Curriculum Enactment by Vocational Teachers in Norwegian VET Professional Judgement, Tensions and Local Adaptation in the Implementation of the Subject Renewal Reform
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article explores how vocational teachers in Norway enact the revised national curriculum (The Subject Renewal Reform – LK20) within the two-year school-based part of the 2+2 model in upper secondary vocational education and training (VET). Drawing on data from interviews with vocational teachers in three vocational education programmes, the study investigates how vocational teachers interpret, adapt, and translate the intended curriculum into pedagogical practices, analysed through the perspective of curriculum enactment theory. Using the framework of the curriculum as intended, implemented, and enacted, combined with perspectives on professional judgement and curriculum making, the article analyses the tensions and affordances embedded in curriculum enactment processes, focusing on how vocational teachers negotiate policy changes while asserting their professional agency. The findings indicate that vocational teachers’ professional judgement plays a pivotal role in mediating national policy intentions and local realities, and that local adaptation is shaped both by school cultures and workplace collaborations. The study contributes to the understanding of curriculum implementation as a dynamic, context-dependent process also in VET. The knowledge contribution highlights the enacted curriculum as a key analytical lens, making provisions for vocational teacher agency and professional judgement in situations of considerable tension, increased requirements, and multiple stakeholders.
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Aakernes, N. (2018). From school to work: Coherence between learning in school and learning in workplaces for apprentices in the Media graphics programme in Norway. Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 8(1), 76-97. https://doi.org/10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.188176
Aakernes, N., Andresen, S., Bergene, A. C., Dahlback, J., Høst, H., Johannesen, H. S., Skålholt, A., Tønder, A. H., & Vagle, I. (2022). Evaluering av fagfornyelsen yrkesfag, delrapport 1: Bakgrunn, prosess og implementering på vg1 [Evaluation of the Subject Renewal in vocational education and training, Interim Report 1: Background, process, and implementation in Vg1]. NIFU, OsloMet og Fafo. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2990375
Aarkrog, V., & Bang, S. W. (2012). Resultater af evalueringer af Kunnskapsløftet, en syntese [Results from evaluations of the Knowledge Promotion Reform: A synthesis]. Aarhus Universitet. https://www.udir.no/globalassets/filer/tall-og-forskning/rapporter/2013/aarkrog-endelig-rapport-25-11-2012.pdf
Akkerman, S., & Bakker, A. (2012). Crossing boundaries between school and work during apprenticeships. Vocations and Learning, 5, 153–173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-011-9073-6
Andersson, P., & Köpsén, S. (2017). Maintaining competence in the initial occupation: Activities among vocational teachers. Vocations and Learning, 11(2), 317–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-017-9192-9
Asplund, S.-B., Kilbrink, N., & Asghari, H. (2021). Visualising the intended practical doing: Future-oriented movements in Swedish vocational school workshop settings. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 8(2), 160–185. https://doi.org/10.13152/IJRVET.8.2.2
Ball, S. J., Maguire, M., & Braun, A. (2012). How schools do policy: Policy enactments in secondary schools. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203153185
Ballangrud, B. O. B. (2022). Lokalt læreplanarbeid i LK20 sett i lys av læreplanarbeidet i LK06 [Local curriculum work in LK20 in light of curriculum work in LK06]. Norsk pedagogisk tidsskrift, 106(1), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.18261/npt.106.1.3
Ballet, K., & Kelchtermans, G. (2008). Workload and willingness to change: Disentangling the experience of intensification. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 40(1), 47–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270701516463
Berner, B. (2010). Crossing boundaries and maintaining differences between school and industry: Forms of boundary‐work in Swedish vocational education. Journal of Education and Work, 23(1), 27–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080903461865
Blossing, U., & Ekholm, M. (2008). A central school reform program in Sweden and the local response: Taking the long-term view works. Urban education, 43(6), 624–652. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085907311828
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Caves, K. M., Baumann, S., & Renold, U. (2021). Getting there from here: A literature review on vocational education and training reform implementation. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 73(1), 95–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2019.1698643
Cedefop. (2017). The changing nature and role of vocational education and training in Europe: Volume 2. Results of a survey among European VET experts (Cedefop research paper No. 64). Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2801/548024
Cedefop. (2022). The future of vocational education and training in Europe: Vol. 1. The changing content and profile of VET: Epistemological challenges and opportunities (Cedefop research paper No. 83). Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2801/215705
Cohen, L., Manion, L., Morrison, K., & Bell, R. C. (2011). Research methods in education (7th ed.). Routledge.
