Abstract
The aim of the present empirical study was to explore students’ self-regulated learning behaviours in vocational education and training and to describe the micro processes associated with planning, monitoring and evaluating during practical learning tasks. The 18 participants were well-performing students from upper secondary vocational education. We collected data from observations, interviews and self-reports to gain detailed insights into students’ behaviours and thoughts during practical task performance. The results reveal that most of the students planned their time and resources, but did not develop elaborate plans to regulate their learning behaviours. They monitored their work carefully and adjusted when necessary. When evaluating, students focussed more on work outcomes than learning processes. The results also showed that the students’ actual behaviours corresponded with self-reports on internal regulation, with three students overestimating their internal regulation. This study sheds light on an underexplored context and population regarding self-regulated learning. Though the well-performing vocational students engaged in self-regulation, their self-regulating behaviours were led by a combination of hands-on activities and evolving work outcomes. Thus, it was the emerging performance and experiences that triggered their learning. Although self-regulated learning behaviours in vocational education and training were present, we conclude that instructional support needs to be developed and empirically tested to actively facilitate and foster vocational students’ learning by doing and reflection.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their detailed reviews with suggestions for improving this paper. Moreover, the authors would like to thank Cathrin Rothkopf for her assistance in scoring. The research was funded by NWO.
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Appendices
Appendix 1
Semi-structured interview (translated from Dutch to English)
Introduction
I would like to start with the interview. In the interview, I will ask you questions about today’s task performance and your task approach. There are no good or bad answers. I simply want to learn more about your individual way of working. I would like to record the interview in order to process the data later on, and I am not able to remember everything. That means that you have to speak clearly. Your data is anonymous. Do you agree with that? Do you have any questions?
Part I: Discussing individual task performance and activities based on the observations (example questions)
First, I would like to talk about your lesson today.
Opening question: Tell me, how did you find the lesson was going today?
Way of approach (e.g., strategy use, planning): How did you approach the task? Why did you do it in that way? What did you do next? Why did you do it that way?
Strategy use when problem solving: What kind of problem did you come across at that particular moment? Why? How did you solve it? Why did you do it that way?
Social interaction: I saw that you went to the teacher/fellow student. What did you ask/say? Why did you choose to contact him/her?
Adjusting: Did the response/feedback of the teacher/fellow student lead to adjustments? What kinds of adjustments? Why or why not?
Evaluation, reflection: How did you like today’s task? Did you find it useful?
Did you find it difficult or easy? Why?
Self-efficacy: When you started working on the task, did you think that you were able to perform well on the task? Did you have the feeling that you could do it?
Part II: General approach
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General approach: Was this a usual approach in today’s lesson, or did you approach the task differently than you normally do?
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Strategy use: How do you prepare for a (practical) exam?
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Strategy use when problem solving: Do you experience difficulties/problems during task performance? What do you do? What do you do if you do not succeed?
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Monitoring, evaluation, reflection: How do you tell that something is working well or not?
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Seeking and selecting information: Do you know where to find the information you need? How do you do that?
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Help seeking: In which situations do you choose to ask someone for help?
Who do you ask for help (teacher/fellow students)? Where do you look for help? Do you feel comfortable asking for help? Why? Why not? Are there teachers/fellow students you do not ask for help? If yes, why not?
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Proactive behaviour: Do you take steps (exert effort) to receive help from teachers/fellow students? If yes, why and how? If no, why not?
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Evaluation, reflection, work attitude: What do you do if you are not satisfied and want to do it better? What do you do if you perform very well/very badly? Do you know what to pay attention to during a lesson?
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Evaluation: How do you finally evaluate whether you have performed a task correctly?
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Work attitude e.g., persistency: Do you give up sometimes? Why? What happened in that situation?
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Self-determination: What or how much are you allowed to choose yourself in your VET? Are you allowed to choose tasks yourself?
Part III: Motivation and professional development
Last, but not least, I would like to ask you some final questions about your motivation.
Motivation: How do you like your VET? Is it as you expected it to be?
Strategy use: What do you find particularly important to improve in your craft? From what do you profit most? Why?
Environmental structuring: What is important for you in order to work/learn well?
Goal orientation: What are the most important goals that you want to reach at school and with your VET? Do you think that you can achieve these goals (self- efficacy)?
Deliberate practice: Do you do other things besides your VET that contribute to your development in your professional field/craft (e.g., as a cook)? If yes, what do you do? Why do you do it? What is the underlying purpose?
That was the interview. Thanks a lot for your cooperation.
Appendix 2
Two descriptions of students as portraits
Rose (DS) was involved in goldsmithery training. Her task was to design a pillbox. In our study, she showed the most SRL behaviour (see Fig. 1).
The creative process of developing an idea preceded the observed lesson, but she explained that she first oriented herself to the task by making several drafts of her idea. Rose preferred a calm working place and chose to sit at a table with peers who were working seriously. To concentrate and protect herself from the busy surroundings, she worked with headsets and listened to music. She approached the task by following a certain order of steps (from coarse to fine finishing) and paid attention to her working time. During task execution, she kept an eye on her product (e.g., changes in the colour, straightness), and she paid close attention to her process by checking and testing the product regularly. She indicated that she wanted to perform well and prevent mistakes; therefore, she made adjustments to improve her performance (e.g., filing, polishing and starting over again). To evaluate her performance, Rose inspected her product and reflected on aspects that were still difficult for her and that she needed to improve. When she experienced problems, she first tried to solve them herself before consulting a peer or the teacher. Rose was willing to exert effort, and she engaged in practice activities to improve her skills during her leisure time. She worked on her own ideas in the evenings and had a variety of creative hobbies related to her professional field. She strived for perfection and took on challenges in her tasks. After graduation, she planned to travel around the world to develop her own style. In the future, she sought to open her own atelier, and she expressed self-confidence in achieving her aims (‘Where there is a will, there is a way.’). During the observed lesson, she was calm, concentrated and persistent in her work.
Joey (KT) was involved in the automotive engineering training, and his task was to complete a thermostat and compression test. In our study, he showed the least SRL behaviour (see Fig. 1).
Joey indicated that he preferred a calm workplace, but he was less deliberate in structuring his environment according to his wishes. After a slow start and admonishing words from the teacher, he selected a task and oriented himself by looking up what needed to be done. Joey did not plan his steps, but decided what to do next on the spur of the moment. During task execution, he kept an eye on his product (e.g., the opened thermostat), but he forgot to switch off the hot plate at the end. To evaluate his performance, he checked whether anything was missing and awaited the teacher’s assessment. Joey reflected on his behavioural issues and noted that he needed to pay attention to his working attitude. Joey was intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to engage in professional activities (e.g., fiddling with his scooter, repairing and checking cars for friends) and indicated that he did not give up easily. Joey’s main goal was to gain a certificate and study further. He wanted to work as car mechanic specialising in gas and electric cars and to later start his own business and earn a lot of money. He thought he had the capacity to achieve his goals but indicated that he was not always willing to exert effort. During the observed lesson, he was rather talkative, but he finished his tasks on time.
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Jossberger, H., Brand-Gruwel, S., van de Wiel, M.W.J. et al. Exploring Students’ Self-Regulated Learning in Vocational Education and Training. Vocations and Learning 13, 131–158 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-019-09232-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-019-09232-1