Från uppväxt till lärargärning. En livsberättelsestudie med åtta yrkeslärare på industritekniska programmet

The thesis is based on eight vocational teachers’ life stories with the aim to provide knowledge about vocational teachers and their work with pupils in teaching in the industrial-technology programme, in the context of both a working life and a vocational education which is continuously changing. The thesis answers two research questions: 1) the themes that recur in vocational teachers’ life stories about how they meet and teach their pupils and 2) the teaching goals and strategies which emerge from vocational teachers’ life stories. All in all fifteen interviews were conducted from which life stories and teacher profiles were constructed.

Results show five recurring themes in the teacher profiles. The themes are; to be a caring adult for vocational pupils, to teach them basic knowledge considered important for the education, to teach them respect and discipline, to teach them the value of fighting and not giving up, and to show them the possibility of international employment. Moreover, the teacher goals and strategies emerging from the life stories show that the teachers can be said to educate different types of industrial workers. In line with these results, vocational education can be seen as more than a preparation for working life. Vocational teachers with different life experiences create different relationships with their pupils in order to create opportunities for them to manage school and to succeed in a life after school. In an industrial-technical education and in a working life which is constantly changing, vocational teachers have received various educations and worked in various industries during different time periods. They both educate their pupils and prepare them for a future working life based on these experiences.