Lärlingsläraren – en studie om hur vård- och yrkeslärares uppdrag formas i samband med införandet av gymnasial lärlingsutbildning

Vocational teachers will acquire a new role and different working conditions in the new upper secondary school apprenticeship programme. The aim is to highlight how this new role is formulated, how the teachers will work, and what their role will be once a large part of the programme has been transferred to the workplace. The study has a qualitative design. Data is created on the experience of the apprenticeship programme teacher, with the support of the Critical Incident Technique method and interviews. Data analysis is focused on content, resulting in a descriptive theme. A social constructionist perspective was adopted as an overall theoretical approach. The teacher acts as a unifying link with overall responsibility for the students practical and theoretical education in programme-specific subjects, and they arrange the students work placements. There is also a description of how the apprenticeship programme teachers working conditions shape the work itself, which largely takes place outside the school and in collaboration with the students placement companies. The distinguishing features of apprenticeship programme teachers are presented as well as the strategies that are developed when working on the apprenticeship programme. Terms such as individualisation, adaptation, interdisciplinary approach and co-ordination emerge to describe the role assigned to the apprenticeship programme teacher. One of the conclusions is that vocational teachers who work within the apprenticeship programme system are facing a paradigm shift, where teaching takes on a less obvious role. This new role largely involves working alone, on an interdisciplinary basis, and in a manner adapted to the individual. The teacher must adjust to prevailing conditions and co-ordinate a variety of activities related to the students education and learning. The role of the apprenticeship programme teacher is shaped essentially by the task of organising the programme. Although the primary reason cited for introducing the apprenticeship programme is a lack of trained vocational teachers in certain areas, this study has demonstrated the importance of vocational teachers in assuring the quality of the apprenticeship programme. For the apprenticeship programme to be a genuine professional training alternative and to ensure quality and credibility, the merits of the apprenticeship programme teacher must be highlighted. Otherwise, there is a risk that the programme will remain on the level of political utopia or simply become a labor market support initiative. The apprenticeship programme teacher ought to work in a subject-oriented manner with learning theories as a base. The role presupposes solid professional knowledge and training and formal teaching qualifications, together with the requisite resources and management support.