects in the Danish vocational education and training programmes. Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training (NJVET), 9 (2), 51–70.
Martela, F., Ryan, R. M., & Steger, M. F. (2018). Meaningfulness as satisfaction of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: Comparing the four satisfactions and positive affect as predictors of meaning in life. Journal of Happiness Studies: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being, 19(5)
Morgan D. L. (2010) Reconsidering the Role of Interaction in Analyzing and Reporting Focus
Groups. Qualitative Health Research. 20(5):718-722.
Ravn, I. (2021). Selvbestemmelsesteorien - motivation, psykologiske behov og sociale kontekster. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.
Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2017) Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Ågren, S (2023). Shaping Worker-Citizenship: Young Vocational Education Graduates’ Labour Market Positionings within New Adulthood. Journal of youth studies
02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)
Paper
Exploring Staff Retention in Youthreach: Ireland's Response to Early School Leaving
Sean Manley, Margaret Farren
Dublin City University, Ireland
Presenting Author: Manley, Sean
A national review of Ireland’s Youthreach education programme for early school leavers, found staff retention to be a future challenge for the programme (Smyth et al., 2019). With no previous research into staff retention in Youthreach, this study explores the unique characteristics of the programme to identify variables influencing staff intention to leave.
Teacher retention is a significant issue in many countries across mainstream education provisions. This trend is also prevalent in Ireland, with the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) (2018) finding that 46% of new-entrant teachers do not see themselves in the teaching profession in 10 years. Teacher shortages at post-primary level have been reported (O’Doherty & Harford, 2018), with Ireland’s teacher shortage figures being above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average (OECD, 2020). Notably, steps to address teacher recruitment and retention difficulties in Ireland have been described as fragmentary, piecemeal, and potentially damaging to the Irish education system and the profession of teaching (Harford & Fleming, 2023).
Unlike teacher shortage issues in mainstream settings, little research has been undertaken in alternative “second-chance” education settings such as Youthreach. Noting that a decontextualised study of teacher attrition and retention has little value for understanding and dealing with the issue (Kelchtermans, 2017), it is important to explore the factors most relevant to the Youthreach context.
Youthreach is a Further Education and Training (FET) provision, providing fulltime education and training for 15-20 year-olds with learning, emotional, and behavioural difficulties (Department of Education and Skills [DES], 2010). Students in Youthreach tend to present with high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) (Gordon, 2017), with four or more ACEs found to increase the risk of physical disease, depression, drug abuse, and suicide risk (Hughes et al., 2017).
With up to 70% of students in Youthreach presenting with special educational needs (Gordon, 2017), many Youthreach students require additional support to succeed in reaching their potential. The diverse academic, social, and emotional needs of students with emotional and behavioural difficulties require classrooms to be staffed by experienced special education teachers (SETs) with the prerequisite skills and knowledge (Adera & Bullock, 2010).
The designation of Youthreach centres as Centres of Education (DES, 2010) rather than as schools has resulted in many educators in Youthreach not having a requirement to be registered teachers as per Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act (2001). This means that there is no prerequisite training, qualifications or experience required for two-out-of-three employment grades in Youthreach. This variation in roles and professional standing was highlighted by Smyth et al. (2019) as contributing to the logistical and operational issues.
As student-staff relationships are key to early school leavers re-engaging with education in Youthreach (McGrath, 2006), understanding how best to recruit and retain stable staff teams of motivated and skilled educators is vital.
With no previous research undertaken to guide staff recruitment and retention strategies for Youthreach, this study set out to explore the programme’s unique characteristics to better understand how these may influence staff retention.
This study was driven by the research question, “What are the contributing factors to staff retention difficulties in Youthreach?”, with the following qualitatively and quantitatively orientated specific research questions:
1. How prevalent is the intention to leave among current Youthreach staff? (Quantitative)
2. What factors contribute towards staff intention to leave in Youthreach? (Qualitative & Quantitative)
3. What factors mediate staff intention to leave in Youthreach? (Qualitative & Quantitative)
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedAn exploratory sequential mixed-method design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018) was used to answer the research questions. Qualitative data informed the development of a second quantitative phase. Reflecting the exploratory mixed-methods design, three phases of analysis were conducted: qualitative, quantitative, and an integration phase that connected the two strands of data to answer the research questions more comprehensively.
Qualitative Phase
The qualitative phase utilised purposive sampling (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2003), selection criteria requiring staff who had left Youthreach in the previous five years to ensure relevance and recall of the experience. Semi-structured interviews with participants developed a context-specific understanding of Youthreach from a staff perspective. The interview guide comprised 13 questions ordered into three categories of inquiry: Pre-Service, In-Service, and Post-Service.
Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2013) was used to analyse the interview data. After the candidate themes were recognised, a review was conducted to ensure data representation and research question relevance.
A thematic map of emerging themes from qualitative phase analysis included Intention to leave, Work Commitment, Job Satisfaction, Role Stress, Burnout and Role Equity.
Quantitative Phase
Existing scales measuring the constructs of interest to the current study were identified through the qualitative phase. Drawing on established scales within existing literature was intended to yield more accurate measurement of the constructs of interest (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018).
