Developing novice VET teachers’ pedagogy: A work-based learning curriculum framework

In Australia, vocational education and training (VET) teachers often begin teaching with no prior education or experience related to teaching, but having strong experience gained through working in the industry that they are employed to teach about. For these teachers, their VET pedagogies are primarily developed through work-based learning. However, little is known about how these teachers learn to become teachers or the types of arrangements in work-based settings that enable and constrain particular types of teaching practices by novice teachers. Based on a two-year longitudinal study of nine novice VET teachers, this paper largely draws on a case study that comprised part of that larger study, to illustrate the findings. The theory of practice architectures (Kemmis et al., 2014) was used to analyse what enabled and constrained the site based development of teaching practice. This paper proposes a curriculum framework for novice VET teacher development through work-based learning based on the development of a trellis of practices that support learning (PSLs) for novice teachers (Francisco, 2017). The case study highlights the importance of supportive colleagues, supervisors, and particularly mentors. Furthermore, affordance of particular types of resources that are easily accessible to novice teachers enable their development. The broader study found that being employed on a casual basis, and having limited access to the support of experienced teachers were both arrangements that constrained the development of novice teacher pedagogy. The findings suggest important elements that need to be considered for a curriculum for the development of novice VET teachers. Francisco, S. (2017). Mentoring as part of a trellis of practices that support learning. In K. Mahon, S. Francisco, & S. Kemmis (Eds.), Exploring educational and professional practice: Through the lens of practice architectures. New York: Springer.Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Grootenboer, P., Hardy, I., & Bristol, L. (2014). Changing practices, changing education. New York: Springer.