Understanding continuing professional development of vocational teachers

Vocational teachers are expected to keep their professional knowledge and skills up to date. In order to support their professional development effectively, we need to understand how vocational teachers learn, what they learn, and why they learn. This study characterises vocational teachers’ continuing professional development. Teachers’ perceptions of their professional development were gathered during a two-and-a-half-year longitudinal study. Through learner reports and semi-structured interviews, 12 experienced teachers described their learning activities, their realised professional development over time, and the factors that contributed to their professional growth. Within the gathered data, three different professional development profiles were identified: professional development (1) focusing on the primary process of teaching students, (2) focusing on executing tasks and roles in school, and (3) focusing on oneself in relation to the wider context of vocational education. These profiles contribute to organising customised support of professional development trajectories.