Research group
Vocational Education
The group also focuses on collaboration between various stakeholders involved in education, training, and the development of vocational education and practice.
The research group is part of the academic unit Pedagogy and Special Needs Education.
Within the research group, a range of perspectives is applied to illuminate vocational education and occupational practice. Rapid changes in work tasks, structures, and contexts in working life require the development of new knowledge and competencies at both system and individual levels. The close connection between education and working life challenges established forms of knowledge and competence within the vocational field and calls for new perspectives on education and training for trades and professions.
The main objective of the group’s research efforts is to contribute to the development of practice-oriented, vocationally focused, and professionally oriented knowledge that is relevant to the content and design of vocational education for the school system, working life, and society of the future—in short, research in, on, and for profession and practice.
The research group is closely linked to the PhD programme in Professional Studies through both its profile and thematic focus, as well as through PhD projects and other research projects that explore professional and occupational practice.
Links to Education
The research group is closely integrated with vocational teacher education at all levels, including the Practical Pedagogical Education for Vocational Teachers, the Bachelor’s programme in Vocational Teacher Education, the Master’s programme in Vocational Didactics, and the PhD programme in Professional Studies.
Through a range of research and development (R&D) projects, the group collaborates with schools and working life and actively involves students at both bachelor’s and master’s levels.
The research group is guided by the vision that professional competence in vocational education demands not only the content of educational programmes but also the ways in which future vocational teachers are educated and trained. Vocational teachers must develop strong competence in both the theoretical and practical dimensions of vocational didactics and pedagogy, as well as the professional integrity to navigate complex, changing demands in their professional lives. This calls for research-based education combined with practice-oriented teaching.
Wenche Hammer Johannesen, head of research group
Andre Rondestvedt
Kitt Lyngsnes
Njål Vidar Traavik
John Eivind Storvik
Birgitte Bjørngaard
Bård Yngve Gullvik
Camilla Bjørk-Åman
Gisle Heimly
John David Holt
May Kirsti Jensen
Torill Beate Risøy
Trine Merethe Paulsen
Grete Haaland
Marit Rismark
Valborg Kløve-Graue
Frode Andersson
Trine Ludviksen
Øyvind Johan Andersen
