Differentiation in Post-secondary Vocational Education: Experiences of Teachers and Students

Abstract

Prior research in primary and secondary education indicates that differentiation seems to be beneficial for students’ academic achievement. However, research on differentiation in vocational education seems to be lacking. Therefore, the current research aims to give insight into the experiences of PVE teachers and their students concerning differentiation. The present study tries to answer the research question in an exploratory way. Interviews were conducted with five teachers currently working in PVE. Additionally, five panel interviews with three students each were conducted in order to explore whether teachers reach their set goals. Results will be analysed by using the Grounded Theory, which involves open coding, axial coding and selective coding. Overall, findings from the interviews indicated that differentiation seems highly relevant in PVE. PVE-teachers use different differentiation strategies, which are mainly convergent, meaning that teachers aim to let students reach a minimum set of learning goals. Furthermore, teachers mentioned several hindering factors which prevent them from applying differentiation in the classroom. Time and differences between students in cognitive -and social skills are mentioned as hindering factors. When comparing teachers -and panel interviews within case, teachers and students commonly agreed upon differentiation. However, students mainly experience differentiated teaching when they ask for it in class. To conclude, from the present study it can be stated that differentiation in PVE should obtain more attention from the educational field as the findings suggest that PVE-students might benefit from more differentiated teaching. However, more time, space and a systematic way of differentiation might be needed in PVE.