Correlation coefficients were measured to assess the strength of the relationships between variables. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis (Pallant, 2016) allowed the strength of association between a set of independent variables and staff Intention to Leave to be measured simultaneously. The hierarchical approach allowed for the introduction of variables sequentially informed by the qualitative phase and literature review findings. a Sobel test (Preacher, 2019) was used to test the mediating effect of Work Commitment and Job Satisfaction between other independent variables and Intention to Leave.
The 180 survey respondents represented a response rate of 19.7% of the 912 current Youthreach staff (DES, 2015), using a confidence level of 95% this provided a margin of error of +/-6.55%.
Integration Phase
A joint display of findings allowed the research questions to be answered numerically and narratively, facilitating a deeper level of analysis. Under key themes and variables survey findings, regression analysis and participant quotes provide a depth and breadth of understanding of the staff retention challenges facing the Youthreach provision.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsEach of the research questions is set out below with a brief summary of key findings. The study findings and recommendations should benefit other educational setting serving the needs of at-risk young people. The methodological framework of this study may lend itself to other studies seeking to understand teacher retention challenges within unique contextual and cultural settings.
How prevalent is intention to leave amongst current staff?
Data analysis indicated that 28.9% of current Youthreach staff reported higher levels of Intention to Leave. While five of the six interview participants who previously left Youthreach stated that they had the intention to leave for one to two years before leaving, exhaustion and ‘apathy’ resulting from burnout contributed to a delay in acting upon the intention to leave.
What factors contribute towards staff intention to leave?
In the final regression model with an adjusted R² of 0.41, Burnout, Role Equity, and Work Commitment retained a statistically significant relationship with respondents’ Intention to Leave. Higher levels of Burnout were reported by 54% of survey respondents, with four of the six interview participants making direct reference to Burnout as a concern during their time in Youthreach. With a positive standardised coefficient of .31 within the regression model, each standard deviation increase in Burnout (.59) accounted for .31 increase in standard deviation in Intention to Leave (1.92).
The statistical and thematic analysis of the study data provide insight into the complex nature of Burnout, Role Equity and Work Commitment within the unique cultural setting and context of Youthreach.
What factors mediate staff intention to leave?
The mediating qualities of Work Commitment and Job Satisfaction were shown via Sobel tests. These mediating variables were shown to reduce the effects of retained regression model independent variables of Burnout and Role Equity on Intention to Leave.
ReferencesAdera, B. A., & Bullock, L. M. (2010). Job stressors and teacher job satisfaction in programs serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 15(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632750903512365
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. SAGE.
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (Third edition, international student edition). Sage.
Department of Education and Skills. (2010). An Evaluation of Youthreach: Inspectorate
Evaluation Studies. www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/3_2_3a_evaluation_youthreach_en.pdf
Department of Education and Skills. (2015). Aggregate 2015 Survey Data for VTOS Youthreach.
Gordon, M. (2017). A Profile of Learners in Youthreach. National Educational Psychological Service. http://www.youthreach.ie/wp-content/uploads/A-profile-of-learners-in-Youthreach-NEPS-research-study-report.pdf
Harford, J., & Fleming, B. (2023). Teacher supply in Ireland: Anatomy of a crisis. Irish Educational Studies, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2222709
Hughes, K., Bellis, M. A., Hardcastle, K. A., Sethi, D., Butchart, A., Mikton, C., Jones, L., & Dunne, M. P. (2017). The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. Public Health, 2(8), e356–e366. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(17)30118-4
Kelchtermans, G. (2017). ‘Should I stay or should I go?’: Unpacking teacher attrition/retention as an educational issue. Teachers and Teaching, 23(8), 961–977. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2017.1379793
McGrath, B. (2006). ‘Everything is different here...’: Mobilizing capabilities through inclusive education practices and relationships. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 10(6), 595–614. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110500271425
O’Doherty, T., & Harford, J. (2018). Teacher recruitment: Reflections from Ireland on the current crisis in teacher supply. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(5), 654–669. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2018.1532994
OECD. (2020). TALIS 2018 Results (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/19cf08df-en
Pallant, J. (2016). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (6th edition). McGraw Hill Education.
Preacher, K. J., & Leonardelli, G. J. (2019). Calculation for the Sobel test: An interactive calculation tool for mediation tests [Computer software]. Quantpsy.Org. http://quantpsy.org/sobel/sobel.htm
Smyth, E., Banks, J., O’Sullivan, J., McCoy, S., Redmond, P., & McGuinness, S. (2019). Evaluation of the National Youthreach Programme. ESRI. https://doi.org/10.26504/rs82
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2003). Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research. SAGE.
Teachers’ Union of Ireland. (2018, April 2). ‘46% of new entrants to not see themselves in profession in ten years’ time’. www.tui.ie/press-releases/46-of-new-entrants-to-not-see-themselves-in-profession-in-ten-years-time-new-tui-survey-highlights-damage-of-pay-discrimination.12488.html
Teaching Council Act, (2001). http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2001/act/8/enacted/en/pdf
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