Colley, H., James, D., Diment, K., & Tedder, M. (2003). Learning as becoming in vocational education and training: Class, gender and the role of vocational habitus. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 55(4), 471–498. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820300200240
Dahlback, J., Hansen, K., Haaland, G., & Vagle, I. (2022). Dybdelæring i et yrkesfaglig perspektiv. [In-depth learning in a vocational perspective]. Scandinavian Journal of Vocations in Development], 7(1), 40–61. https://doi.org/10.7577/sjvd.4573
Dahlback, J., Johannesen, H. S., Vagle, I., & Aakernes, N. (2022). Programfaglæreres yrkesdidaktiske arbeid med implementeringen av fagfornyelsen i vg1 [Vocational subject teachers’ vocational didactic work in implementing the Subject Renewal in Vg1]. In N. Aakernes, S. Andresen, A. C. Bergene, J. Dahlback, H. Høst, H. S. Johannesen, A. Skålholt, A. H. Tønder, & I. Vagle (Eds.), Evaluering av fagfornyelsen yrkesfag, delrapport 1: Bakgrunn, prosess og implementering på vg1 (pp. 85–121). NIFU, OsloMet og Fafo. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2990375
Dahlback, J., Johannesen, H. S., Vagle, I., & Aakernes, N. (2023). Lærernes perspektiv: Yrkesdidaktisk arbeid på vg2 [Teachers’ perspectives: Vocational pedagogical practices in Vg2]. In A. Skålholt, N. Aakernes, S. Andresen, T. M. Aspøy, J. Dahlback, H. Høst, H. S. Johannesen, O. S. Lillebø, R. H. Lyckander, R. H. Lysvik, T. Nyen, & I. Vagle (Eds.), Evaluering av fagfornyelsen yrkesfag, delrapport 2 (pp. 97–138). NIFU, OsloMet og Fafo. https://nifu.brage.unit.no/nifu-xmlui/handle/11250/3083924
Day, C. (2002). School reform and transitions in teacher professionalism and identity. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(8), 677–692. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-0355(03)00065-X
de Bruijn, E. (2012). Teaching in innovative vocational education in the Netherlands. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 18(6), 637–653. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2012.746499
Eiríksdóttir, E., & Rosvall, P.-Å. (2019). VET teachers’ interpretations of individualisation and teaching of skills and social order in two Nordic countries. European Educational Research Journal, 18(3), 355–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904119830022
Elmore, R. F. (1995). Structural reform and educational practice. Educational Researcher, 24(9), 23–26. https://doi.org/10.2307/1177268
European Commission. (2024, June 24). Eurydice Norway. https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/norway/organisation-education-system-and-its-structure
Farnsworth, V., & Higham, J. (2012). Teachers who teach their practice: The modulation of hybridised professional teacher identities in work-related educational programmes in Canada. Journal of Education and Work, 25(4), 473–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2012.708726
Fullan, M. (2001). The new meaning of educational change (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Gewirtz, S., Mahony, P., & Hextall, I. (2009). Policy, professionalism and practice: Understanding and enhancing teachers’ work. In S. Gewirtz, P. Mahony, I. Hextall, & A. Cribb (Eds.), Changing teacher professionalism: International trends, challenges and ways forward (pp. 3–16). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203887264
Goodlad, J. I. (1979). Curriculum inquiry: The study of curriculum practice. McGraw-Hill.
Hiim, H. (2017). Ensuring curriculum relevance in vocational education and training: Epistemological perspectives in a curriculum research project. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 4(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.13152/IJRVET.4.1.1
Honig, M. I. (2006). Complexity and policy implementation: Challenges and opportunities for the field. In M. I. Honig (Ed.), New directions in education policy implementation. Confronting complexity (pp. 1–24). State University of New York Press.
Hordern, J., Muller, J., & Deng, Z. (2021). Towards powerful educational knowledge? Addressing the challenges facing educational foundations, curriculum theory and Didaktik. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 53(2), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2021.1891575
Ilomäki, L., Löfgren, S., & Toom, A. (2022). Teachers’ perceptions on relevant upper-secondary vocational graduate competencies and their development. Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 12(2), 98–125. https://doi.org/10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.2212298
Johannesen, H. S. (2015). Cultural codes of technical and vocational teachers. A qualitative study of vocational teacher's cultural codes: Teaching school-based learning in selected educational programs at the Norwegian upper secondary level (Publication Number 237) [Dissertation, University of Oslo].
