Description
Senior Secondary Vocational Education and Training (SSVET) is highly culturally diverse, with a majority of students having a non-Western background. Teachers in culturally diverse classrooms are more often confronted with tensions in their daily practice and they are uncertain of how to manage these tensions. This exploratory study investigated what value-based tensions, tensions which are caused because of conflicting or contrasting personal values, teachers encountered when teaching culturally diverse SSVET classrooms and examined the reported tensions by teachers in terms of (inadequate) knowledge, skills and (hindering) attitudes to deal effectively with the experienced tensions. We collected data from 16 SSVET teachers from five schools, each with more than 60% of its students having a on‐Western background. We conducted open interviews with the teachers to examine the tensions they encounter in their SSVET classrooms and what was causing the tensions. The interviews were analyzed both deductively and inductively. The results showed that the majority of the value‐based tensions that the SSVET teachers encountered could be categorized as related to intercultural differences on values such as respect, justice, personal autonomy and diversity. Additionally, teachers also reported tensions with regards to professional ethics & stance of students. Most experienced tensions were caused by lack of skills. Less often, teachers experienced a shortage of knowledge or hindering attitudes when faced with these tensions in culturally diverse SSVET classrooms.| Period | Mar 2021 |
|---|---|
| Event title | ICO International Spring School 2021 |
| Event type | Other |
| Degree of Recognition | International |