The purpose of this article is to describe and analyse the state of the art of research on special needs education (SNE) in the context of the Nordic countries’ vocational education and training (VET) systems during the period January 2010 to September 2018. Twenty studies remained after the search procedure and thematic analysis, 15 of which deal with the practice level and five with the organisation level. No studies were identified as belonging to the policy level. The following themes were found at the practice level: teachers’ work and role, teaching and learning, student transition and student dropout. Themes identified at the organisation level were changes to vocational policy documents and educational practices, and school organisation and its implementation. Finland dominates in terms of number of studies. Furthermore, the review shows that there were few studies in the area of SNE in VET. The results show that further studies are needed to acquire more knowledge about SNE in vocational education.
This article reports on findings from a comparative study on firefighter students' learning processes in a technology-supported distance training course and a traditional campus training course in Sweden. Based on student interviews and observations of exercises, the article aims to describe and analyse the impact on learning processes when exerciseoriented teaching takes place in a technology-supported learning environment instead of face to face on campus. Drawing on the concept of contradiction in activity theory, the findings indicate that distance students encounter several dilemmas and conflicts related to low instructor presence, ambiguities regarding learning requirements and division of labor, as well as shortcomings in the technologies offered. However, the distance students tend to develop strategies for dealing with these contradictions, resulting in the development of self-directed learning and more learner-centered approaches, while the campus students rely to a greater extent on traditional, instructor-centered teaching. During the 2-year training course, however, it appears the established norms and conventions of teaching and learning which characterise the campus mode, counteract changes in the distance mode. The technology-supported learning process with its focus on exercise preparation is thus gradually normalised in the direction of the campus mode, and its face -to-face, instructorled and exercise-oriented learning process.
This article presents an analysis of a five-year study on the implementation of a technology-supported distance programme in Swedish firefighter training. Based on activity theory and four interview studies, the attention is directed to firefighter instructors' perceptions and use of digital technologies with a focus on challenges, contradictions and changes. Two phases are identified, viz an implementation phase and a dissemination phase. During the implementation phase a clear contradiction emerges regarding how the object of the training should be interpreted, which results in the instructors responsible for the implementation reconsidering previous beliefs and, with the support of digital technologies, developing more theoretical and processoriented approaches and improving the course design. However, during the dissemination phase, when all instructors are involved, a number of conflicts and dilemmas emerge, resulting in the changes achieved in the distance programme to some extent being normalised in the direction of the instructor-centred and exercise-oriented approaches of the campus programme. The article concludes with a discussion about contradictions as well as opportunities that may emerge during the implementation process of a vocational technology-supported distance programme.
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