Levin, B. (2004). Reforming education: From origins to outcomes. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203482193
Mulder, M. (2014). Conceptions of professional competence. In S. Billett, C. Harteis, & H. Gruber (Eds.), International handbook of research in professional and practice-based learning (pp. 107–137). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8902-8_5
National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (NESH). (2021). Guidelines for research ethics in the social sciences and the humanities (5th ed.) https://www.researchethics.no
Nordenbo, S. E. (2013). Kunnskapsløftet som reformproces – en forskningssyntese [The Knowledge Promotion Reform as a reform process: A research synthesis]. Norsk pedagogisk tidsskrift, 97(6), 388–407. https://doi.org/10.18261/ISSN1504-2987-2013-06-04
Olsen, O. J., & Reegård, K. (2013). Læringsmiljø og gjennomføring i lærer- og elevperspektiv i tre yrkesfaglige opplæringsløp [Learning environment and completion from teacher and student perspectives in three vocational education programs]. In H. Høst (Ed.), Kvalitet i fag- og yrkesopplæringen. Fokus på skoleopplæringen (pp. 17–72). NIFU. https://nifu.brage.unit.no/nifu-xmlui/handle/11250/280431
Olsen, O. J., Reegård, K., Seland, I., & Skålholt, A. (2015). Læringsmiljø og gjennomføring [Learning environment and accomplishment]. In H. Høst (Ed.), Kvalitet i fag- og yrkesopplæringen: Sluttrapport (pp. 83–144). NIFU.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Sage.
Priestley, M., Edwards, R., Priestley, A., & Miller, K. (2012). Teacher agency in curriculum making: Agents of change and spaces for manoeuvre. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(2), 191–214. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2012.00588.x
Reegård, K., Rogstad, J., & Hegna, K. (2019). Stedlige perspektiver på skoleliv og yrkesfag [Spatial perspectives on school life and vocational education and training]. Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE), 3(3), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.3593
Sarastuen, N. K. (2020). From guiding apprentices to teaching students: Fundamental challenges in the identity transition from occupational practitioner to vocational educator. Vocations and Learning, 13(2), 245–261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-019-09240-1
Sivesind, K. (2012). Kunnskapsløftet: Implementering av nye læreplaner i reformen [The Knowledge Promotion Reform: Implementation of New Curricula in the Reform]. Universitetet i Oslo, Institutt for lærerutdanning og skoleforskning. https://www.udir.no/tall-og-forskning/finn-forskning/rapporter/kunnskapsloftet-implementering-av-nye-lareplaner-i-reformen/
Skålholt, A., Aakernes, N., Andresen, S., Aspøy, T. M., Dahlback, J., Høst, H., Johannesen, H. S., Lillebø, O. S., Lyckander, R. H., Lysvik, R. H., Nyen, T., & Vagle, I. (2023). Evaluering av fagfornyelsen yrkesfag, delrapport 2 [Evaluation of the Subject Renewal in vocational education and training, Interim Report 2]. NIFU, OsloMet og Fafo. https://nifu.brage.unit.no/nifu-xmlui/handle/11250/3083924
The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training. (2021, 2021, June 21). Kunnskapsløftet 2020 – hvorfor har vi fått nye læreplaner? [The Subject Renewal 2020 – why new curriculum?]. https://www.udir.no/laring-og-trivsel/lareplanverket/fagfornyelsen/hvorfor-nye-lareplaner/
Tutlys, V., & Vaitkute, L. (2022). Knowledge formation practices in the context of the VET curriculum reform in Lithuania. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 74(1), 126–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2021.1956998
van den Akker, J. (2013). Curriculum perspectives: An introduction. In J. van den Akker, W. Kuiper, & U. Hameyer (Eds.), Curriculum landscapes and trends (pp. 1–10). Kluwer Academic. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1205-7_1
van den Berg, R., Sleegers, P., Geijsel, F., & Vandenberghe, R. (2000). Implementation of an innovation: Meeting the concerns of teachers. Studies in educational evaluation, 26(4), 331–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-491X(00)00022-5
Vähäsantanen, K., & Eteläpelto, A. (2009). Vocational teachers in the face of a major educational reform: individual ways of negotiating professional identities. Journal of Education & Work, 22(1), 15–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080802709620
Vähäsantanen, K., & Eteläpelto, A. (2011). Vocational teachers’ pathways in the course of a curriculum reform. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 43(3), 291–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2011.557839
Wallace, C. S., & Priestley, M. R. (2017). Secondary science teachers as curriculum makers: Mapping and designing Scotland's new Curriculum for Excellence. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 54(3), 324–349. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21346