Perspectives of new trades tutors: boundary crossing between vocational identities

Abstract

This article reports on a study of the perspectives of new tutors teaching traditional vocational trades who recently commenced teaching in the Institutes of Technologies and Polytechnics (ITPs) sector in New Zealand. The perspectives are collated from questionnaires and interviews of 13 tutors, from five ITPs, who have been teaching full-time for two years. In this article, a focus is made on the transformation process from expert trade worker to effective trades tutor, along with suggestions to assist the ‘boundary crossing’ process between two diverse vocational identities. Suggestions include aligning trades tutors' existing workplace training-based conceptualisations of teaching and learning to extend trades tutors' teaching craft knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Keywords:

• new teacher induction
• vocational education
• vocational identity

Acknowledgements

The study reported in this article was funded by Ako Aoteaoroa (New Zealand's National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence) and approved by the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology academic research committee.