Success Factors for Fostering the Connection Between Learning in School and at the Workplace: The Voice of Swiss VET Actors

Abstract

Effectively supporting apprentices in connecting what they learn at school and at the workplace still constitutes a challenge for most vocational education and training (VET) systems. To address this challenge, various efforts have been made in Switzerland, comprising a large investment in promoting effective cooperation between educational institutions and workplace settings as well as in designing integrated curricula and connective educational practices.In this chapter, the core aspects of the Swiss VET system are briefly described as an introduction to an interview study that aimed to explore which factors are perceived by VET actors as crucial for successfully connecting learning and teaching across schools and the workplace. The study is part of a large research project on school-workplace connectivity in VET from a sociocultural perspective. The study sample was comprised of ten vocational school teachers, eight in-company or intercompany trainers and eight apprentices involved in apprenticeship programmes in different vocational fields as well as four experts from vocational teacher training and VET research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and then examined using a thematic analysis. The findings of the study demonstrate that a multitude of factors contribute to the connections between learning at school and in workplace

The collaboration between Swiss initial vocational education and training partners: perceptions of apprentices, teachers, and in-company trainers

“…Griffiths and Guile (2004) pointed out that apprentices should be assisted by teachers and in-company trainers to grow as brokers. This can foster the connection between the school and the workplace, and lead teachers and in-company trainers acting as "boundary crosser facilitators" (Sappa et al 2018). The literature on school-workplace connectivity provides a theoretical framework that supports a systemic approach to connect school and workplace.…”

“…For example, the rules could be established in a loose way, leaving space for interpretation, and resulting in the stakeholders employing heterogeneous practices (Aprea and Sappa 2015). Stakeholders also share different conceptions about how learning locations should be connected, which impacts their collaboration (Sappa et al 2018). Therefore, a top-down approach that analyzes IVET collaboration solely from the perspective of what is established by the law is incomplete.…”

“…Through their interaction and collaboration, these stakeholders participate in shaping the entire IVET system (Emmenegger et al 2019), demonstrating the extent to which their role is pivotal. Some scholars have highlighted how certain reforms in IVET educational policies led to the inclusion of collaboration and networking in the daily agenda of vocational teachers and in-company trainers (Sappa et al 2018;Tynjälä and Nikkanen 2009). As we will see throughout the study, apprentices can be considered brokers between the school and the workplace-or intermediaries between teachers and in-company trainers-therefore exerting an influence on them (Akkerman and Bakker 2012).…”

“…We adopt a boundary crossing approach because it focuses on those transitions between contexts that are socioculturally different. Indeed, this approach has already been used in the field of dual IVET to understand how apprentices can be helped in establishing connections between their practices at the vocational school and those at the training company (for example, see Akkerman and Bakker 2012;Caruso et al 2020;Flynn et al 2016;Sappa et al 2018;Tanggaard 2007). This approach is therefore relevant for studying IVET partnerships wherein stakeholders from several intersecting practices (state, school, training company) must collaborate with each other despite their sociocultural differences.…”

“…The literature emphasizes that, in an IVET partnership, stakeholders can share mutual benefits (Billett and Seddon 2004;Flynn et al 2016). Moreover, collaboration can trigger processes of mutual understanding and learning for all the stakeholders involved (Akkerman and Bruining 2016;Sappa et al 2018). This can improve the connection between school and training company.…”