This article presents a qualitative study focusing school science in two vocational classes, upper secondary school, Norway. The fact that many vocational students find little meaning in school science forms the backdrop. The students were introduced to teaching combining an excursion to a district heating plant and classroom lessons, with the use of mobile phones for documentation. Thematic analysis is used to explore the students’ experiences by analysing their behaviour and utterances. A multimodal semiotic analysis is used to examine the students' digital stories. By offering the students teaching in a real life vocational facility, we found that the students engaged in the related school science subject matter. They do perceive the use of phones for documentation as personal authentic and relevant working method. The learning potential arising when the mobile learning bridged the two learning venues overshadowed the possible pitfalls of using smartphones.
Fra flere hold blir innholdet i fellesfagene trukket fram som en årsak til dårlig motiverte elever og frafall i yrkesopplæringen. Forskriften til opplæringsloven stiller eksplisitte krav til at opplæringen i fellesfagene skal være tilpasset de ulike studieprogrammene. Denne studien stiller spørsmål om hvor stort handlingsrom kompetansemålene i læreplanen i naturfag gir lærere til utforming av relevant og yrkesrettet undervisning for yrkesfagelever. Vi har utviklet en analysemetode egnet til å vurdere om et innholdselement i et kompetansemål 1) vil være relevant for yrkesfagelever ved ulike studieprogram, og 2) mulig å tilpasse til yrkesfagelever ved ulike studieprogram. Vi har funnet at kompetansemålene i læreplanen i naturfag setter opp et relativt begrenset handlingsrom med tanke på utforming av relevant og yrkesrettet undervisning for yrkesfagelever. For å realisere kravet om at opplæringen i naturfag skal være tilpasset de ulike studieprogrammene mener vi at det må legges bedre til rette for dette i fremtidige læreplaner. På bakgrunn av funn i denne studien ser vi et behov for ytterligere forskning på yrkesfagelevers opplevelse av relevans i naturfag.Nøkkelord: læreplananalyse, naturfag, yrkesfag, relevans, yrkesretting, yrkesfagelever School science for vocational students: Is there scope for action in the curriculum to design relevant teaching adapted to the various vocational programs?AbstractFrom several sources, the curriculum in the common core subjects is accentuated as a reason for poorly motivated students and dropouts in upper secondary vocational education in Norway. The Regulation for the Education Act makes explicit demands that the teaching in the common core subjects should be adapted to the various vocational programs. This study questions the scope for action in the school science curriculum to create teaching for vocational students that is relevant and adapted to the various vocational programmes. We have developed an analytical method suitable for detecting if a content item in a competence aim 1) will be relevant for vocational students in the different vocational programs, and 2) is possible to adapt to vocational students in the different vocational programs. We have found that the competence aims in the school science curriculum establish a relatively limited scope for actopn in regards to designing relevant teaching, adapted to vocational students. In order to realize the requirement for adaption to the various vocational programs, we claim that this should be facilitated in future school science curricula. Based on findings in this study, we see a need for further research on vocational students and their experience of relevance in school science.Keywords: curriculum analysis, school science, vocational education, relevance, adaptation to vocational education
Even though sustainable development concerns a common future for all, cultural diversity is often absent from teaching and educational policy documents on education for sustainable development in Norway. We present a dialogue sequence from a science class. The empirical material originates from a nine-month ethnographic classroom study in an upper secondary urban classroom in Norway. Our aim is to provide awareness of how plurality and diversity aspects of a sustainable future might widen pedagogical approaches to education. We used critical thematic analysis, theories of dialogic space and the concept of othering to examine the dialogue. In the dialogue sequence, the students used their own life experiences, representing different backgrounds, to give personal voice to three kinds of groups: we as citizens in the Norwegian welfare state, we with personal primary experiences from outside Norway and we as ‘foreigners’ in the gaze of others. During the conversation, the focus moved from others as needing assistance and as a burden towards common responsibility. Social and economic issues, comprising the local and the global, were addressed through personal narratives. The students started the conversation from a reformative approach on sustainable development, which seems to be in line with Norwegian school policy and practice on the topic. From that perspective they emphasised the need for knowledge and information as an important part of a sustainable future. During the conversation, the focus shifted, it's as if they began to doubt.
This article highlights roles and responsibilities in design-based research (DBR) by analysing the micro-communication processes between two science teachers and one researcher. Despite DBR being a practice-oriented methodology, we know little about micro-communication processes with regard to how roles and responsibilities are fulfilled and perceived. We draw upon certain concepts from frame analysis when exploring three areas of concern: (1) the participants' framing of their own and each other roles and responsibilities, (2) the flexible researcher role in micro-communication processes, and (3) the teachers' different framing of education and research. Our analyses reveals that the researcher's role is framed as an observer while the teachers are the ones who implement the artefact being tested. Additionally, the flexible researcher appears more equipped to handle micro-communication processes and the teachers' different framing can be useful for development of the study. Finally, we present some final reflections based on our findings.
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