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First year apprentices' experiences in the workplaceAustralian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) conference
Selena Chan Cnaberra April 2012
Project purpose1)Identify factors influencing apprentices' - initial decisions to enter into and - commit to an indenture, - contribute to continuation of apprenticeship.
2)Compare experiences of potential, continuing, and unsuccessful apprentices.
3)Design guidelines for the improvement of induction processes and initial training for apprentices.
Research participantsFirst Year Apprentices - focus groups, individual interviews, survey questionnaire
Employers - survey questionnaire
Pre-trade students - focus groups
Discontinued apprentices - individual interviews
Literature Foundation• Socio-cultural approach - socially and culturally mediated practices in workplace learning (Billett, 2004; Wenger, 1998)
• Vocational imagination (Higgins, 2010)
• -clear ideas of “what I can become” but not necessarily “how to become”
• Vocational identity formation (Kirpal, 2009)
• Belonging to a workplace (Chan, 2008)
• Learning as becoming (Hodkinson, Biesta & James, 2008)
• Workplace learning pedagogy (Billett & various others)
Research Approach • Constructive – interpretative paradigm
• Mixed case study
• Case study theory building - within-case analysis and the congruence method (George & Bennett, 2005).
• Narratives constructed - not as narrative inquiries (Riessman, 2008), but more as analytical lenses (Chase, 2005) and closer
to the ‘storytelling’ aspect of case study (Stake, 2005)
• Document survey – pre / post apprenticeship information
Themes for constructing guidelines
• Match ‘vocational imagination’ to reality
• Establish a sense of belonging
• Maintain engagement and momentum towards apprenticeship completion
Thank You
Contact:-Selena ChanChristchurch Polytechnic Institute of [email protected]
blogging at:- http://mportfolios.blogspot.com
Project team Dr. Robyn Chandler, Christchurch Polytechnic, [email protected] Nicholas Huntington, Industry Training Federation, [email protected] Tracey Shepherd, Agriculture ITO, [email protected] Charles Hayward, Boating ITO, [email protected] Loretta Garrow, Building and Construction ITO, [email protected] Paul Town , Competenz, [email protected] Erica Cummings, Hairdressing ITO, [email protected] Glen Keith, Hospitality Standards Institute, [email protected] Deb Paul, Joinery ITO, [email protected]
